Understanding Families

1. Chapter 2 Section 1 Human Growth & Development Understanding Families

2. Functions of Family • Members of a family help meet each other’s basic needs • Families also prepare children to live in society

3. Meeting Basic Needs • Families make sure that basic needs are met • Food • Clothing • Shelter • Social • Emotional • Intellectual • By living in families, we learn how to get along with others • Sharing, taking turns, how to work together towards a common goal

4. Preparing Children to Live in Society • Adults teach children what is important to people in their society • Values: what is important to people • Values are passed on in 3 ways: • Through example • Through talking • Through religious training • Adults teach children about the traditions of society

5. Family Structure • Families come in different shapes and sizes • Different types of families include: • Nuclear families • Single-parent families • Blended families • Extended families

6. Nuclear Families • Nuclear Families: includes a mother & father and at least 1 child • Two parents to help with child raising • Differ depending on how many children there are and how many parents work outside the home

7. Single Parent Families • Blended Family: formed when a single paren marries another person who may or may not be a parent as well • Stepparents, stepchildren • May be hard to establish the new family unit • Takes time to adjust to one another

8. Extended Families • Extended family: includes relatives other than a parent or child who live with them • Sometimes used to refer to people who do not live with the core family but play important roles in the child’s life

9. Entering a Family • Guardians: take all financial and legal responsibility for raising the children • Adoption: the legal process in which children enter a family they were not born into • The adopted child has the same rights as biological children • Foster children: often come from troubled families; need a temporary home until their parents can solve their problems or until the children can find a permanent home

10. Managing Multiple Roles • Consider the relative importance of roles • Set your goals & base your decisions on them • Realize that there are always tradeoffs • Improve your leadership & teamwork skills • Treat time as a valuable resource • Stay organized • Find ways to cope with stress • Share Responsibilities

11. Family Life Cycle • Family life cycle: series of stages families go through • Families differ in how they experience this pattern

12. The Family Life Cycle • Beginning Stage • Parental Stage 1 • Parental Stage 2 • Parental Stage 3 • Middle Age • Retirement

13. Trends Affecting Families • Mobility • Cultural Diversity • Aging Population • Economic Changes • Workplace Changes • Technology

14. Coping with pressure on the Family • Trends have made changes on how people live • Steps you can take to avoid the “frantic family syndrome” • Avoid Scheduling too many activities • Watch for clues that family members need a break • Focus on responsibilities and on activities that people enjoy • Schedule family meals • Plan Ahead • Maintain your sense of humor