FAMILY PATTERNS

WHAT DEFINES FAMILY?

Care and love? Blood connection? Living together? Common ancestory?

How do YOU define Family?

FUNCTION OF THE FAMILY

Meet Basic Needs- health, safety, shelter, nurturingProvide Support- guidance, discipline, encouragement, teachable moments Form Traditions- customs, lifestyle, routines, expectationsShare Values- right from wrong, religious guidance, moral development, respect, responsibility

FAMILY STRUCTURES & TRENDS

Nuclear Family Extended Family Single Parent Family Blended Family Legal Guardian Foster Family Adoptive Non-Traditional Skip Generation

THE NUCLEAR FAMILY

Formed when a couple marries If couple has no children at the time

-Usually have two generations. Two parents, one male and one female, and a child or children. The child could be their biological child, an adopted child, foster child, or a combination. Most represented in TV and movies.

Members depend greatly on each other because relatives are not real close. This can draw the nuclear family closer together

THE SINGLE PARENT FAMILY

Includes one parent and one or more children Can be either father or mother Child could be adopted

Parent could be divorced, widowed, separated, or never married.

Single parent plays the role of both mother and father

STEP OR BLENDED FAMILY

Occurs when a single parent marries. Stepparent: Person who marries the

single mother or father. Not related by blood, but may legally

adopt. Blended families happen when two

single parents marry one another. Do the children always get along?

EXTENDED FAMILY

There are other relatives in the household other than the parents and children.

Most commonly the grandparents are in the extended family, but could include aunts, uncles, or cousins

Less common today Relatives can offer guidance, support,

babysitting, share chores Grandparents can benefit from it also

Living expenses are reduced, enjoy companionship, feel secure

EXTENDED FAMILY

Sometimes they occur when single parents move back into their parent’s home with children.

Single parents may need time to find a place to live or may not have enough money to live on their own

LEGAL GUARDIAN, FOSTER & ADOPTIVE Legal Guardian families happen when the

parent(s) of a child are absent from a child’s life and another family member is elected to raise them as their own. This could be an older sibling, cousin, aunt or uncle

raising the child(ren). Foster families volunteer to care for a child that

is waiting to be adopted. A foster family is temporary.

Adoptive families are a permanent house for a child.

NON-TRADITIONAL AND SKIP GENERATION Non-traditional families are less common (but

becoming more common today). These are families with parents of the same sex raising a while.

You could also consider families such as ‘sister wives’ and/or possible The Duggars. Any other ideas?

Skip generation parenting is when the grandparents or great grandparents are chosen/volunteer to raise the child as their own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aogZUDx51vQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKAc3a0AHXM

THEN AND NOW…..