What have been the happiest memories with your family? (In ......7. Divorced Adults Approximately...
Transcript of What have been the happiest memories with your family? (In ......7. Divorced Adults Approximately...
“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.”
Thomas Jefferson
What have been the happiest memories with your family?
(In your head!!)
Millions of Kids
Children living in blended families, including either a step-parent or step-sibling.
Children living with both natural parents and full brothers or sisters.
Children living in extended families including other people such as uncles, cousins, aunts or grandparents.
Children living in one-parent families.
8 million
10 million
15 million
33 million
Family Type Number of Children
Worldwide Statistics
Flexibility,
adaptability and
tolerance for change
are helpful skills for
making any family
form succeed!
Family Relationships
What is a relationship?
An interaction between two or more people.
Who does a family relationship involve?
Parents, siblings, peers, spouse, grandparents
The family relationship is constantly changing.
It is important to remember that an individual is going through various stages of his/her life cycle while the family is going through its own cycle.
Family Life Cycle
Stage 1: Beginning Family
Stage 2: Childbearing Family
Stage 3: Parenting
Stage 4: Launching
Stage 5: Mid Years
Stage 6: Aging
What is your definition of the
stereotypical family?
Working dad
Stay-at-home mom
2 or 3 children
Only 10% of all U.S.
households are in
this family form.
Types of Families
Nuclear
Extended
Single parent
Blended
childless
American Family Forms
1. Living Alone
1 of 24 adults remain single throughout their life.
66% of single people are women.
2. Cohabitation
Persons of the opposite sex sharing living quarters.
Couples who live together before marriage, divorce
just as often as those who marry first.
3. Marrying Later in Life
Average age to marry: men - 25.9, women - 23.6
More young people are not marrying or are
marrying later.
4. Couples Having Children Later in Life
More couples are waiting to become parents until their careers are established.
Estimated cost to raise child is $200,000
5. Couples With Fewer Children
The average number of children has dropped from 3.6 in 1957 to 1.8.
6. Couples With No Children
Due to career commitments, fertility problems or just because they enjoy their childless lifestyles, many couples are remaining “Double Income, No Kids” couples.
American Family Forms
7. Divorced Adults
Approximately 60% of all divorces involve couples
with children in the home.
8. Single-Parent Families
About 1 in 4 children live with only one parent.
The number of single-parent homes has more than
doubled in the past 20 years
Divorced women’s standard of living drops 73%,
while divorced men jumps 42%.
About 50% of the children in divorced families
report having not seen their father in the last year
and only 1 of 6 see him once a week.
American Family Forms
American Family Forms 9. Grown Children Moving In With Their Parents
Families with two children and young parents living at home with their parents has doubled in 25 years.
10. Grandparents Living With Families
With greater longevity, there are more elderly people.
11. Blended Families
Divorced parents, especially fathers are likely to remarry.
13% of today’s children are stepchildren
Flexibility and humor will assist in the adjustment.
12. Working Mothers
The fastest growing segment of the work
force is women with children under the age of
three.
More than half of American mothers with
infants less than a year old are working
outside the home.
Day care for these children can cost up to ¼
the family budget.
Working mothers have 15 fewer hours of
leisure a week than fathers.
American Family Forms
“In a united family, happiness springs of itself.”
Chinese Proverb
Is your family united? How can you help unite and strengthen your family?
What are
the Secrets
of a Strong Family?
Give it Frequently
Be Appreciative of “Invisible Work”
Behavior is Contagious!
Don’t Give Up Too Quickly
Small touches, hugs & kisses
Use verbal affection often
(appreciation, compliments,
etc.)
Develops bonding
Don’t assume they “already
know it”
Go with each other when one of you has
an activity.
Share daily experiences.
Show that you are in it for long haul. (You
won’t give up on family easily.)
Quality time is better than quantity time.
Family Experiences
Vacations
Camping
Daily Experiences
Eating together!!!!
Chores
Doing homework
The purpose of the experience is to strengthen
the relationship.
Strong families can solve problems in
creative ways.
Happy families have the same number of
arguments, but they focus on happy times.
It is ok to have problems, but the key is to
solve them quickly.
The longer you are in an argument, the harder
it is to get out. Why?
Communication is the key!
Be willing to share daily events and experiences often to foster communication.
Without communication, the family unit falls apart.
Is there a member of your family that you have not talked to for a long time because of a conflict? How does this lack of communication make you feel?