Riding in Cars with Boys: Family Life Cycle Theory

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Riding in Cars with BoysFamily Life Cycle Theory

• By Kevin, Brent, Graham, and Bryan

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Family Life Cycle

• Written By Monica McKormick
• Theory that follows transitions to adulthood from
  an early stage as a child to your retirement
  years
• Five stages of cycle Young and Single stage,
  beginning stage, parenting stage, launching
  stage, retirement stage

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The Stages of the Family Life Cycle
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Stage 1- Young and Single

• Unmarried with no children
• Live alone
• Establish an identity different from your family
  of origin
• Take responsibility for emotional and financial
  needs
• Establish intimate relationships with peers
  outside of family

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Young and Single in the Film- Bev

• Bev is forced into marriage because of her
  pregnancy, therefore does not experience
  independence
• Does not experience work world, relies on parents
  and Ray for financial support
• Without time away from family or experiencing
  independence, Bev cannot establish a unique
  identity

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Stage 2- Beginning Stage

• Learn to place the needs of another person above
  the needs of yourself
• Communicate with partner on certain things such
  as goals, problem-solving etc

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Beginning Stage- Bev

• Goes through this at a very young age since she
  married and had Jason at 15 years old
• Often puts her needs above the needs of Ray and
  Jasons (this is shown when she is trying to get
  her scholarship)
• Bev is unable to successfully problem solve with
  Ray on many things (this is shown when Ray
  reveals his heroine addiction)

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Beginning Stage- Jason

• Doesnt go through this officially as he is still
  single, but in a relationship with Amelia
• Although we do not see an in depth look at
  Jasons relationship, we do see his ability to
  place needs of others above his
• He constantly worries for his mother and tends to
  her needs and fails to look after his own
• An example of this is when he is hesitant to
  confront his mother about him leaving with Amelia
  because he wants to make sure she will do well
  without him their for her support

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Stage 3- Parenting Stage

• Becoming a parent involves applying skills and
  knowledge learned from the previous stage in
  order to be good parents
• Need to apply communication and problem-solving
  skills from coupling stage and apply them to
  raising a child or children

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Parenting Stage- Bev

• Family with young children
• Since Bev and Ray did not create good skills
  during the previous stage, their parenting skills
  fail
• Inability to compromise and problem-solve
  together causes Bev to kick Ray out

• Family with adolescents
• Without Ray at home, Bev relies heavily on Jason
  for help and lacks on being able to provide
  emotional support for him as a mother
• Relying on Jason limits her ability to let him go
  explore his interests

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Stage 4- Launching Stage

• Time when parents must let children leave home
  and experience independence
• May have to accept new people into the family
  once your children have developed relationships
  with other people

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Launching Stage- Bev

• Failure to create strong skills in independence
  causes Bev to rely on Jason and have an inability
  to let Jason leave her
• She is also hesitant to accept the fact that
  Jason has developed a relationship with Amelia
• Still reflects putting her needs before the needs
  of others when Jason tells her he is leaving
  her/home

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Retirement Stage

• Experience many changes in the family (Children
  marrying or becoming a grandparent)
• Provide emotional support for children as they
  begin to start a family or experience issues in
  work or financial aspects
• Reflection of experiences and other issues during
  your life cycle
• We do not see this stage during the film as Bev
  is only 35 by the end of the film

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Conclusion

• Bev fails at following all stages of the cycle as
  outlined by the theory
• She is forced to skip some stages as a result of
  her early pregnancy and therefore fails at the
  many stages that follow
• The theory does not adequately apply to her and
  her experiences as she was a teen mother/bride