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Family Forms

• 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!!)

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Millions of Kids
Worldwide Statistics
Family Type
Number of Children

• 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

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Flexibility, adaptability and tolerance for
change are helpful skills for making any family
form succeed!
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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.

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Family Life Cycle

• Stage 1 Beginning Family
• Stage 2 Childbearing Family
• Stage 3 Parenting
• Stage 4 Launching
• Stage 5 Mid Years
• Stage 6 Aging

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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.
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Types of Families

• Nuclear
• Extended
• Single parent
• Blended
• childless

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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.

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American Family Forms

• 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.

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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 womens 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.

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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 todays children are stepchildren
• Flexibility and humor will assist in the
  adjustment.

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American Family Forms

• 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.

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Building Strong Families

• In a united family, happiness springs of
  itself.
• Chinese Proverb
• Is your family united? How can you help unite
  and strengthen your family?

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What are the Secrets of a Strong Family?
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1. Appreciation

• Give it Frequently
• Be Appreciative of Invisible Work
• Behavior is Contagious!
• Dont Give Up Too Quickly

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2. Affection

• Small touches, hugs kisses
• Use verbal affection often (appreciation,
  compliments, etc.)
• Develops bonding
• Dont assume they already know it

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3. Commitment

• Go with each other when one of you has an
  activity.
• Share daily experiences.
• Show that you are in it for long haul. (You
  wont give up on family easily.)

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4. Time Together

• 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.

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5. Creative Problem Solving

• 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?

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6. Communication

• 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?