A family I might come across professionally would likely be a blended family. Not only do people get divorced more frequently now but my career field puts a lot of stress on families leading to even higher divorce rates. Blended families are already quite common and are less stigmatized than in the past. While I am not from one or having one anywhere in my family I did know some in school and the kids were just like everyone else. According to The Step family Foundation, every day 1300 step families are created, half of marriages will end in divorce, half of the families in the US are remarried and 75 percent of divorcees will remarry (Stepfamily Statistics). Additionally half of children under 13 years old live with a biological parent and …show more content…
According to the book, the function of the family is necessary for economic production, socialization of children, care of the sick and aged, recreation, sexual control and reproduction (Henslin 455). Everything revolves around money and therefore it is beneficial to be married. For example in the case of divorce where the male is the bread winner, the ex-husband typically will pay alimony and some child support while the ex-wife is dependent upon that if she is not equipped with a good job. In this overly simpered example the man is supporting himself, his kids and former wife. The former wife is in a financial deficit likely and has to support herself and the kids. If she were to marry regardless of the new spouse’s pre-marital status, it will be easier for her to support the kids with that new stable income and the ex-husband doesn’t have to continue on with alimony. What’s even better is if he also gets remarried allowing him to keep more of the money in house and possibly decrease the burden of who he marries that is in a similar situation as his ex-wife. Based on the research I did, socialization of children would be most benefited when the child has at least one stable family, preferably two stable families to live with. So the benefit here is how a blended family can offer that and thereby return some normalcy to the child’s life. For the child’s sake it would benefit society …show more content…
It’s the way the world is headed. There’s a high divorce rate in what I’m going into, at the same time everyone in that field needs someone to take care of their family while there away. I’ll deal with cultures all around the world, most very different from the US. In the professional services I will deal with, the impact on delivery is not allowed. Yes everyone needs to get their family squared away and keep everything good at home but when it’s time to go to work everyone needs to be focused on the job and nothing else. The way we Americans do things could offend those on other countries and they might not be as respectful as they need to be and this could make communication a bit harder. What I have learned is that blended families are not as financially sound as I thought they would be. I thought that after a divorce both parties would take some time to get squared away before remarrying but apparently that’s not the case. Personally this assignment might improve my capacity to deal with other people but professionally it doesn’t matter much. The people in my field can’t afford to let little things get in the way. While family is not little itself, in the scheme of things there are much more important things happening in the world that need
Americans love their television, and television loves the American family. Since the 1970’s, the depiction of the American family on television has gone through many changes. In the 70s, the Brady Bunch showed an all-white nuclear family. Today, Modern Family, shows a family of blended races, ages, and sexualities. For thirty years, the sitcom family has reflected the changing society of its time and there is no exception of this for the families in The Brady Bunch and Modern Family. The lifestyle, social aspects, and economics situations of the Bradys and the Pritchett-Dunphys are similar in their attempts to portray the lives of families of their time, but differ drastically in the types of families they represent. The characters in Modern
The family I chose to interview is a blended non-traditional family. There is a mother and her 6 kids. The kids come from two different guys that the gal was married to and a boyfriend that she has lived with in the past. The boyfriend still spends some nights with her.
In attempting to understand the blended family system, one would be remised if we did not first look at, and understand primarily what a family system dynamic is. Unfortunately, this is a theory that once had very clear cut lines; today those lines are a little burred and more subjective than ever before. Given that the family is an ever changing system with fluid boarders, this author will illustrate some finite distinctions that may separate the typical family system from a blended family system.
No doubt that in today's society one of the issues that are often faced it is a high divorce rate, abandonment, single parent etc. and is very unfortunate that in a civilized society these situations are growing in a daily basis. Creating with these other type of situations known as Blended Families, and sometimes this reality it is very difficult to accept especially for those who have a conservative mindset because they think when those situations arise; they degrade the foundations of the family as they know it.
Society seems to have many different opinions when it comes to relationships and families and what is ideal. The ideal family may not exist anymore. We now have in our society families that are complete that do not necessarily contain the traditional material. The traditional family, as society would see it; usually consist of a married, mother and father and usually children. Moms are supposed to stay at home while dads work the forty-hour a week job. However, in our 2003 world, families exist in a lot of non-traditional ways. A lot of families now consist of single parent families, or same sex parents and their children, or even couples that are unmarried but live together. And even now, if a family contains what society sees as traditional as far as having a mom, dad, and kids, other aspects are not traditional anymore. Women now have more opportunity in the workplace than they have ever had, therefore, many moms are career moms and dads are sometimes staying at home. Years ago, these types of families were given labels for being dysfunctional or abnormal, however, this label is not holding up as well as it did years ago. There are many non-traditional families that are raising children in a loving, nurturing home with a substantial amount of quality love. Quality is the key in any relationship between anyone. Society is finding out that it is not the traditional image that makes a loving family, but the quality of a relationship that people give to each other is what really makes a family. In the essay "The Myth of the "Normal" Family", written by Lousie B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach, they make references to the cultural idea of what a "normal" family should be and what i...
1. Review of the literature on research with emphasis on children and the relationship with stepparents
The Usefulness of Functionalism for an Understanding of the Family The Functionalists see the family as an important and vital institution in society. They take a MACRO view and look at interdependence between the family and other organisations. Functionalists look at the positive parts to society but overlook the negatives. They emphasise on the value consensus and see the family as being universal. Other people’s outlooks disagree with this view, such as the Marxists, the Marxist Feminists and the Radical Feminists.
Blended families and what it is too me. When I was a little girl my mother and father were together growing up, but my father was away for a long period of time doing truck driving. So of course, how could I blame my mom for wanting a divorce when the two of them never really got to see each other. Then I grew up to the age of five and there was this man that came into my mom’s life. He would sleep in his truck just to be close to my mom. My mom would not let him stay in the house due to she had three kids and did not want to send mix signals to us. As we got older we started to do things with him, it was fun. As time went on he came over more and more and then three years later he became my stepdad. My step dad did not have any children
The family structure is made up of individuals living together in intimate groups with the purpose of caring and supporting each other. Rules and boundaries, spoken and unspoken, are developed by the family members. Family rules and boundaries change and shift over time in order to evolve and grow as a family unit. Some changes are subtle, but some events force major change within the family system. This paper applies the concepts of systems theory to the family system in the movie Sweet Home Alabama. Reese Witherspoon (Melanie Smooter) and Josh Lucas (Jake Perry) star in this heart-warming film telling a story of a young woman who flees from Alabama to reinvent herself in New York City as a high fashion designer. She leaves behind her redneck husband and white-trash upbringing. Melanie finds herself engaged to the cities most eligible bachelor and has to return to Alabama to request a divorce from her first love and confront her past ("Alabama," 2002).
According to Richard Charles (2001) “the effectiveness of family systems theory rests not much on empirical research but on clinical reports of positive treatment outcomes, the personal benefits experienced by the families that underwent this kind of treatment, and the elegance of Bowen’s theory” (p. 279). Bowen’s family systems theory views the family as an emotional unit and is a theory of human behavior. Systems thinking are used to describe the complex interactions in the unit. However, the client’s ability to differentiate himself/herself from the family of origin is the basis for Bowen’s family systems theory. In addition, the primary focus for growth within the emotional system is differentiation of self. Differentiation of self will be explored as well as how it relates to a church congregation.
The family is in transition – family structures are growing into exciting new possibilities, due to this, there has been a dramatic increase of diversity in the family and household structures since the earliest centuries. In Africa, our real and perceived blood ties are not bounded by the household or the village, but stretch across communal areas as far as the eye can see and the heart can reach. Traditionally, newcomers would be accepted as part of the family and only excluded only if they spurned the welcome. However, this essay will look at the different family and household structures in the current century, also the diversity of families and understanding the reasons for this diversity and how structures have changed. It will draw theories
At first the new circumstances of life may seem like a perfect picture and according to the article edited by Mike Wilson titled “Step Couples are at Risk for Divorce,” the most predominant unrealistic standards that are assumed by step couples and their kids is beliefs about functional equivalency to the first marriage families. The expectations about family bonding and emotional closeness among all of the members of the newly formed step family may be unrealistic. Step couples, just like the first marriage, would expect a perfect relationship, that's why the relationship ended in the first place. But it seems that in the grand scheme of it all we are all just doing what we think is best for the ones love. Wilson’s edited article also states that “societal norms affirming the nuclear family as ideal”. Nuclear-families in this context is meant to describe a first time married couples and their dependent children as a basic social unit and also stating that as fact and there is no alternate. Saying that the nuclear family is ideal, while may be true in some cases, can not be true for all relationships as that would be why the relationship would be terminated in the first place and replaced with a more healthy, or no intimate relationship at all. The research from the article also states that they noticed that the tensions between stepparents and stepchildren was a key focus, that many families sought out support for these issues. Because of these issues Wilson said that step couples face a variety of unique challenges, that could put them at higher risk for the dissolution of the relationship. Some of these factors may be the complex relationship between all the members of the family, former parents and half/ step siblings. Problems from these complexities put step families at greater risk for negative
Some of the advantages for children in a step-family relationship is that it’s beneficial to have an extra adult to care for them, children will also enjoy a higher standard of living thanks to combined incomes, and this comes in handy as it’s a financial hardship to be a single parent. Another advantage is the feeling of security again. There are also certain disadvantages for children in step-family relationships since all children do not cope the same way. Some children might still be grieving the break-up of their original family. Children usually want their parents to stay together. Having to move to a new home, a new neighborhood and even a new school can cause insecurity and some anger due to the fact they are leaving their comfort zone. Another issue many times is that they resent their parents new partner for trying to discipline. Blending a family is never easy and there will be issues that arise on a daily basis. They aren’t only blending family’s it’s also relearning how to get along with those in what is now your new immediate
The television sitcom Modern Family produced by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd shows the many different types of a modern American family. According to Andrew Hampp, “The show is among the most-viewed scripted programs in prime time in its second season, averaging 11 million viewers during original airings and often ranked as the most DVRed program most weeks” (2). The television show is a frequently watched show and is liked by many viewers. Modern Family's storyline helps the families of viewers by being an influential and relatable show to different types of families. The show is about the lives of three different families that are all related. In the show there are Jay and Gloria, an intergenerational couple with two sons-- Manny (from Gloria’s previous relationship) and Joe, their new baby. Jay’s adult son Cameron is married to his gay partner Mitchell, and they adopted Lily from Vietnam. Finally, Jay’s daughter Claire is married to her heterosexual partner named Phil and they have three children. The show is influential to our culture today because it shows these different types of families and addresses controversial themes such as gay adoption, the different family connections and communications, intergenerational coupling, and acceptance of diversity within an extended family. The family is easy to relate to while watching because it is based off of real family situations.
In conclusion, raising a family presents many challenges: rushing to meet the demands of jobs, children and spouse; dealing with a variety of problems, no matter if you are a single or married parent; trying to accommodate personal needs. It is important for that parents who have children and work outside the home to make sure they communicate with each other and acknowledge each other's needs, consider carefully their mutual responsibilities, and if faced with the breakdown of their marriage, work to maintain a parental relationship which assists their children to realize that each parent cares for them and remains concerned about their emotional and maturing needs.