Family Life Cycle

STAGE 1 – INITIAL ADJUSTMENT TO MARRIAGE

(18-21 yrs) Before marriage, you are afraid

of losing each other. After marriage, you are afraid

of losing yourself.

Identity bargaining: The process of role adjustments in a relationship

• Identify with a role• Having the role validated by

others• Negotiating with the partner to

make changes in the role

Establishing Boundaries: Adjusting the ties with family of origin

STAGE 1 Family roles Emotional support to

partner Adjust personal habits Negotiate gender roles Establish family &

employment priorities Develop communication

skills Manage money Establish kin relationship

(cohabitating partners usually never accepted as kin)

Participate in larger community

STAGE 1: IDENTITY BARGAINING

Role adjustment in a relationship.

Identify & negotiate.

Relationships help us discover ourselves.

An intimate relationship requires us to define who we are.

Stage 1: In-Laws

Daughters who are close sometimes have a problem letting go.

But birth of child helps improve and change this relationship.

Need to establish new boundaries with in-laws

STAGE 2 - CHILDBEARING FAMILY

(22-28 yrs)(From the birth of the

first child until that child is 2 ½ years old)

Developmental Tasks: Adjusting to increased

family size Caring for an infant Providing a positive

developmental environment

STAGE 3 - FAMILIES WITH PRESCHOOLERS

29-31 yrs(When the oldest child is

between the ages of 2 ½ and 6)

Developmental Tasks: Satisfying the needs

and interests of preschool children

Coping with demands on energy and attention with less privacy at home

STAGE 4 - FAMILIES WITH SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN

32-39 yrs(When the oldest child is

between the ages of 6 to 13)

Developmental Tasks: Promoting educational

achievement Fitting in the

community of families with school-age children

STAGE 5 - FAMILIES WITH TEENAGERS

40-42 yrs(When the oldest child is

between the ages of 13 and 20)

Developmental Tasks: Allowing and helping children

to become more independent Coping with their

independence Developing new interests

beyond child care

STAGE 6 – MIDDLE AGE MARRIAGES

(LAUNCHING CENTER) 43-52 yrs May divorce at this time

without children present (empty nest which is not always negative).

Boomerang generation: Children return home due to high unemployment, housing cost, low wages, divorce and personal problems.

STAGE 7 - LATER LIFE MARRIAGES (EMPTY NEST)

52-65 Higher income Although widows often have

financial hardships But happily married widows choose

to remarry more often Old age not poverty stricken or

neglected

Sandwich generation: Must raise dependent children & dependent parents.

Intermittent extended family: Take in other relatives in time of need.

Does parenting end when children are grown & gone?

Stage 8: AGING 65+ From retirement

until the death Adjusting to

retirement; coping with the death of the marriage partner and life alone.