Family Structures Child and Family Mrs. Crusan

Family Structure Foldable 1. Title front flap “Family Structures” and add your name and class period in the bottom right corner. 2. As we view the power point fill in your foldable as instructed by Mrs. Crusan. Work from top flap towards the bottom and work from left to right on the divided flaps.

Family Structure Foldable

Family Types Single People Nuclear Blended Adoptive Couples Single-Parent Extended Foster/Guardianship

Single person Not married and no children. Benefits: Challenges: Have a lot of freedom Time to devote to career and interests Their income is their own May live alone Challenges: Income may be an issue May have periods of loneliness Especially if no family around May have a roommate

Couple Any married couple Benefits: Challenges: Number of these households is increasing People are delaying having children Benefits: Income Focus on each other Challenges: Career conflict

Nuclear Couple and their children Benefits: Challenges: Focus on the children Benefits: Parents share childcare responsibility Children have support of both parents Challenges: making time for themselves balancing family and work

Single parent One or more children living in a household headed by one parent. May result from death or divorce Some adults choose to be a single parent Many single parents enjoy the one on one relationship they share with their child(ren). Biggest challenges: Managing ALL the responsibilities of family life Time and energy Finding opposite sex role model

Team of Two

Blended A couple and one or more children from a previous relationship and possibly children they have together. Benefits: Having a two parent family Having siblings (may have been an only child). Challenges: Blending personalities Change in rules from one household to another Adjusting to new parenting styles

Not Broken

Extended Family with a relative living with them – aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin. Tough economic times, families may move in with relatives to make ends meet. Benefits: Family bonds More resources Challenges: Getting along with relatives Establishing clear lines of authority

Adoptive Couple legally adopts child Benefits: Challenges: Children made part of family by legal action, not born to the parents. Exceptions- surrogacy, etc. when one part of the couple is the biological parent. Benefits: People who don’t have other options for becoming parents have the privilege. Challenges: Child (if older) needs to adjust to new family Parents may worry about biological parents wanting child back

Foster Placing a child in the temporary care of a family other than its own as the result of problems or challenges that are taking place within the birth family. Benefits: Can be very rewarding Giving a child stable home Challenges: Child has difficult problems Becoming attached to child who will eventually leave **Legal guardian-A person who has financial and legal responsibility for a child.

What Family Structure Are We? On the first full flap number it #1-12. As we look at the slides write the family structure you think you are seeing based on the picture you are seeing.

Nuclear

Adoptive

Extended

Single Parent

Blended

Couple

Single Person

Single Parent

Foster

Couple

Legal Guardian

Functions of the Family For physical safety and shelter. For love, affection, and emotional support. For raising children in a stable setting. For economic stability. For comfort and support when family members become aged or ill. To ensure that values are passed on from one generation to the next.

My Family Structure USING REFERENCES AND EXAMPLES FROM OUR FAMILY STRUCTURES POWER POINT,THE MOVIE “THE POWER OF FAMILY” AND CHAPTER 3 OF YOUR FAMILIES TODAY TEXTBOOK (PGS 43-46), WRITE ONE TO TWO PARAGRAPHS DESCRIBING YOUR FAMILY STRUCTURE. START FROM THE BEGINNING OF YOUR LIFE UNTIL NOW. MAKE SURE TO DESCRIBE ALL FAMILY STRUCTURES YOU HAVE HAD.

Writing Sample When I was born I was born into a nuclear family. It was my dad, my mom, my two older sisters and 3 years after I was born, another baby sister. We lived together happily for many years. When I was 14, my parents separated and my dad moved out of the house and began living with his girlfriend (the main reason my parents separated). My dad’s girlfriend had been married twice before and she had 6 biological kids and one stepson. My sisters and I stayed with my mom. I guess you could say it became a single-parent household, even though my dad was around a lot. When all my sisters and I were grown and out of the house, my mom and dad finally got a divorce and my dad remarried. At this point we were a blended family even though all of us kids were adults.