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The effect of blended families
Research on blended families
The effect of blended families
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What is a blended family? According to the dictionary a blended family is “a family composed of a couple and their children from previous marriages” (Dictionary). There are lots of blended families in our world. However, let me paint a better picture for you. You are either a single child or you have a few siblings, and your parents are splitting up. You may be upset and fear that you will never have a “normal” family again. Your family breaks up, and your mother moves in to one house and your father into another. As a few years pass by, one or both of your parents finds someone new. Your parent’s new significant other also has children. When your families come together you then become a blended family. A blended family consists of two parents who both have children from their past relationships. Blended families are two families that have been broken up that come together to be whole again. *Are you a part of a blended family? I come from a blended family, two actually. I remember when I was younger, six years old almost seven, and my mom and I were standing in our kitchen together. It was just a normal night; we were in the same routine that …show more content…
It means that you have to accept and respect another family’s ways and combine them with yours. It means that you have to work harder than you would in a family that has been together since day one. Being in a blended family means that you have to be more understanding of others feelings and thoughts and know that this kind of adjustment can be difficult on everyone. Blended families can be problematic. It can be difficult at times to get along with your family members. It can be a challenge to have to work to get along with people that you haven’t spent you whole life with. Nevertheless, blended families are not impossible. Blended families are very possible; they just require an open mind, an open heart, and the willingness to
In “When Branches Tangle in a Stepfamily Tree” (2012) Elissa Gootman talks about the life style and the relationship keeping for stepfamilies and members. In general, the stepfamily refers two adults stay in a same house either married or cohabiting with at least one child who is come from previous family (Ch 13, P410).
Even with sixty percent being married with the divorce rate in the US the odds are that they will some way be a part of a blended family. According to Blended family statistics over 2,100 blended families are formed each day in the US (Blended). According to another study over 29 million parents (13 percent) are also stepparents to other children making the prediction that the blended family will become the predominant family structure in the United States (blessings). This goes to show that all children of a couple whether biological or step should be loved and cared for equally as a whole; although each child is separately unique in their own special
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. Family systems have been studied since psychologists began studying people and their behaviors.
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.
What is a family? People you’re related to? People you live with? According to Webster.com, it is a combination of those things. However, this definition could vary depending on who you ask. The meaning of family has changed over the years. Divorce and remarriage, single families, same-sex marriage, new family roles, and technology are just a few factors that have changed the way we interpret and define of family.
Determining family structure and dynamics as well as defining the family is a complex process. Personally, I come from a very traditional family. Much like the assumptions made by the students in the article Defining Family: Young Adults’ Perceptions of the Parent-Child Bond by Mellisa Holtzman (2008). This is what comes to mind when most people define family; a nuclear family, with married parents, and biological children. However, a family is a complex system and can take on many different forms.
This research paper will explore primarily the impact of African American single-parent households on the children that live in these environments. This is a very important issue and more awareness is needed. Research has provided evidence that single-parent households are one of many risk factors that can negatively affect a child’s educational outcome, emotional health and social behavior. Although not all single-parent family households have disadvantages, the focus of his study is to shed more light on the issues and offer solutions. For example, more policies are needed to reinforce fathers to pay child support. This alone will provide mothers with more money to help them better raise their children.
The sociological definition of the family is “a set of people related by blood, marriage or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society” (Schaeffer, 2009, p. 288). While the nuclear family (a man, a woman, and their children) was once the primary definition of family, now it refers to many familial configurations. Single-parent families, blended families, same-sex couples, traditional nuclear families and single-parents who have adopted are just a few of the configurations that society in general now views as a family. A healthy family will provide a place of unconditional love, acceptance and support.
A blended family is typically seen as one of divorce, or widow, and remarriage with or without kids. These types of family systems tend to face more unique challenges than most. They face struggles such as the trauma of divorce, children getting used to a new parent that has not always been around, and new siblings that have not always been around. This can cause added stress to an already stressed family system. Socioeconomic status plays a role in every family.
Family comes in different forms, it can be in a form of marriage, the two families united by marriage become one family. It can be in the form of sexual union or reproduction whereby a male and a female sleep together and have children it is said they are making a family.
On the other hand, two people of the opposite sex living together with no children is still considered a family. The reason why is because to make a family it is not about the number of people. You could be living with this one person you truly love that you could call family. Family is never about the county it's about the bond they share together. Two people of the opposite sex living together is a family because they have a bond and it is possible for them to start a bigger family
The unit of a family is the most prominent essential for all of us. As social human beings, we seek social support in order to thrive, and that is where family comes into play. A family is where you receive love, support, encouragement, and many other social benefits. The total number of households in the United States increased from 63 million in 1970 to 113 million in 2008 (Weeks, 2012). The family has influenced multitudes of people in many ways. The traditional family in the United States consists two-married individuals providing care and stability for their biological offspring also know as the nuclear family. However, the term of a true family has ultimately changed over the last 50 years especially for African Americans.
What is a family? A family is two or more people consider themselves to be blood related, or related by marriage, or adoption. Our families are who we love. We as families look different in so many ways. A family’s caregiving unit might have a couple, a mother, a father, and children. A family could also be a single parent and child, a group of siblings, a small or large group of friends. A family defines itself in many different ways. Families are the foundation of how our society and how it works. It is how we come into the world and nurtured and given the tools that we need to go out into our world. We are both capable and healthy or not our families influence our lives either in a good way or a bad way. While families
A stepfamily occurs when parent’s divorce and later remarry bringing children from the previous marriage together to form a new family. In the twenty-first century, a stepchild is considered part of the immediate familial household when the biological parent is detached from the child but the stepparent is available. This is one type of non-traditional family. While they may not be traditional they can be equally supportive and caring. Multigenerational families are a group of relatives that live together and share in the household chores. Many families are now opting to move senior parents into their own homes instead of a retirement community because the bonds that have been generated throughout life help the seniors state of mind. A complex family has three or more adults living in the same household plus their children. This can happen through divorce and remarriage and through polygamy in countries where polygamy is legal. Adults that for various reasons cannot have children bring a child into their home to love and care for or one parent can legally adopt the biological child of the other parent. This is considered an adopted family and while there may be no blood relation it still has legal viability. Fosterage is also a branch of adoption where a family will temporarily bring another child into their home until more permanent
There are so many different types of family relationships. Whatever form a family takes; it is an important part of everyone’s life. My family has played an important role in my life. Good family relationships serve as a foundation to interactions with others. Supportive families will help children to thrive. The quality of the family relationship is more important than the size of the family. Making the relationships priority, communication, and providing support for one another is key to developing relationships. Family relationships are what make up our world today; they shape the ways that we see things and the ways that we do things.