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Section 5.1
Families Today
Objectives
Explain why healthy family relationships are
important.
Identify three main factors that have changed the
form of families.
Describe some family forms that exist today.
Summarize the division of responsibilities within
a family.
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Health Stats How have the number of households
with a married couple and their children changed
over time?
What might have caused the trend you identified?
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The Family and Social Health

• The family is often called the basic unit of
  society.

• If the relationships with family members are
  healthy, a child learns to love, respect, and get
  along with others, and to function as part of a
  group.

• Lasting relationships must be based on mutual
  caring, trust, and support.

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The Changing Family
Three main factors account for changes in the
American family

• more women in the work force

• a high divorce rate

• an increase in the age at which people marry

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More Women in the Work Force

• More than half of all mothers with preschool
  children are in the work force.

• When parents work outside the home, families
  spend less time together.

• The parents have to trust other people to care
  for their children.

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High Divorce Rate

• A divorce is a legal agreement to end a marriage.

• Since 1990, the divorce rate has gradually
  decreased.

• Divorce affects a familys structure, finances,
  and healthemotional and physical.

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Postponing Marriage

• Today many young people delay marriage and
  parenthood until later in life.

• Most women have two children, and a growing
  number have none.

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Family Forms

• Families reflect the diverse circumstances,
  needs, values, and cultures of the people in them.

• Children can live in nuclear, single-parent,
  extended, blended, or foster families.

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Nuclear Family

• A nuclear family consists of a couple and their
  child or children living together in one
  household.

• Adoption is the legal process by which parents
  take another persons child into their family to
  be raised as their own.

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Single-Parent Family

• A single-parent family is a family in which only
  one parent lives with the child or children.

• Mothers head about 90 percent of single-parent
  families.

• Financial worries are often a major problem in
  single-parent families.

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Extended Family

• An extended family is a group of close relatives
  living together or near each other.

• In extended families, family responsibilities are
  shared among all members.

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Blended Family

• A blended family consists of a biological parent,
  a stepparent, and the children of one or both
  parents.

• At least seven million children under the age of
  18 live in blended families.

• Successful blended families say that it is
  important to be flexible.

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Foster Family

• In a foster family, an adult or couple cares for
  children whose biological parents are unable to
  care for them.

• The foster family provides a temporary home for
  the children.

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Other Families

• A married couple without any children

• A group of unrelated people who choose to live
  together and support and care for one another

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For More on families
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Responsibilities Within the Family

• For a family to function effectively, each member
  of the family must do his or her part.

• Often there are some responsibilities that
  clearly belong to the adults, some that clearly
  belong to the children, and some that can be
  shared.

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Adults Responsibilities

• The heads of families are expected to provide for
  their childrens basic needs.

• food

• clothing

• shelter

• education

• health care

• security

• love

• Adult family members are responsible for teaching
  children to behave in a way that is acceptable to
  the family and to society.

• This process is called socialization.

• Adult family members set rules to protect their
  childrens safety and to maintain order within
  the family.

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Childrens Responsibilities

• As a young child, you may have been responsible
  for dressing yourself, tidying up your room, and
  doing your homework.

• Today, you may have to do household chores, care
  for your younger brothers or sisters, or add to
  the family income.

• You are also responsible for following family
  rules and for showing respect for all family
  members.

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Shared Responsibilities

• Many families divide up the responsibilities.

• There are benefits to sharing household chores.

• Children who are trusted with important tasks
  develop a sense of responsibility and higher
  self-esteem.

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Vocabulary
divorce
A legal agreement to end a marriage.
nuclear family
A couple and their child or children living
together in one household.
adoption
The legal process by which parents take another
persons child into their family to be raised as
their own.
single-parent family
A family in which only one parent lives with the
child or children.
extended family
A group of close relatives living together or
near each other.
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Vocabulary
blended family
Consists of a biological parent, a stepparent,
and the children of one or both parents.
foster family
A family in which an adult or a couple cares for
children whose biological parents are unable to
care for them.
socialization
The process by which children are taught to
behave in a way that is acceptable to family and
society.
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QuickTake Quiz
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• End of Section 5.1
• Click on this slide to end this presentation.