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STAGE 1: MARRIAGE
During the first stage of family development, members work to establish a mutually satisfying
relationship, learn to relate well to their families of orientation, and if applicable, engage in reproductive
life planning. Establishing a mutually satisfying relationship includes merging the values that the couple
brings into the relationship from their families of orientation. This includes not only adjusting to each
other in terms of routine but also sexual and economic aspects.
The birth or adoption of a first baby is usually both an exciting and a stressful event because it
requires both economic and social role changes. It is a further developmental step for a family to change
from being able to care for a well-baby to being able to care for an ill one. One way of determining
whether a parent has made this change is to ask what the new parent has tried to do to solve a child-
rearing or health problem. Parents who have difficulty with this step need a great deal of support and
counseling from health care providers to be able to care for an ill child at home or to manage a difficult
pregnancy.
A family with preschool children is a busy family because children at this age demand a great
deal of time. The children’s imagination is at such a peak that safety considerations such as avoiding
unintentional injuries become a major health concern. The main task in this stage is to ensure safety for
the preschool.
Parents of school-age children have the important responsibility of preparing their children to
function in a complex world while at the same time maintaining their own satisfying marriage
relationship. That makes a tiring time for many families. Family support systems seem strong but also
can be deceptive: family members may be physically present but provide little or no emotional support
if internal tension exists.
The primary goal for a family with a teenager differs considerably from the goal of the family in
previous stages which was to strengthen family ties and maintain family unity. Now the family must
loosen family ties to allow adolescents more freedom and prepare them for life on their own. As
technology advances at a rapid rate, the gap between generations increases. Life when the parents were
young was very different from what it is for their teenagers.
When a family returns to a two-part unit, as it was before childbearing, the partners may view
this stage either as the prime time of their lives (an opportunity to travel, economic independence and
time to spend on hobbies) or as a period of gradual decline (lacking the constant activity and stimulation
of children in the home, finding life boring without them or experiencing an “empty nest” syndrome).
Because the family has return to a two-part union, support people may not be as plentiful as they were.
Having children return home to live after college or a failed relationship can create a “sandwich family”
or parents who are squeezed into taking care of both their aging parents and these returning to young
adults.
Although families at this stage are not having children, they remain important because they can
offer a great deal of support and advice to young adults who are just beginning their families. Many
grandparents care for their grandchildren while parents are at work. This can be a strain on older adults
as they struggle to meet young children’s needs in relation to both energy level and finances needed.
What kind of phases does a family typically go through? In this lesson, we will examine the family life
cycle, as well as learn about two measurements for family health: cohesion and adaptability.