Parenting over the Life Cycle

Life Cycle: Stages a family passes through at different points in time

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”

Roles & Responsibilities  Make decisions together about careers, home, where to

live and whether they want to have children  Learn to manage finances and household responsibilities

Relationship Changes  Expressing individuality while working well together

as a couple results in a strong marriage  Couple must learn to communicate with each other

Roles & Responsibilities  Provide safe, loving & organized environment  Responsible for physical, emotional, social, financial,

intellectual & ethical needs of children  Children require a great deal of time, leaving little time for other things

Relationship Changes  Transition from couple to family  Children benefit when parents have strong

relationship  Must compromise for the good of the family  Divorce and extramarital affairs often occur during the raising of small children when the parents have not learned proper life skills.  Can be a very rewarding, happy time, even with all of its challenges.

Roles & Responsibilities  Encourage teen to be creative and independent.  Support teen as they experiment with different

thoughts, beliefs and styles.  Establish boundaries for your teenager, but encourage exploration at the same time.  Strive for a balanced atmosphere in which your teenager has a sense of support and emotional safety as well as opportunities to try new behaviors.

Relationship Changes  Parenting teens can test relationship skills  Families that function best during this period have

strong, flexible relationships developed through good communication, problem solving, mutual caring, support, and trust.  Your strengths as an individual and as part of a couple are critical as you deal with the increasing challenges of raising a teenager.  Meet own individual needs and maintain relationship with spouse.

Roles & Responsibilities     

Children may now be off to post-secondary or work Continue to encourage independence Emotional support is still needed Financial support may be needed This stage will lengthen if child comes back home to live  A parent's focus shifts from the maturing teen to career and relationship.  May take on new role as Grandparents and may need to include in-laws

Relationship Changes  Couple adjust to their empty nest  Can be emotionally difficult for couple  Requires re-negotiation of marriage

 More time to focus on their own relationship ,

interests, hobbies  Couple may have to assume responsibility to care for their own aging parents (=sandwich generation)

Roles & Responsibilities  Support children as they go through family life cycle  Dealing with the loss of our spouse, siblings, and peers

and the preparation for own death and the end of their generation  Interdependence of family roles

Relationship Changes  Function as couple in face of physiological decline