Family Life Cycle Essay, Research Paper

There are several ways in which the family life cycle can be analyzed in comparison to the definition of the family. They can be static, focusing on structures for instance, role relations or they can capture dynamic processes; how role relationships between husband and wife or parent and child change over time and how they are related to socio-cultural changes. Family processes change from the beginning of the marital unit until it concludes with old age of the spouses. There is a continuous process of growth that a family experience as it travels through the family life cycle. During the first stage of the family life cycle there are many challenges the couple face as well as a great sense of responsibility to one another. For instance, there is an adjustment to living together: sex, marital chastity, lifestyle, work, religion, etc. However there are also many rewards that the couple receives such as, romance, intimacy and a sense of belonging to one another. The next stages of the life cycle, newborn babies are raised to adulthood, only to join with new adults to re-establish their own families. Families prepare their children for life, teaching skills, values and attitudes that equip them to learn, work, form friendships and contribute to society. The family remains a vital means of preserving and transmitting cultural values, it educates, motivates, and supports its individual members, thereby acting as a vital resource for development.