Center for Relationship Equality

 Sampler

An Excerpt from The Teen Trip by Gayle Kimball, Ph.D.

Family

Copyright 1997 Gayle Kimball, Ph.D.

TheCenter4.com will present content on highly relevant subjects. This sampler provided to TheCenter4 by Gayle Kimball is an example of the quality content which will be made available to readers.


The "Father Knows Best" type of family popularized in TV sitcoms from the 1950s is a minority of less than 10 percent of families have an unemployed mother, employed father, and children under 18. People live in many different family types and these can change with divorce and remarriage. You may live in an intact nuclear family (the term for mom and dad in first marriage, and kids); in an extended family including grandparents, aunts, and uncles; in a single-parent family; in a stepfamily; in a family with unmarried adults living together, or in a foster family. About half of young people live with both parents, almost one-quarter live with a single parent, and about 21 percent live in stepfamilies. A major issue for any type of family in this era, when the majority of parents work outside the home, is turning off the television and spending quality time together. In any relationship, communication skills and having fun together create harmony.

Keep in mind that ways of doing things in your family will likely repeat in the family you create as an adult, including your relationship with your mate and your children if you decide to be a parent. Now is the time to discover what you can do to encourage loving and growthful connections with the people close to you.