Jason Alveral Pettigrew: The Characteristics Of My Family

How does one define family? Throughout our readings, we find ourselves learning the ideas of theorist, concepts, and definitions to help us define and describe what family is. The family could possibly be what or who we say they are, or in simpler Bozett’s term, who the patient says it is! (Plumer, 2010). A family could consist possibly of values, roles, communication, environment, and relationships. Families may transition through all of these principles that either unites them or tears them apart. For instance, the movie Mrs. Doubtfire portrays these perceptions of what family is when family processes are shifted within a household. We will now discuss in more detail of the family assessment found throughout the movie starring the Hillards.

In today’s society, family is often attempted to be organized within a social structure. Within this structure family typically is consisted of mom, dad, daughter, and son. However, many families do not fit into this configuration. These families may include same sex couples, separated or divorced families, extended families, or even blended families. Even though these families may be happy and healthy, to many they are not considered real families. Going along with the topic of imperfect families, both Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Rodriguez try to break down the traditional family structure through their writing. While Kingsolver’s “Stone Soup” and Rodriguez’s “Family Values” explore the ideas of different family structures and traditional American values, “Stone Soup” breaks down what an actual family is like while “Family Values” expresses the value of family in different cultures.

Over the course of the last sixty years, family values have consistently continued to change. With a heavier influx of women entering the work force and the social emphasis of individualism, the traditional family image has changed, and with

Family means the world to me in every aspect, but a person that means even more then that is my sister, Jordan. She paved my life for me without me knowing; she is always there for me and believes in me when I do not believe in myself. Jordan and I very similar in the way that if we had the chance to do everything together we would take every opportunity we could get. How our relationship developed was like every pair of young sisters, we did not get along very well when we were younger because we took the days we had together for granted. The day she left for college is when it really hit me that she was the biggest inspiration in my life. What made us as close was going through our parent’s divorce, it was a life changing experience, and I would have never gotten

There are many different kinds of families that range from traditional (i.e. married) to untraditional families such as divorced, remarried, same- sex, and brady-bunch style. In this day and age, the overall consensus is that families vary and that is okay. There is no right or wrong way of doing things anymore, at least to some extent. I come from a family that is divorced and remarried a few times, and I have many brothers and sisters that share anywhere between all blood, some blood, and no blood. I love them all the same. For my case study project, I thought it would be interesting to observe a family which is somewhat similar to my own.

Everyone has a family of some kind. It may be the parents and siblings they were born with, or it could be the gang of six biologically unrelated elite drivers with an affinity for robbing banks at high speeds from Fast and the Furious. Ultimately, family is what people make of it, and it can be the ‘traditional’ two parents, one brother, one sister, and a dog named Spot, or it could be a woman and the kid she was left with. The term ‘traditional family' refers to the socially expected behaviors of each given role (for example, a mother taking her kid to the doctor,) in the family. Members of a traditional family in this case are either maritally or biologically related. Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees has many characters who would consider themselves, or be considered, part of different families. The Bean Trees addresses and deals with the fact that nontraditional families can be just as strong as what society has defined as a ‘traditional’ family.

Families around the world consist of many variations. The traditional family includes a mother and father of the same racial background and their children. While this is the most acceptable type of family dynamic, today there are families that consist of countless different types of deviations. Many children grow up with one parent, gay parents, or with their grandparents. There are also families that consist of two parents that are of different races. Interracial families consist of relatives who are from diverse origins. Interracial families include families where the parents are of two different races or when the adopted children are of a different race than their parents.

All families are distinctive, but several have several of the same qualities. After watching the television show, Parenthood, I discovered that my family is a lot like one of the families in the show, the Bravermans. Both families are similar and one example is that we take on an appearance of having it all together, when in reality we are extremely dysfunctional. Not to mention, we are comparable in ways that the characters from the show resemble members of my family, and how both families respond to tragedy. Seeing connections to another family are constant reminders for me that we are all analogous in some way, shape, or form.

A family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society; society’s moral values and ethics have changed over time. The fifties decade was called “The Last Stage of Innocence” where families dined together, chatted with their neighbors regularly, and went out for frequent outings. However, the typical 2010’s family commonly eats dinner separately, children will be on their phones constantly, and all the members of the family do their own thing at the times they want to. An example of society differences throughout the decades can be shown on television. Two television shows that illustrate these differences are Leave it to Beaver and Modern Family.

The families in America are steadily changing. While they remain our most valued and consistent source of strength and comfort, some families are becoming increasingly unstructured. In the past, the typical family consists of a working father, a stay at home mother and, of course, well-rounded children. Today, less than 20 percent of American families fit nicely into this cookie cutter image. American households have never been more diverse. Natalie Angier takes stock of the changing definition of family in an article for the New York Times.

While today's society places great significance on acquiring the appearance of the traditional America family, it places little, if any, importance on actually filling its shoes. When two teenagers

This paper will discuss the differences between families from the 1960’s and the families of today. There are many differences between the different times. I have focused on the parentage portion of the families. I explained what the ideal family is and how it is different today. I’ve also included ways that will help these families of today become stronger as a family.

I have grown up in an American, Caucasian, middle-class family of five. My parents have been married for 29 years and have two daughters and a son. My sister is 27, my brother is 25, and I am 20. My family has had many great experiences, but has also faced various challenges. Throughout our different experiences, our family dynamic has developed.

Families are not like sweat pants or pyjamas, they are not 'one size fits all '. Family sizes and dynamics vary from one to the other. Some families eat certain meals together every day, while others do not. Some family homes include aunts, uncles, and grandparents in their living accommodations. Other people prefer the nuclear family, which consists of just parents and children. Different dynamics can change what a family looks like, where they live, and what functions they serve.

In today’s society things have changed when it comes to having the perfect family. We have single mother’s family, grandparents raising their children’s