Stepfamilies Chapter Analysis

Children and young people may find themselves going through a parental divorce or be part of a single parent family or they may have become part of a step family. They may

American novelist, Barbara Kingsolver, in her excerpt, “Stone Soup”, taken from, High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never, recounts the outrageous view that society has on divorced families/homes. Kingsolver’s purpose is to impress upon readers that it is okay for families to stem away from the traditional, “Dad, Mom, Sis, Junior”, family. She creates a persuasive tone in order to get rid of stereotypes and judgments of marital issues held by her readers and society. Through the effective use of anecdotes, appeals, and passionate diction, Kingsolver establishes her claim that blended families can get through life happy and perfectly fine by themselves or with close friends and family.

In Chapter 2 of Ancestral Lines, Barker explores many concepts relating to the Maisins methodology of subsistence. Barker outlines three main methodologies that the Maisin use to sustain their lifestyle: horticulture, reciprocal relationships and trade. The major items needed for the Maisin to subsist include food,Tapa cloth and a social system (Barker 2016; ). When discussing the concept of horticulture and its importance Barker specifically references the garden as a means of not only providing food for families but also determining gender roles, connecting with ancestors, developing morals and establishing a political identity (Barker 2016; ). The concept of the garden liases with his exploration of the role of different reciprocal relationships

While both authors stand on the idea of marriage changing in roles, Hope Edelman in “ The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was,” inserts her view about marriage in her own experience that shows her attitude on marriage mainly through her husband leaving all the responsibility toward her. When parents are not there for their kids, often times kids feel unattached with their parents creating a weaker bond. Edelman’s frustration came from having a dream of marrying happily to having it demolished.

The family dynamics in Max Apple’s “Stepdaughters” and Amy Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets” displays some of the issues that parents, stepparents and teenagers may or may not experience. A mother’s relationship with her children has a very unique connection, especially when it comes our daughters. Being a mother or stepmother is a problematical and rewarding experience: nevertheless, a mother’s love is unconditional. How do you except someone for his or her choices on being different? Is it easier for a step-parent to see things more clearly that the biological parent? Every family has its issues. When it’s a blended family with mothers, fathers, stepchildren and other family member, those issues can become more complex to understand.

The movie I chose for my Sociological movie analysis was “Step Brothers”. The main plot line of the movie was about two families; one with a mother named Nancy at about retirement age with a thirty-nine-year-old son named Brennan who had never left home and hadn’t had many jobs, and the other family was a father named Robert of about the same age with a forty-year-old son named Dale who attended college until his junior year, but then dropped out moving back in with his dad having occasional jobs as well. Nancy attended a conference where Robert gave a speech which caused them to meet, fall in love, and get married. Nancy and Brennan moved into Robert’s home where Brennan and Dale do not “connect” and cause lots of problems. Eventually, they

Browne (2008) tells us that whilst Marriage is the usual type of relationship between Men and Women, Marriages where it’s the first time for both partners, is on a high scale decline, numbers have at least halved since 1970. This means that there are now more Reconstituted Families (families where at least one spouse will have children from a previous relationship), also knows as Step-Families. This is the fastest growing family type as now nearly half of Marriages involve a second marriage for at least one of the partners, reflecting an increase in Divorce Rates.

The key research question in this study is what are the long term effects of parental divorce on a child’s relationship between their parents and their siblings? They took into consideration variables such as age of divorce, gender, and living arrangements so they can see what influence they may have on the present study results and compare it with previous studies. They gave 3 different surveys to 102 students with married parents and 107 students with divorced parents to be able to observe the differences in relationships between the two types of families. Some of the key findings of this study are that females actually have better adult relationships with their siblings and that divorce caused the children to have better relationships with their mother, and worse relationships with their father. They noted that the age when their parents got divorced was not a variable that affected whether or not they had a good relationship with their siblings. For the relationship between their mothers, it was better unless there was a variable of pre-divorce or post-divorce conflict between them. For their fathers, it showed that daughters had worse relationships with their fathers compared to sons. Living arrangements showed effects for both of the parents depending on which parent they lived with. When it comes to remarriage, it had a positive affect on mother-child relationship when the father got remarried and no affect when the mother was remarried.

In Barbara Kingsolver’s Stone Soup, she discusses the topic of modern divorce and “nontraditional” families. Kingsolver provides insight on the personal experience of her divorce and why she currently views it differently. The author speculates why “broken” families face ridicule, giving examples of people desiring the perfect family, consisting of “Mom, Dad, Sis, and Junior” (Kingsolver). Relationships with friends during a divorce were also discussed in this article, explaining that they will remain supportive, and, after a given amount of time, will eventually start treating the affected person like their old selves. Despite problematic family affairs as a result of it, divorce should be looked upon as normal and acceptable

Did you know that one third of all children in the United States (US) are expected to live in a stepfamily before they reach the age of 18[helpguide.org 2008]? While some people consider blended families abnormal, they can be just as good as a “regular” family. With blended families becoming more common, there are more studies being done to show both the similarities and differences between “regular” and blended families.

A family may face many trials involving illness, divorce or change in family structures. The movie Stepmom is a story of a divorced couple who are battling with the dilemma on how to keep their children happy despite the unexpected events and change of their family structure. In this movie, the children will learn how to cope with the new status of their parents as well as how to deal with the new woman in their father’s life. The movie presents family resiliency and durability and survival as they go through lifestyle changes and stressors. Stepmom is a movie that provides a picture of family values, processes, behaviors, as well as healthcare practices.

In the last two decades divorce has increased substantially leaving couples single and families broken. Divorce is the reality for many families as there is an increase in divorce rates, cohabitation rates, and the number of children raised in step and single marital families. Divorce cannot be overlooked as it negatively affects and impacts youngsters for the rest of their lives. Although it is the decision between two parents’s children are hurt the most in the process. The concept of divorce is extremely difficult for children to understand as there are many unanswered questions and uncertainties. “Will my mom or dad remarry and who will I live with?” are concerns children express while going through divorce. Many

Each and every day a child somewhere in the world is experiencing major changes within their family. One of those major changes is divorce or separation of parents. Divorce is “the action or an instance of legally dissolving a marriage”(Webster, 2011 p1). Today’s reality shows that couples only have one in two odds of remaining together. “ The U.S. Census bureau – involved in research about counseling children of divorce- estimating that approximately 50% of all American children born in 1982 lived in a single-parent homes sometime during their first 18 years. Mostly are due to divorce”(Children of Divorce, 2008 p.1). The rapid increase in divorce rates is a factor that has contributed to the large decline of the typical family. “Over 1

Divorce is a plague that is destroying numerous families across the United States of America. Sadly, when husbands and wives divorce, the children are often caught directly in the middle. Throughout the years divorce has been becoming more and more common. In the 1920's it was a rare find to know a person whom had been divorced, today it is a rarity not to know of one who has been, or will be divorced. Divorce has numerous effects on the structures of families, and many devastating effects on the children that must experience it, although sometimes necessary, divorce radically changes the lives of adolescents and adults alike.

Divorce has become a natural aspect of today’s culture, and formidable divorce rates are drastically impacting children, causing them to lose many vital components of a stable childhood. A broken family will become a normal circumstance for that child and they may fall in the same trap later in life (WF—Lawyers np). Divorce can occur for many reasons, such as lack of commitment, constant arguments, and early marriage (WF—Lawyers np). These problems take a role in the majority of divorces, however, solving these major issues through fixing broken relationships has its benefits. Society, unfortunately, shows us that we must replace broken items rather than fix them. Maintaining healthy households and strong family values through the mending