The Importance Of Family Structure In Middle Childhood

Watching parents take a home from a traditional family lifestyle to a "broken" home by getting a divorce is very devastating to a child's mental well-being. As Judith Seltzer notes, "Recent reviews summarize evidence that children are emotionally

Children come from all different family environments, cultures and circumstances. Children go through significant family changes such as a family break-up or a new step-family. These can affect a child’s emotional and intellectual development. A child may also change their behaviour, which means there ability to learn is decreased. This can affect their emotional development because they may feel like it is their fault for the break up.

Socially and Emotionally the family is a big influence in a child’s development. Parents have a big role by providing care and guidance for their development. Unfortunately some families cannot promote the development of a child because of the conflict among the parents. A single parent can have difficulties in boosting a better development in children and young people, sometimes a child is separated from its siblings and this can affect them too.

The first three years of a child 's life are the most significant for growth and development, both mentally and physically. Young children perceive situations and events that occur in their environment differently depending on their developmental stage. Urie Bronfenbrenner is a psychologist that came up with the Ecological Systems Theory which is a modern theory of development. The Ecological Systems Theory was created into a model that has multiple system levels. The first level that directly impacts a child the most is called the microsystem and this system consists of family, peers, school, and health services. Divorce is being seen more often in society today and is happening earlier. Divorce can be very traumatic to a child even if the divorce was mutual and as peaceful as possible; imagine if it was a bad divorce? This puts stress and anxiety on young children and can affect their development. More and more studies are being conducted in the last thirty years showing the negative effects divorce has on young children. The more we find out exactly how and why it affects children so greatly we can come up with recommendations and strategies to help deal with it in a way that will not hinder the child 's development. This paper will connect the modern day developmental perspective with studies that have shown

In today’s world, families are dynamic and interdependent systems. The developmental processes of the children in the family are deeply affected by how the family system operates. However, a family’s structure does not determine whether it is a healthy family system or not. Today, families consist of single parents, stepparents, divorced parents, remarried parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. They are all able to contribute to a healthy functioning family system by meeting each family member’s needs and encouraging positive communication (Jamiolkowski, 2008). Unhealthy family systems have negative and possibly

Family dynamics and relationships in our younger years help shape our view of the world and how we fit into it. Whether you agree with Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, or Erik Erickson,

Much research has been done on the influence of a mother on a child’s well-being and development (Pougnet, Serbin, Stack, & Schwartzman, 2011). However, research has shown that an engaged and loving father can contribute greatly to a child’s cognitive, social, and psychological development (Bronte-Tinkew, Carrano, Horowitz, & Kinukawa, 2008; Duursma, Pan, & Raikes, 2008; Pancsofar & Vernon-Feagans, 2010; Wilson & Prior, 2010).

Over the course of an individual’s life span, one is seen forming relationships with several people in whom they find their presence an important aspect to their life. However, among these relationships, parent-child relationships are the most valuable, but also very complex. These relationships are built from a foundation of interaction starting from the birth of the child to their adulthood. Unfortunately, if this involvement is not present within a child’s life, it can ultimately cause them to feel neglected causing outrageous conflicts, behavior issues and emotional disputes. Parental involvement within a child’s life allows them to gain a sense of security ultimately increasing new learning of the child

Family is of great importance to having a functional or dysfunctional development; it will help or impede the child to have a support system in place.

A traditional family is no longer considered the norm amongst a typical family structure. Many family structures consist of the nuclear family, single parent household, lesbian/gay family, childless family, grandparent family, and stepfamily. Each family is made distinctive, develops at different stages, and deals with family issues. Family development theory is used to help families deal with issues and how to handle them in different stages of development. Issues within the family can be caused by a numerous of situations from a child acting out to a parent getting a divorce.

During the years, single parent families have become a more common thing. This is starting to become a problem, because family dynamics can really influence a child’s life. According to studies it affects not only the child but the parents too.

Throughout history a one-parent household has been deemed as a nontraditional family, but in today’s society it seems more and more common with every day. Although the reason and causes vary, each year the number of children raised by a single parent increases. Most people don’t seem to realize how much this can change a child’s future. The impact of childhood experiences simply set the disposition of adulthood and the rest of their lives. There is not one sole factor that affects child development, but one very important one is the role and relationship created with one’s parents. How a child is parented and raised leaves a lasting impression on them, commonly for a

These include academic deterioration, antisocial and delinquent behaviors, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. Early promiscuity, relationship difficulties, and illicit drug use are also noted. Other studies correlate resiliency in adulthood as one product of living in a conflictual family system”(Rich et al., 2007 p.164). The effects of divorce vary depending on the situation and the child. “Hess and Camara found that many children of divorce suffer severe emotional consequences such as depression, anger, anxiety, and withdrawal, any of which, if prolonged, can have a negative impact on the child’s overall emotional development. It is also reported adjustment problems in the area of cognitive, emotional, and social development among children of divorce as well. In addition, parental separation has been found to be particularly stressful for adolescents”(Bornstein and Walters, 1988 p.248).

In the early stages of a child’s character development, the family is the first social group that the child has. The relationship that is fostered between the family and the child is important, because it is the role of the family that influences the child’s behavior. Although the child may be influenced by the father and siblings, these relationships are looked to second. The child realizes early that the family belongs to him. This leads to jealousy towards other siblings because he may strive to be significant, and establish a position of superiority. Once the child comes to trust the family, it no longer feels threatened. By fostering a good relationship with the family, the child develops trust which leads to the child developing

Children need intact families to flourish. It is hard to imagine that if the family is torn apart, a child can simply adjust to a new situation, home, step-parent, siblings, and entire change of life as they know it without suffering significant effects upon their mental health and development lacks. Despite voices that serve to minimize the effects of divorce on children, this paper will show that the negative effects upon their mental health and development are such that the best solution is to avoid divorce all together. According to Stinson and Jones, “well-being on the road to adulthood for both children and teens hinges on family relationships.”