The Changing Face of Modern Families
3 total works
Maybe you've heard the statistics about children growing up in single-parent families. According to a lot of the research, these kids are more likely to struggle in school, have difficulties with the law, and deal with drug and alcohol abuse-along with other problems. But does growing up with a single parent have to mean these things will happen? Are these children going to lead worse lives than those with two parents? This book tells the stories of several single-parent families, their struggles, and the things they have learned from their situations. These families are not concerned with the statistics, but with making their families and themselves the best they can be.
Children growing up in blended families, with stepparents and stepbrothers and stepsisters, face many of the same challenges as children growing up in more traditional families, along with some that are unique to their situation. How do they work out their relationships with the non-biological members of the family? How do they deal with the children's other family members who don't live with them? The families in this book are challenged by these questions every day. They see difficulties and benefits in their experiences and their stories share many of the things they have learned in their lives.
Some couples can't have children, for a variety of reasons. Meanwhile, too many children don't have families of their own to love and care for them. When these couples reach out to adopt these children, new families are formed-and like all families, they have a whole set of issues and complications, some of them unique to their situation. Raising any child has challenges, and raising an adopted child has some extra ones. What about birth families? Are they going to be a part of the child's life? What do you tell the child about his birth and adoption? The families in this book have all had their own struggles and complications they've had to deal with, but they've had many joys as well and learned a lot through their experiences.