WEEK 5-
PHILOSOPHY OF HOME MANAGEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES
PHILOSOPHY OF HOME MANAGEMENT
FAMILY LIFE CYCLE
Stages in the family life cycle theory
The stages of the family life cycle are:
•Independence.
•Coupling.
•Parenting.
•Launching adult children.
•Retirement or senior years.
Your experiences through the family life cycle will affect who you are and who you become. The more
you understand about the challenges of each stage of the cycle, the more likely you are to be able to
move on.
Independence stage
Independence is the most critical stage of the family life cycle. As you enter young adulthood, you start
to separate emotionally from your family. During this stage, you strive to become fully able to support
yourself emotionally, physically, socially, and financially. You start to form unique qualities and
characteristics that define your own identity.
The goals of this stage are to:
• Learn to see yourself as a separate person in relation to your
parents, siblings, and extended family members.
• Form intimate peer relationships outside the family.
• Establish yourself in your work or career.
Coupling stage
The next stage may be coupling. Using qualities gained in the independence stage, you can see if you can
commit to a new family and a new way of life. The main goal at this stage is to learn interdependence.
This occurs when you are able to fully enter into a relationship with another person. It also requires that
you share goals. And you'll need to sometimes place the needs of another above your own.
The goals of this stage are to:
• Form a new family with your partner.
• Realign your relationships with your family of origin and your friends to include your partner.
Parenting Stage
Parenting is one of the most challenging phases of the family life cycle. During this stage, you'll need to
communicate well, maintain your relationships, and solve problems. Some couples explore other ways
to become parents, such as surrogacy or adoption. Some couples know that they don't want children.
This stage includes parenting young children and parenting adolescents.
Parenting young children
Adapting children into other relationships is a key emotional process of this stage. You transition from
being a member of a couple to being a parent. While still evolving as individuals, you and your partner
are also becoming decision-makers for your family. Being able to express your own identity while
working well together as a couple builds a strong bond.
Goals when children join your family are to:
• Adjust your relationship to make space for children.
• Take on parenting roles.
• Realign your relationships with your extended family to include
parenting and grandparenting roles.
Parenting adolescents
Parenting teens can be a rough time for a family. It can test your relationship skills. It's also a time for
positive growth and exploring for your entire family. Families that function best during this time have
strong relationships. They focus on family activities together. These are formed through good
communication, problem solving, mutual caring, support, and trust. You'll need to be flexible as you
encourage your child to become independent and creative. Flexibility in the roles each person plays in
the family is also valuable.
Goals during the stage of parenting teens are to:
• Shift parent-child relationships to allow the child to become more
independent.
• Begin a shift toward concern for older generations in your extended family.
Launching adult children stage
This stage starts when your first child leaves home and ends with the "empty
nest."
Forming adult relationships with your children is a key skill in this stage. You
may be challenged to accept new members into your family through your
children's relationships. Self-examination, education, and counseling can
enhance your life. And they can help ensure a healthy transition to the next
phase.
Goals during this stage are to:
• Refocus on other relationships.
• Form adult relationships with your grown children.
• Realign relationships to include in-laws and grandchildren if your children
start their own families.
