College of Education
Health Education 120 – Marriage and Family Life
First Semester, AY 2022-2023
Module Title: Marriage and Family Life
Course Title: Health Education 120
Course Number: HE-120
Course Description: This course is designed to guide undergraduate students with a fundamental description of
marriage, family forms and issues across the life course, guided by historic and contemporary perspectives. It
explores family interaction, relationships and gender role expectations.
Total Learning Time: 3 hours/week
Pre-requisites: None
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
1. Define marriage, family and kinship;
2. Explain the patterns of mate selection;
3. Discuss the classification of family;
4. Identify and evaluate gender role expectations and their implications for relationships; and
5. Develop interpersonal skills which strengthen marital and family relationships.
Discussion:
Chapter 3: Healthy Families
Healthy family relationships and safe and supportive home environments are central to children and
young people’s development and wellbeing.
Family diversity
A family can be made up of anyone a person considers to be their family. For most individuals,
the family environment and family relationships have the biggest impact on life outcomes. Positive family
relationships can help children and young people flourish, but adverse experiences can negatively impact
their wellbeing and subsequent development.
All families are unique. Supporting families involves recognizing that they come in all shapes and sizes, with
different needs and circumstances. Research shows the quality of family relationships is more important than
their size or composition. Whoever the family is made up of, they can build strong, positive relationships that
promote wellbeing and support children and young people’s mental health.
Families matter
Childhood experiences have lasting impacts and the relationships children and young people experience
directly impact their wellbeing. Those provided with social, emotional and physical support are more likely to
reach their full potential and experience better health outcomes in adulthood. Families directly affect
development and long-term wellbeing. The home environment and family functioning are the biggest influencers
on development, with the learning environment the next most influential setting.
Healthy family relationships help children and young people feel secure and loved. This state
impacts their brain development and sense of self (that is, a realistic sense of their skills and abilities, and
where and how they fit into the world).
Positive relationships with family support individuals in building independence, responsibility,
confidence and trust. They provide a place where these can be explored safely, where there’s guidance
and room for mistakes. Families also give children and young people a model from which they learn about
relationships and how to build connections throughout their lives. Children and young people who learn
healthy relationship skills are more likely to experience positive peer relationships and grow up to become
confident and resilient individuals.
Healthy families
What do these look like?
In healthy family relationships, people trust and rely on each other for support, love, affection and warmth.
Families often share common goals and work together to reach those goals (for example, children and young
people may help their families get the dinner dishes done so that everyone can relax). Family members feel safe
and connected to one another. Sometimes these relationships involve conflict, which is a normal part of family
life. Conflict can occur between adults, children and young people. In healthy relationships, these conflicts are
dealt with in a safe and respectful way.
Healthy family relationships mean that positive interactions outnumber the difficult times. Adults
experiencing difficult life situations can provide learning opportunities in teaching and modeling coping strategies
– children and young people shouldn’t be burdened with stress, but it’s helpful for them to see families
successfully managing it with positive coping strategies.
The key qualities of a strong family unit identified are:
communication – listening to each other and communicating with openness and honesty
togetherness – sharing similar values and beliefs that create a sense of belonging and bonding
sharing activities – spending time together doing things they enjoy (for example, sports, reading,
camping or playing games)
affection – showing affection and care regularly through words, hugs, kisses and thoughtfulness
support – offering and asking for support, with family members knowing they will receive
help, encouragement and reassurance from one another
acceptance – understanding, respecting and appreciating each family member’s unique
qualities
commitment – seeing family wellbeing as a first priority and acting accordingly with
commitment and loyalty
resilience – being able to tolerate difficulties and adapt to changing situations in positive
ways.
The biggest challenges in family relationships were highlighted as communication breakdown, parenting
issues and difficult relationship dynamics.
Risk factors in families
There are many reasons why some individuals are more vulnerable than others to developing
behavioral difficulties and mental health issues. Risk factors for children and young people are things
that increase the likelihood of mental health issues developing.
Risk factors within the family include:
family conflict, instability or separation
lack of involvement with children and young people, or inconsistent parenting
family violence, child abuse or neglect
mental health issues or substance abuse
a serious illness or disability
financial difficulties
Protective factors in families
Protective factors decrease the chance of an individual experiencing mental health issues.
These are related to good outcomes for children and young people, and serve to protect them if
they’re exposed to risk.
Protective factors within the family include:
strong and stable family relationships – for example, consistent, caring relationships
supportive parenting – for example, being available to listen to and talk with children and
young people
strong family values for example, a shared understanding of how to treat others
consistency in routines and limits – for example, responding the same way to children or young
people’s behavior
How you can support families
Many factors within the family impact a child or young person’s mental health and wellbeing. Because
these factors occur within the home, as an educator, you may not always be directly aware of them.
Acknowledging that there are multiple influences on children and young people’s wellbeing will help you better
understand and assist an individual who you think may be experiencing a mental health issue. Your early learning
service or school can support children and young people’s mental health through efforts to connect with and
support families.
Build partnerships with families
Value family members’ knowledge of each child
or young person.
Value the family’s contributions to, and role in, each child or young person’s life.
Communicate freely and respectfully with families.
Share insights and perspectives about children or young people.
Engage in shared decision-making.
Communicate openly and build trust with families
Shared information helps everyone gain a deeper understanding of:
how to best work together to support children and young people
children and young people’s behavior at home and in the learning environment
the most effective ways to support learning
what children and young people enjoy and what their strengths are
resources for addressing social and emotional difficulties.
Working together with families
There are things families can do to actively build strong and healthy family relationships.
When working with families, you might like to share strategies that you have observed work
well. For families wanting some support, you might suggest they try the following activities at home:
Spending regular quality time together as a whole family and with each child or young person,
even if it’s for a few minutes each day.
Offering help and support to one another.
Doing fun things and laughing together.
Talking to each other.
Telling each other what you like about your family (for example, “Dad, I like your hugs” or
“Cara, you asked for that very politely”).
Having family discussions to organize family events and to work through difficulties.
Trying to include children and young people in decisions affecting them (for example, giving
younger children choices to help them make a decision).
Teaching and modeling problem-solving skills to children and young people so they become
more confident at resolving their own conflicts.
Getting support from family, friends or professionals when they need help juggling
demands.
Children and young people need the support of a nurturing, well-functioning family. The
strength of family relationships directly impacts their development and wellbeing.
As an educator, you’ll likely observe or hear about risk and protective factors in families. You
are in a unique position to be able to sensitively offer support and resources for families to better
support their children and young people.
How to Overcome Family Problems
We are social animals and we don’t live in seclusion. However, while living with people, we also most of
the time find ourselves in conflicting situations. How to overcome conflicts in the family is a very important
lesson in our life.
One of the common conflicts is the disagreements between the parents and the children. When there is
more than one child in a family, siblings’ rivalry happens to be a common phenomenon. Last but not the least is
the conflict between the spouses. The husband and wife share a common life and they also are always in
conflicting situations. To iron the differences between the family members, you have to learn how to overcome
conflicts in the family.
You can take the first step to overcome conflicts in the family by pondering over the root of the
differences between the members. Children always complain that their parents don't understand them. On the
other hand parents usually chide that their children disregard them. Similarly, a kid could be dissatisfied when
his/her parents show special concern to another child more than him/her. If is not handled properly, conflict can
be a cause of family disintegration. To overcome conflicts in the family, you have to learn how to manage
conflicts.
Here are five tips for overcoming family conflict.
Communicate with family members
Communication is very important aspect of family life, and more importantly conflict management. When
there is a rift between the members, talking will help reduce tension. You must not only share your thoughts, but
also be willing to listen to others’ views. Communication does not only mean spoken words. It is the tone of your
speech, body language and choice of words. As you talk with the members of your family, you will release your
perception and wait for their reaction. If there are differences in agreement, communication always resolves
issues. Communication is the most important aspect of overcoming family conflicts.
Build up an environment of trust
Root of conflict lies deep within the foundation of our society. Culture and tradition ask young people to
respect their parents’ and elders’ decision, whereas the modern education teaches them to have their own view
of life. Neither the educational system is wrong nor are the parents trying to harm their children. However, truth
is, the difference in opinions creates family conflict. Lack of trust not only buoys up conflict between parents and
children but also between husband and wife. Distrust within the members widens the chasm. You have to build
up an environment of trust to overcome family conflicts.
Learn to manage stress
To deal with complicated life, everyone has his/her own vision. Every day your life appears more
challenging, and you are burdened with stress. Nevertheless, you must not impose your attitudes and thoughts
on other people. Imposing you views not only builds up conflict but also makes your life stressful. Sometimes to
overcome conflict, you have to maintain a certain distance with the members. The space you give to your family
members will help them manage stress, and in the long run you will be able to overcome conflicts in the family.
Don’t overreact
To overcome conflict, don’t ever overreact. You cannot control your spouse’s or children’s perception.
Your decisions are based on your emotions, so you have to understand other members in your family too, will
make decisions based on their observations. When everyone begins to think only about his or her perception,
obviously conflict will heighten. Overreacting is always dangerous. You react after you develop certain
perception, and you have to learn to understand the concept of actions and reactions. With every action there
will be a reaction. Don’t overreact during critical situations; instead, focus your perception for managing conflict.
Be tolerant to other members in the family
Young people by nature are rebellious, and parents must be tolerant to their children’s strange behavior.
They must remember, once they too were young, and they too had picked bones with their parents. Tolerance is
also significant to manage conflict between the spouses. Even though the wife may dislike her hubby’s certain
behavior, or the husband hate certain things in his wife, they both must be tolerant to such things. To manage
conflicts and overcome conflicts in the family, you have to be tolerant to other members.
These five points are time tested. Try to remember these tips and apply them in your family to overcome
conflict. Conflict is a natural phenomenon, but you have to learn how to manage conflict to live a better life in the
family.
Five fingers in our hand are not equal. So, it is obvious, the members in a family have different attitude
and aptitude, thoughts and perceptions. You have to have deference for other people’s point of view. Always be
open minded to overcome conflicts in the family.
21st Century Parenting | Overcoming the Challenges Of The New
Millennium
The responsibility of raising healthy, well-rounded children can sometimes feel overwhelming for parents
today. The recent trend in parenting has become much more diverse, which reflects the different cultures and
backgrounds of “millennial children.” Family structures are becoming more eclectic as children grow up in
settings, such as both parents working, which can create the need for help from family, friends, and day-care.
There are also many single parents, blended families, or very young parents. Although, these family dynamics
have been present for decades, they are more prevalent in the 21st century.
The new millennium poses increasing pressures for parents as they are bombarded with advice, ranging
from child psychologists to internet bloggers offering the best parenting practices. The rise of the millennial
parents also gives rise to labels such as “helicopter parents,” “tiger moms,” and “panda dads.” Parenting has
indeed taken on a new level of diversity. Understanding these details is important so parents can stay current
with the latest parenting approaches because each one effects home life differently.
Parenting Styles in the New Millennium
Identifying all the current parenting styles can be a difficult task due to the frequent addition of new ones.
However, some key styles being utilized by parents in the new millennium fall under five broad categories,
namely:
Hyper-parenting: Parents using this style have set goals for their children and are determined for them to be
successful no matter what.
Hypo-parenting: More of a hands-off approach, this type of parenting allows children to have more control of
their decisions, prioritizes individuality, and gives importance to children’s uniqueness.
Traditional/neo-parenting: This style, which in many ways, follows the parenting style of the 50s and the 60s,
leans on the traditional practice wherein one parent plays the role of the primary caretaker, while the other one
is responsible for meeting the family’s financial obligations.
Divergent parenting: This parenting style is not recommended, and is often present in many dysfunctional
families. It can be characterized as an “anything goes” approach or striving to shun conventions.
Millennial parenting: This category encompasses the major parenting styles. It reflects the complexity of modern
American life where both parents work and use non-traditional ways for bringing up their children.
Parenting styles evolve over time and can change to meet the children’s needs, well-being and sometimes
their demands. While at times there is the need to be stern with children, there are also occasions when parents
can loosen the reins and adopt a more permissive approach. Millennial parents may subscribe to a particular
style, but many tend to use an approach that provides more encouragement and can improve the children’s
capabilities to achieve greater success. An empirical study suggests that a balanced parenting approach produces
the best outcome for children to do well in life.
New Changes in Parenting and Family
Parents of every generation have always been embroiled in the complex activity of raising children with
many specific behaviors that work individually or together. Compared to former parenting style models, change
happens in millennial parenting faster, and parents do not seem to have enough time to catch their breath.
Some say that millennial parents are spoiling their children and have turned parenting into something that
reflects their own identity. This may be another way millennial parenting differs from their own parents or
grandparents. It is important to remember that today’s parents and families are also different in their very
composition.
For example, in past generations most children traditionally grew up with two parents and several
siblings, however today there are more families that are single-parent households or blended. Millennial parents
are departing from the archetypal family structure to adopt a divergent style in raising children and cultivating
their own identity.
Unique Challenges Faced by Millennial Parents
Millennial parents are said to be constantly connected socially on their devices. Their unceasing reliance
on and rampant use of technology may have its benefits in improving parenting, getting things done quickly, and
interacting or bonding with their family and friends when they are already burdened with so many
responsibilities to juggle. As a result, opinions that their parenting suffers because of these distractions is
understandable.
Added to the set of challenges is the desire of many millennial parents to attend or go back to school or
vocational training despite having young children already. This can further complicate things in terms of time
management, financial stress, fulfillment of household responsibilities, and childcare activities. After completing
school and being immersed in debts, many millennial parents face the extreme difficulty of finding a job to
supplement the family income. It can be an unfortunate reality to accept considering the sacrifices involved in
the hope of providing a better life for the children.
Empowering Millennial Generation Parents
Parenting has changed over time. In the past, the roles and duties of parents were more clearly defined.
As a millennial parent, you know how different it is today. The new challenges and changes facing millennial
generation parents are not what your parents experienced. Each day can be an overwhelming task just to keep
up.
Like other millennial parents, you may be confident in your abilities, yet you still worry about your family.
You may want more knowledge to face the many challenges your own parents may not have had. As a millennial
parent, however, you may be reluctant to seek help for the difficulties you may be encountering. Know that
asking for help is not a sign of failing as a parent, but a sign that you care about your family.
Activity 3
Critical Thinking:
1. Being a son or daughter is tougher than being a father or mother. Reflect
2. Is it right for parents to smoke or drink before children in the family? Explain your answer.
3. What should be the ideal role of the mother in the family?
4. Counter the statement: “Every person is equally selfish. There is no real family”
5. Consider the fact that there has been a revolt in the family by a junior member. How would you suggest
resolution?
6. How and when would you like to start a family of your own?
7. Why do you think the family is the basic unit of the society?
8. Considering the current trend of the world wherein the importance of family is undermined, how
would you advocate the imprtant roles of family in our society?
