How is your Family Life Cycle

The emotional and intellectual stages you pass through from childhood to your retirement years as a member of a family are called the family life cycle. A supportive family can profoundly influence your behavior and benefit your development.

The family life cycle consists of several developmental stages:

Independence
Coupling or marriage
Parenting: babies through adolescents
Launching adult children
Retirement or senior stage of life

The stress of daily living or coping with a chronic medical condition or other crisis disrupts the normal family cycle. You can improve your and your family's quality of your life at any stage. Self-examination, education, and perhaps counseling are ways to improve yourself and your family life and can help you manage other issues such as going through a divorce or being a part of a nontraditional family structure.