A family is a group of people that consist of parents (father and mother) or husband and wife living together with their children as a unit. It can also be defined as a social unit that consists of two or more persons that are related by marriage, blood or adaption thus having a shared commitment to a mutual relationship (Bullard, 2015). I grew up in a non-traditional family. A traditional family is a family formation that consists of parents, (man and woman) and their biological or adopted children where the man and woman are regarded as husband and wife. At the age of two, I was adopted by my grandmother, my parents suffered from drug and alcohol addiction thus rendering them unable to take care of me. I grew up under my grandmother’s care until I became an adult. I’m now married and raising my children in a traditional home. The different types of families that exist today include nuclear families that consist of two parents and their children, single-parent families that consists of one parent taking care of their children and extended family. Extended families comprise of adults that are related through marriage or blood and live in the same home (Bullard, 2015). It also consists of relatives that live together for common goals. Other types of families include childless families and stepfamilies where different families merge to form one family unit (Bullard, 2015). My family is composed of parents, children, and relatives thus making it an extended family. Over the past two generations, my family has considerably evolved since it started as a nuclear family but now it consists of almost all types of families. Some of my family relatives are single parents and stepfamilies due to the increase in divorce. Roles have also changed as every member of the family has to contribute to the social and economic growth of the family. During the past decades, one parent, probably the man had to provide for the family. Functions of a family have also changed over the decades. The existence of single parent's families within my family has changed the family function of a complete family with both parents. Furthermore, the family function of parents taking care of their children and the elderly has changed as these roles have been taken by other people as parents chase income-earning activities. Another family function that has changed is the protective family function where family members protect each other. Other agencies have taken control of such functions (Henslin, 2007). Socioeconomic status (SES) vary based on factors such as race, class, finances, and family structure, health, achievements, etc. Natural and hereditary clarifications of race, and of contrasts in wellbeing between racial groups, overwhelmed in the nineteenth and mid-twentieth century (American Sociological Association 2003), and continue among some today (Williams, Mohammed, et al. 2010). My family is categorized as Black or African American in the United States of America. M.

1. A family is a group of people that consist of parents (father and
mother) or husband and wife living together with their children
as a unit. It can also be defined as a social unit that consists of
two or more persons that are related by marriage, blood or
adaption thus having a shared commitment to a mutual
relationship (Bullard, 2015).
I grew up in a non-traditional family. A traditional family is a
family formation that consists of parents, (man and woman) and
their biological or adopted children where the man and woman
are regarded as husband and wife. At the age of two, I was
adopted by my grandmother, my parents suffered from drug and
alcohol addiction thus rendering them unable to take care of me.
I grew up under my grandmother’s care until I became an adult.
I’m now married and raising my children in a traditional home.
The different types of families that exist today include nuclear
families that consist of two parents and their children, single-
parent families that consists of one parent taking care of their
children and extended family. Extended families comprise of
adults that are related through marriage or blood and live in the
same home (Bullard, 2015). It also consists of relatives that live
together for common goals. Other types of families include
childless families and stepfamilies where different families
merge to form one family unit (Bullard, 2015). My family is
composed of parents, children, and relatives thus making it an
extended family.
Over the past two generations, my family has considerably
evolved since it started as a nuclear family but now it consists
of almost all types of families. Some of my family relatives are
single parents and stepfamilies due to the increase in divorce.
Roles have also changed as every member of the family has to
contribute to the social and economic growth of the family.
During the past decades, one parent, probably the man had to
provide for the family.
Functions of a family have also changed over the decades. The

2. existence of single parent's families within my family has
changed the family function of a complete family with both
parents. Furthermore, the family function of parents taking care
of their children and the elderly has changed as these roles have
been taken by other people as parents chase income-earning
activities. Another family function that has changed is the
protective family function where family members protect each
other. Other agencies have taken control of such functions
(Henslin, 2007). Socioeconomic status (SES) vary based on
factors such as race, class, finances, and family structure,
health, achievements, etc. Natural and hereditary clarifications
of race, and of contrasts in wellbeing between racial groups,
overwhelmed in the nineteenth and mid-twentieth century
(American Sociological Association 2003), and continue among
some today (Williams, Mohammed, et al. 2010).
My family is categorized as Black or African American in the
United States of America. My great-grandmother was creole
and her second husband my great-grandfather is French. My
Grandmother religion was Baptist. She attended church weekly
and instilled her religious beliefs in her children and their
children. Family traditions my family practice jumping the
broom at weddings, which originated from a time when African
slaves weren't allowed to marry, and this became a symbolic
way to signify their unity. My family hosts a family reunion
once a year to reconnect family members from all coasts to
come and celebrate family unity and life.
Families are different in many ways instead it's race, social
class, education levels, etc. I'm sure there are also families like
mine many ways as well. Within family's there is dysfunction,
chaos, happiness, support, love and everything in between. My
family isn't close-knit, but their groups that are tighter within
the family such as immediate family members. One thing that is
important to my family culture is to be proud of our culture and
to teach our children the importance of knowing who you are to
understand where you're going in life.
As I stated before my family is black, they've face stereotyping

3. and discrimination from past generations to current. In the
United States, black citizens face many obstacles that have
dated back since the time of slavery and sadly continues today.
Discrimination has impacted my family dynamic due to the fact
some members look at white American citizens as
untrustworthy, sneaky, racist, etc. Although that may not be the
white person's intention, many blacks become conditioned
through their environment, upbringing, parents, or through bad
experiences. I'm a mother of two girls ages nine and four and
juggling work and childcare can be overwhelming. At the time
of my first daughter's birth, I went back to work when she was
six months; I worked a morning shift from six AM until two
PM. I didn't have family that could care for my child while my
husband and I worked. Therefore, I took a chance of placing my
daughter in an in-home daycare. It was okay in the beginning,
but shortly it became a financial burden. The cost of daycare
became more than the amount I would take home. I stop
working for a while until my daughter was about four. At that
time, I decided to work an overnight shift from ten pm until six
am. Therefore, I would be home by the time my husband would
need to leave for work. I continued to work overnights up until
my eighth month of pregnancy with my second daughter. I then
became a stay at home mom and decided to return to schools to
pursue my Bachelors.
My husband and I have been together for thirteen years
and cohabitate in the same home. We moved in shortly after
dating one another approximately three months. At first, it was
a learning curve we were both were young, but we manage to
keep our relationship intact and raise our family as one. My
husband and I have recently purchased a new home to call our
own and raise our children in a place they can call their home
I perceive marriage as a sacred bond between two adults
that care for one another. In a marriage, your spouse becomes

4. your best friend and confidant; the relationship that is like no
other bond with any other person. Marriage has become rare and
divorce rates and single parenting has increased. Marriage in
the United States has changed, more than half of American
citizens marry by later adulthood between forty-five and fifty.
Marriage has been studied and proven to increase mental and
physical health and over all wellbeing (Marriage & Divorce,
n.d). The challenges that occur when getting married and
starting a family include career decision, in-laws, financial
decisions and childbearing and rearing. When starting a family,
new people enter the newly wedded couple and may influence
the couple's choices. Childbearing and rearing is another
challenge that occurs when starting a family as it suggests new
responsibilities. Careers also become a challenge as the couple
needs to agree on how to fulfill the demands of jobs as well as
the family demands. These transitions impact the couple in that
it comes with new roles and responsibilities for the couple
(Freiberg, 1997). The decisions that once used to be made
individually now become decisions to be made by the couple.
The challenges also impact the couple as parents in that they
create new responsibilities of childbearing and taking care of
them. The couple needs to decide between their careers, in-laws
and financial matters and how they might affect their family.
Parenting impacts both the child and the caregiver and
both gain happiness and joy from the relationship. The bond
between a parent and child is a beautiful thing, but it does come
with hardships as well. Research distributed in January 2013
issue of Psychological Science seemed to show without
precedent for quite a while that child rearing indeed is related
to more joy and importance throughout everyday life (Brogaard,
2015). I feel my life became completed after giving birth to my
two beautiful daughters. My children have given me reasons to
keep striving in life and setting great examples for them to
follow.

5. At the age of two months, my grandmother took on full custody
due to my parent's addictions. My grandmother made sure I
stayed raised in a loving home with compassion, support, and
care. I rarely saw my mother and father and our relationship is
the same as it was as a child nonexistent. Growing up I felt like
an outcast at times when there were school plays, sports,
sleepovers etc. Having parents or a parent show up to events is
normal, which made me understand early on that I wasn't in a
traditional family household. I'm fortunate to have had a
grandmother that reassured me that I was unique and worthy of
love, which made the hard times better. I thank her for taking
on a responsibility that wasn't hers and stepping up to the plate
and being there for me in every way possible.
Reference
Brogaard D.M.Sci., Ph.D, B. (2015). Does Being a Parent
Really Make You Happier?. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mysteries-
love/201502/does-being-parent-really-make-you-happier
Freiberg, K. (1997). Human Development 97. Annual Editions,
Dushkin Publishing Group.
Reference
Marriage & Divorce (n.d). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from
http://www.apa.org/topics/divorce/
References
American Sociological Association. The Importance of

6. Collecting Data and Doing Social Scientific Research on Race.
Washington, D.C: American Sociological Association; 2003.
Williams DR, Mohammed SA, et al. Race, socioeconomic
status, and health: Complexities, ongoing challenges, and
research opportunities. Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences. 2010;1186(1):69–101.
References:
Henslin, J. (2007). Down to earth sociology: Introductory
Readings, Fourteenth Edition (14th ed.). Simon and Schuster.
Bullard, L. (2015). My family, your family. [United States]:
Lerner Publishing Group.
A family is a group of people that consist of parents (father and
mother) or husband and
wife living together with their children as a unit. It can also be
defined as a social unit that consists
of two or more persons that are related by marriage, blood or
adaption thus having a shared
commitment to a mutual relationship (Bullard, 2015).
I grew up in a non
-
traditional family. A traditional family is a family formation
that consists
of parents, (man and woman) and their biological or adopted
children where
the man and woman
are regarded as husband and wife. At the age of two, I was
adopted by my grandmother, my parents
suffered from drug and alcohol addiction thus rendering them

7. unable to take care of me. I grew up
under my grandmother’s care until I became
an adult. I’m now married and raising my children in
a traditional home.
The different types of families that exist today include nuclear
families that consist of two
parents and their children, single
-
parent families that consists of one parent taking ca
re of their
children and extended family. Extended families comprise of
adults that are related through
marriage or blood and live in the same home (Bullard, 2015). It
also consists of relatives that live
together for common goals. Other types of families
include childless families and stepfamilies
where different families merge to form one family unit (Bullard,
2015). My family is composed
of parents, children, and relatives thus making it an extended
family.
Over the past two generations, my family has co
nsiderably evolved since it started as a
nuclear family but now it consists of almost all types of
families. Some of my family relatives are
single parents and stepfamilies due to the increase in divorce.
Roles have also changed as every
member of the fami
ly has to contribute to the social and economic growth of the
family. During
the past decades, one parent, probably the man had to provide
for the family.
A family is a group of people that consist of parents (father and
mother) or husband and

8. wife living together with their children as a unit. It can also be
defined as a social unit that consists
of two or more persons that are related by marriage, blood or
adaption thus having a shared
commitment to a mutual relationship (Bullard, 2015).
I grew up in a non-traditional family. A traditional family is a
family formation that consists
of parents, (man and woman) and their biological or adopted
children where the man and woman
are regarded as husband and wife. At the age of two, I was
adopted by my grandmother, my parents
suffered from drug and alcohol addiction thus rendering them
unable to take care of me. I grew up
under my grandmother’s care until I became an adult. I’m now
married and raising my children in
a traditional home.
The different types of families that exist today include nuclear
families that consist of two
parents and their children, single-parent families that consists
of one parent taking care of their
children and extended family. Extended families comprise of
adults that are related through
marriage or blood and live in the same home (Bullard, 2015). It
also consists of relatives that live
together for common goals. Other types of families include
childless families and stepfamilies
where different families merge to form one family unit (Bullard,
2015). My family is composed
of parents, children, and relatives thus making it an extended
family.
Over the past two generations, my family has considerably
evolved since it started as a
nuclear family but now it consists of almost all types of
families. Some of my family relatives are
single parents and stepfamilies due to the increase in divorce.
Roles have also changed as every

9. member of the family has to contribute to the social and
economic growth of the family. During
the past decades, one parent, probably the man had to provide
for the family.