HUMAN DYNAMICS UNIT 1 Family as an Ecosystem

HUMAN DYNAMICS UNIT 1: Family as an Ecosystem

What is an Ecosystem? • An ecosystem is defined as: “relationships among the many species living in an environment and the relationships among those organisms and the non-living components of the environment”.

Example of an ecosystem • For example, in a pond a fish: – eats bugs and flies (predator-prey relationship), – swims in a school of other fish (symbiotic relationship - dependence on one another), – is affected by the water temperature and the pollution (interactions with the environment) in the pond. Any change in any of the relationships or interactions will affect that fish and will also affect its environment.

Families • Definition of family: “any combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth and/or adoption/placement and who, together, assume responsibilities for different combinations of some of the following: • physical maintenance and care of group members; • addition of new members through procreation or adoption; • socialization of children; • social control of children; • production, consumption and distribution of goods and services; and • affective nurturance – love. ”

Types of Families • “Nuclear” families (Also known as “traditional”) – composed of two parents and their one or more biological or adopted children, living together – when the nuclear family was led by a male wage earner, it was the conventional family of the 1950 s, although now it is only one of many types of family. • “Extended” families – composed of parents, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents and other blood relations living together, or not.

• “Blended” or “recombined” or “reconstituted” families – composed of parents who have divorced their first spouses, remarried someone else and formed a new family that includes children from one or both first marriages, and/or from the re-marriage. • “Childless” families – consist of a couple without children.

• "Lone-parent" families composed of a parent, most often a mother, with a child or children. • "Cohabiting couples" and "common law marriages" which are family arrangements that resemble other forms, but without legalized marriage. • "Gay and lesbian parents" - Families that are either made up of 2 male or 2 female parents.

• “Foster Families” are temporary care for children until the children can be returned to their own families or be placed into an adoptive family. • This family is not usually recognized or discussed. • NOTE: Any group of people sharing responsibilities within a similar environment can be considered a family. • Sometimes a group that shares these responsibilities may be a bunch of friends who have common interests.

Test Yourself What type of Family? 1. Greg and Marie with no children 2. Norm, his wife Sue, and two children 3. Marie and her son Joe 4. Betty, her husband Tom, her parents, and their three children • 5. Sally, her son Derek, her husband Bill, and Bill's daughter - • • •

THE THREE MAIN ENVIRONMENTS AND THE FAMILY • There are three types of environments associated with a family ecosystem: 1. The physical environment involves the actual location including buildings the family associates with. a. space – outdoors b. structures – buildings c. location - town / city 2. The emotional environment deals with the feelings present in the family.

3. The social environment considers the interactions among members of the family as well as people outside of the family. 1. political 2. educational 3. health systems NOTE: The contributions made by each member of the family is important to the maintenance of each environment. For a healthy environment to exist, each family member must be involved.