Postmodern Family Ministry

Session 1: Understanding Postmodern Kids and Families

Postmodern Infographic

What do you see in the portrayal of this family?

What do you see in the portrayal of these families?

Generations Greatest Generation (born 1901 - 1924 / currently 88+) Silent Generation (born 1925 - 1945 / currently 67 - 87) Baby Boomers (born 1946 - 1964 / currently 48 - 66) Generation X (born 1965 - 1976 / currently 36 - 47) Generation Y / Millennial (born 1977 - 1994 / currently 18 - 35) Nexters (born 1995 to present / currently 0 - 17)

Understanding Postmodern Kids and Families

What do young Postmodern parents believe constitutes a family? 44% say that the institution of marriage is becoming obsolete. 34% say a growing variety of family arrangements is a good thing; 29% say it is a bad thing, and 32% say it makes little or no difference. 80% say an unmarried couple living together with a child is a family. 63% say a gay or lesbian couple raising a child is a family. Married Couples Represent just 48% of households compared to 78% in 1950. Blended Families 50% of children live in blended families. 2,100 new blended families are formed every day. Over 65% of Americans are now a stepparent, a stepchild, a stepsibling, stepgrandparent, or touched directly by a stepfamily scenario. Blended families are the most common form of family in America. Single Parents There are 13.7 million single parents in the United States today, and those parents are responsible for raising 21.8 million children (approximately 26% of children under 21 in the U.S. today). 85% of single parents are mothers. 51% of all births among Millennials in 2008 were to single, unwed mothers, compared to 39% among Gen Xers in 1997, when they were the same age Millennials are now. 15% of single parents are men. Cohabitation Cohabitation has soared 17-fold from 430,000 in 1960 to 7.5 million last year. 24% of children are born to cohabiting couples, which means that more children are currently born to cohabiting couples than to single mothers. Another 20% of children will spend time in a cohabiting household with an unrelated adult at some point in their childhood. This means that over 40% of children are exposed to a cohabiting relationship. Grandfamilies According to Census Bureau, the number of Americans living in multigenerational households has shot up, increasing by 10.5%. 5.8 million grandparents are raising grandchildren.

Understanding Postmodern Kids and Families

Same sex households The U.S. Census Bureau says the number of same-sex households grew to 594,000 in 2010 from 358,390 in 2000. Same sex marriage has been legalized at the state level. 115,000 same sex households have children. Pre-Marital Sex In 1969, 68% of the public believed pre-marital sex was wrong. By 1985, only 39% believed it was wrong. In 2009, a CBS/New York Times poll revealed only 32% believed it was wrong. Divorce Americas divorce rate began climbing in the late 1960s and skyrocketed in the 70s and early 80s. The rate peaked at 5.3 divorces per 1,000 people in 1981. It has since dropped to 3.6 and is at the lowest rate since 1970. 55% of divorced couples share custody of their children. Many experts say the rate is primarily down because of couples cohabitating without marrying. Same Sex Marriage 53% of adults younger than 30 favor allowing same sex marriage. 48% of adults ages 30 to 45 favor allowing same sex marriage. 38% of adults ages 46 to 64 favor allowing same sex marriage. 29% of adults ages 65 and older favor allowing same sex marriage. Technology is the norm instead of the novel. 88% of young adults use texting. Twitter 140 million users send 340 million tweets a day. 90% use internet. 75% have a profile on a social network. 25% have a video of themselves online. Color them green. They celebrate Earth Day. They have a well-developed eco-sensibility. They have grown up with recycling and do it naturally. Seventh Generation is the first to market chlorine-free disposable diapers, with online ads encouraging moms to not just change your babychange the planet. Retail giant Toys R Us introduced its own line of natural wooden toys and natural cotton plush animals on Earth Day. The packaging, identified by a green R seal with the words Recycle, Renew, Reuse, Re-think, contains 70 percent recycled material. 4
Understanding Postmodern Kids and Families

Consumer-culture observers from Iconoculture recently spotted an organic pacifier from the Danish company Natursutten. Made from pure Hevea brasiliensi rubber, it is 100 percent biodegradable.

They are diverse. Millennials are the most diverse generation in American history. By 2050, there will not be a majority ethnic group. They are less likely to live in rural areas. Only 14% of Millennials live in rural areas. They have very short attention spans. Todays young parents were brought up coddled, sheltered, and protected. They have high expectations of institutions and authorities. They value community and are highly relational. They are team oriented. They want to make a difference in the world. They are very tolerant. 70% believe there is more than one way to God. 57% of Evangelicals believe there is more than one way to God. They are very interested in seeing their children succeed. They put their children above their careers. 76% say they have no interest in gaining their managers position. They would rather pass on the promotion that involves longer hours and instead go home to be with their kids. They have memories from their own childhood of lonely afternoons and early evenings because their parents were working long hours. A defining characteristic is involvement in their childrens lives. They are likely to put their children in activities. They were raised by soccer moms. They had highly structured lives. 75% have their child enrolled in activity outside of sports. 36% of boys are enrolled in a sport including soccer, baseball, football, and basketball.

Understanding Postmodern Kids and Families

They make choices with their time. They emphasize family activities above material things. They are in much closer contact with their parents than previous generations. Grandparents are closely attached to helping raise their grandkids. 25% of Millennial parents have their childs grandparents involved in the childs activities. They are the least religious generation in modern American times. Only 64% believe God is real. Less than half (45%) say religion is an important part of their life. 25% are not affiliated with any religion. Only 28% believe the Bible is Gods Word. Less than half (47%) of young evangelicals interpret the Bible literally. 55% believe evolution is the best explanation of how we got here. These religiously unaffiliated Millennials variously describe themselves as atheist, agnostic, or 'nothing in particular'. They are very open to parental advice.

Closing Discussion What surprised you about Postmodern families? What did you discover about Postmodern families that is going to help you connect with them more effectively?

You can connect with Dale at daleh@cftoday.org www.relevantchildrensministry.com Facebook - DaleHudson/Florida Twitter - @dalehudsoncm 6
Understanding Postmodern Kids and Families