Stages of Family of Family Life

Different sociologist define family life is comprised of multiple stages with each stage having
own challenges and responsibilities. According to the video tutorial, in a broader classification,
family can be divided into four distinguished stages. These stages are:
1. Courtship
This is considered as the 1 st phase of the family life. This stages is quite exciting as you
meet new people and try to develop a relationship. This relationship may eventually
turn as the foundation of later stages of the family. Basically this is the 1 st step towards
family life but not every courtship turns out to be a family life. In this stage people are
usually inclined to their personal choices of a partner.
2. Marriage
The next stage is marriage. It can be arranged or by personal choice (love). In western
culture, there is more tendency of love marriages while in eastern culture arrange
marriages prevail. However, even in love marriage, love is not the only factor
considered. In fact other social factors and compatibility is also considered. Marriage is
the legal contract that lays down the proper foundation of a family. Although all
marriages are not successful and the divorce rate is increasing day by day.
3. Childbearing
This third stage is one of the most important stage in determining the future of family
life. Everyone likes children as they complete your family. If the married couple is going
well then they decide to have children. Growing children is very responsible job for
both the parents. If the parents have not good relationship or they divorce then it leaves
a bad impact on the children. So this stage requires great responsibility.
4. Family Life in Later years
This is the final stage of family when the children grow up and usually separate from
their parents to start their own family. In some case, they have a close contact with
them and in other case they do not have very frequent relationship due to lifestyle or
living at a far place or other country.
Difference between American and Kuwaiti Family Stages
Each family stage has different challenges. These challenges varies in different societies and
cultures. The concept of courtship is common in America but the success rate of courtship is
quite low. Meaning not every courtship will end up in a legal relationship. However in Kuwait,
the situation is different. Here once it is decided to have the relationship, then mostly it leads to
the next stage i.e marriage. Also most of the relations are decided by the family (arranged
marriages) in Kuwait while in America they are mostly based on the personal choice of the
couple. In the next stage, there is also a difference. Marriage success rate in Kuwait is much
higher as compared to America. Although from last few years, there is a slight increase in
divorce rate but still much lower than America. The third stage which is the childbearing is
quite challenging. This stages requires lot of responsibility. The future of the children is in the
hands of their parents. In Kuwait, couple usually go for this stage immediately after marriage
while in America there is usually a delay. The final stage is the Family Life in later years where
usually the children start their own family. In America, there is more tendency towards
separating from parents at this stage and living separately. The separating children may have a
strong relation with parents depending on their lifestyle and place where they live. In Kuwait
there is mix of both types of families where children even after starting their own family live
with their parents which is extended family or they live as nuclear family. The extended family
is quite common in Kuwait as we find this life style more comfortable compared to nuclear
family.
My Current Stage of Family Life, Challenges and Aspiration
I am currently at the 3rd stage of family life which is childbearing. Allah has blessed me with
three children. Two sons and a daughter. As discussed earlier, this is quite a challenging stage.
As a student in UKM Malaysia, I have to be away from my children during my study time. This
becomes difficult for me at times. But I am always in close contact with my children and family.
Thanks to the technology that made it possible for us to be in contact even at long distances. I
have aspiration to complete my study and then to resume my job in Kuwait so that I can have a
settled family life where I and my wife can grow our children in a responsible way. The biggest
challenge in this phase is me being away from my children during my study period. However, I
live in a joint family where me my parents and my brothers live together. This helps me a lot
during the time when I am in Malaysia as my children has developed a great emotional
attachment with their grandparents.