In today's society, there are many different types of families that go beyond the traditional nuclear family. With a divorce rate over fifty percent, America's citizens have formed part time marriages, remarried, and formed stepfamilies. Two essays, (")A part-time marriage, (") and (")Remarriage and Stepfamilies(") examine different kinds of families. Through these essays, one will realize that although these two forms of relationships are different, they are both based on love. (Good intro.) .
In a Part-time marriage (cap and quotation marks), by Noel Perrin, two people become involved in a part-time marriage(,) realizing that they are easy to maintain, and hold less emotional attachment than a traditional marriage. When a couple decide to separate, the wife and children usually get to live in the house that they resided in as a family. This is done so that the children can adjust to having only one role model in the house. The father may stop by the children's house to do chores, and stay for dinner. Eventually, the father and mother may rekindle their sexual relationship, but he will not stay the whole night, as he does not want his children to think that the parents are getting back together. Clearly, the children's thoughts and emotions are held in the highest regard.
Similarly, the stepfamily must try to understand how the children are feeling while forming a new family. A child brings a history of a family that has already existed, family values and habits to a new household. This can lead to argument, but it is important for the stepparents to understand that this is all that the children have grown to know. The stepfamily must understand that there needs to be a closer relationship between biological parent and child than between the stepparent and child. The forming of a stepfamily is an emotional experience for children, however it is good to know that eighty percent of children in stepfamilies are judged to be doing well psychologically.
