Explain the Stages of Family Life and Relate Them to George Baileys’

It’s A Wonderful Life

Explain the stages of family life and relate them to George Baileys’

The typical family life cycle is as follows: It starts off with single young adults that move out of the parental home, newly established couples that eventually marry, families with young children, families with teenagers, families launching young adults that move away to school or their own home, middle aged parents that retire and seek new challenges in work or leisure, and lastly, families in later life. Each stage of the family life cycle can somehow relate to George Bailey’s life. The first stage, newly established couples, deals with George’s parents that both had to have moved out of their parental homes and continued on to the next stage, newly established couples, where George’s parents met and eventually married. After that stage is families with young children, in this case, the children would be George and Harry. When George was around 12 years old, he saved the life of his younger brother Harry who had fallen through ice. Although George lost his hearing in his left ear, he was able to save his brothers life. Next stage is family with teenagers. This can relate to George’s life because when Harry was a teenager, George waited for Harry to graduate so he could replace him at the Bailey Building and Loan Association. Families launching young adults is the next stage and this relates to George’s life because he is now discussing about a future relationship with Mary and is taking life seriously. Middle-aged parents is the next stage and this has a relationship with George’s life because his father, who is middle aged, now had a stroke, which is a sign that the body is now getting older and facing multiple health issues. Families in later life is the next step and is related to George’s life because George and his brother are now facing grown-up problems like finding a job that would give George the best salary because of the money issues in his life. Leaving home, single young adults is the next stage and George now gets married with Mary and has four children and his brother Harry unexpectedly brings home a wife. This shows that the once very young George and Harry, are now married and have children. This is why different types of families will follow different cycles. George and his brother were apart of two families in their lives: the family of origin into which they were born, and the family that they chose to form as adults. In both of these families, they moved through different stages of the family cycle.

Explain the wheel of love and relate it to George and Mary

The wheel of love identifies four different stages. The first stage, individuals feel comfortable enough with each other to discuss their experiences, hopes and fears. The second stage, individuals reveal more about