Family members/caregivers

Families are large, small, extended, nuclear, or multigenerational. They can include 1 or more children, and 1 or more parents/primary caregivers/guardians, who range in age from adolescents to senior citizens. They might be extended families, foster, adoptive, kinship, or blended families. Parents can be married or unmarried couples, single parents, or parents who live in the same household or apart. Parents may be opposite-sex, same-sex couples, or can belong to a different racial or ethnic group than the child.

The family unit can be relatively static, or it can be quite changeable. In some families, intergenerational parenting occurs when grandparents and/or other family members assume a central role if the birth parents are not present or not capable of caring for their children because of extended work-related absences, illness or death, substance use, etc.

Although it has predictable patterns, the family reshapes its daily life and support systems with the birth of each child in a way that fits with its unique mix of strengths and challenges. For families experiencing difficult situations, such as poverty, homelessness, divorce, substance use, or illness, resilience varies and is not always predictable. However, common to all families is that the parents want the best for their children, and significant change or stress that affects 1 family member affects all members.