For the last few months, I’ve been thinking a lot about blended families. I grew up in a blended family. My father is not my bio father. My mother is my biological mother. I was raised by my grandparents. And then I was raised by my mom and dad but not bio dad. And then I was adopted.
It gets confusing.
But I’m not the only one in this situation.
I would tell you that the face of a typical American family is changing but the truth of the matter is the face of the typical American family has not existed for years. I hope I am not telling you anything you had not heard or experienced before.
As the composition of families change, many of us are going to have to reevaluate our definitions of families. Does a family consist solely of a husband, a wife and at least one child? How do adopted children fit into our ideas of family? Can step parents be included in our definition of family while excluding bio parents? Can grandparents realistically double as parents? Is there really such a thing as immediate family versus extended family? Can a couple constitute a family unit? Does gender or sexual orientation matter when we talk about family structure?
As we struggle to answer these questions within the context of our own lives, we will also find that many companies will have to do the same thing. But, the upside is that as Gen X and Gen Y rise through the ranks of their organizations, their home life experience will have a large impact on how these definitions are shaped. We grew up in a world where these questions had to be asked. And while our Baby Boomer friends may have created that world, they never had to face the repercussions.
And really, that benefits all of us.
Randy said...
1Yeah, I grew up with both bio parents and still have all four bio grandparents. Considering the way things are for our generation, that makes me the weirdo. (Well, a lot of things make me a weirdo, but you get my point.)
02/27/09 9:24 AM | Comment Link
Dorie Morgan’s Rising Up » Wondering what is next » Navigating Twenty-Something Suburban Life said...
2[...] should blog about my extended family’s Thanksgiving and how I’m not sure where I fit into everything. Or rather, how I’m not sure [...]
12/9/09 7:05 AM | Comment Link
sarafunky said...
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01/22/10 12:58 PM | Comment Link
Archie Hill said...
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04/30/10 8:53 PM | Comment Link