The Senior Stage

This paper is about the effect of aging on elderly relationship. In this paper, I will talk about my relationship with my father and the changes that have developed during the course of time.

As people age and move from adolescence through adulthood, their place in the family hierarchy changes with them. This progression through the different stages of the family system is often called the family life cycle. (Farkas, 107) identified six stages to the family life cycle. During each stage, a person moves through the family hierarchy, assuming the place of someone else who has also moved along the hierarchy. The family life cycle starts with the launching of an individual into the world. This stage is characterized by leaving the security of one's original family and moving on to start one's own life. During this time, personal goals, assets, and an individual's identity formulate. The second stage involves the previously launched individual coming together with another launched individual to create an entirely new family system. The third stage of the family life cycle involves the new couple having children. Here, the new couple moves up a generation in the family hierarchy, assuming the role of parents. Also, all others in their extended families move up a generation as well. The fourth stage is the couple with adolescents (Hayward, 21).

This is a very stressful time in my relationship with my father with him, asserting autonomy and indicating their desire to move up in the family hierarchy. The fifth stage is the couple at midlife. Now the individuals who were launched by their own parents launch their own child. Additionally, this couple is not only still helping their children to manage their lives but also often taking care of their parents, who are now in an elderly state. The final stage is the couple in later life. By this stage, these individuals have launched their child(ren) and, in most cases, have moved up in the family hierarchy to the of grandparent. Although this theory is popular with people who subscribe to stage theory and accounts for the change in the family hierarchy, it has many critics. Specifically, critics of this theory have argued that this theory does not take into account the idea of a multiple family structure or the fact that age and entry into these stages are sometime independent.

The real problem with the family life cycle ...