| A | B |
|---|
| Family | Individuals related to each other biologically or legally. |
| Parent | Caregiver with a legal responsibility for a child. |
| Healthy relationship | Two people who respect, share, trust, and support one another. |
| Nuclear family structure | A husband, wife, and one or more biological children. |
| Extended family structure | Includes all relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. |
| Single-parent family structure | One parent and one or more children. |
| Blended family structure | A married couple, children from a previous marriage and their biological children. |
| Adoptive | Parents and one or more children permanently and legally placed; may be nuclear, single-parent, blended, or extended structures. |
| Foster | Substitute family for a child; may be nuclear, single-parent, blended, or extended family structures. |
| Transition period | Changing from one time in life to another |
| Authority figure | The person in charge of a family |
| Mutual support | Equal support from each parent in the family |
| "Instant family" | Children that come along with a marriage in a blended family |
| Beginning family | Young adults who marry; newlyweds |
| Expanding family | A child-bearing family with one or more young children |
| Parenting family | A developing family with children growing into middle childhood and early teens |
| Launching family | A family with middle-aged parents and children leaving home for college or work |
| Mid-years family | A pre-retirement family with no children at home; empty nest |
| Aging family | Family of elderly adults, usually retired |
| Variations | families that do not follow the "typical" life cycle stages |
