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Summary
There are many kinds of families. Some have two parents, while others have a single parent. Sometimes there is no parent and grandparents raise grandchildren. Some children live in foster families, adoptive families, or in stepfamilies.
Families are much more than groups of people who share the same genes or the same address. They should be a source of love and support. This does not mean that everyone gets along all the time. Conflicts are a part of family life. Many things can lead to conflict, such as illness, disability, addiction, job loss, school problems, and marital issues. Listening to each other and working to resolve conflicts are important in strengthening the family.
Related Issues
- Adoption and Foster Care (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
- Family Arguments (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
- Home Alone Children (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Also in Spanish
- How to Support Your Child's Resilience in a Time of Crisis (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- Importance of Family Routines (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
- Improving Family Communications (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
- Infidelity: Mending Your Marriage after an Affair (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- International Adoption (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Military Families (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Also in Spanish
- Stepsiblings (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
- Taking Care of Your Grandchildren (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Thinking about Adoption (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
- FastStats: Marriage and Divorce (National Center for Health Statistics)
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Family
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Children
- Children and Divorce (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Also in Spanish
- Coping with Divorce (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Preparing Your Child for a New Sibling (Nemours Foundation)
- Running Away (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- What Is Divorce? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Teenagers
- Dealing with Divorce (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Why Do I Fight with My Parents So Much? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.