• At least one parent that is not biologically related to the child/children 
  • Terminology: stepmom/dad, step-siblings, half-siblings
• Grandparents can be considered for a blended family 

• 16% of children live in blended families 
• Since the 90s, the number of having blended families are increasing dramatically 
• children of Hispanic, black, and white and equally likely to live in blended families
• 6 out of 10 women's remarriage create blended families
  • Having more children with their new partner

• Children may be diagnosed with some sort of anxiety or depression. 
• Stress is completely normal for these types of situations.
• The feeling of abandonment may be present for the child/children 
• Books like Hey Kiddo show a child's perspective on his mental health of dealing with family. 

“For the first time, I was seeing my father’s face. And also my brother and sister. They look just like me. The same eyes. The same hair. Turns out I have a brother and a sister...half-brother and half-sister through him.” 
(Krosoczka, 267-270)

• Jarrett was shocked at how his half-siblings have very similar facial features to him. 
•  The feeling of having a new blended family with more members gave him happiness. 
• After spending nearly his beginning years of life, Jarret was able to find out a whole new family and feel complete. 

• There has been a small scale on books involving blended families 
• The themes that are involved with blended families show how evil it is
  • There is a lack of coheiresses and interactions between the two families. It's being shifted to the both strengths and challenges of a blended family. The blended family is more in the media. 
• There is still a variety of unrealistic and negative perspectives of stepfamilies. 

• Bliss, Beverly. “Step Families.” Parenthood in America, 15 Oct. 1998, http://parenthood.library.wisc.edu/Bliss/Bliss.html.
• Krosoczka, Jarrett J. “Chapter 8: Lost and Found.” Hey Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found
  My Father and Dealt with Family Addiction, edited by David Levithan, Graphix, Oct. 2018, pp. 253–304.
• “Making stepfamilies work.” American Psychological Association, 23 Aug. 2019, http://www.apa.org/topics/stepfamily.
• Meleen, Michele. “Blended Family Statistics.” Love to Know; Family & Relationships, May 2020, https://family.
  lovetoknow.com/co-parenting/blended-family-statistics.

“You are not a grenade Hazel, not to us. Thinking about you dying makes us sad, Hazel, but you are not a grenade. You are amazing. You can’t know, sweetie, because you’ve never had a baby become a brilliant young reader with a side interest in horrible television shows, but the joy you bring us is so much greater than the sadness we feel about your illness” (Green, 103)

• Hazel feels that nobody has the capability of understanding her outside of the support group
• Here, we see that nobody other than another parent of a cancer patient can grasp their love and sacrifices.
• Her parent’s rebuttal was an example of how parents are to stay calm, but not hide their feelings from their child in this situation

• In most cases, the mother is tasked with treatment related needs and the keeping track of hospital visits, medications, etc.
• Studies have shown that mothers with strong support from family and friends substantially impact how a they face the challenge of having an ill child

• While the mother may have to cut back on work or quit completely, the father is usually tasked with providing for the family financially
• Studies have shown that fathers tend to find solace in healthcare officials and extended family

• Many times, the siblings of chronically ill children can be overlooked and mistreated, but not intentionally
• Treatments can result in prolonged hospital stays and disrupt the home life. Parents then become preoccupied with the needs of their sick child and neglect those of their seemingly healthy one
• Approximately 63% of siblings have adjustment issues following a diagnosis
• Excessive anxiety, depression, academic issues, and social problems are prevalent in many siblings
• Siblings of chronically ill children yearn to feel validated and important

• After the completion of treatment, children can experience a wide range of emotions from relief, to joy, to abandonment
• Some children even find it hard to adjust back to “normal” life
• Some children found that they experienced less attention post-treatment
• Most children find the ability to return to school gives them a sense of normality and sense of being
• Some children find themselves in a healthier state of mind and a “social butterfly” when in remission, while others struggle with increased anxiety and a sense of selflessness
• The transition from cancer patient to cancer survivor looks different for each and every child

“A drive, too, meant a chance to be with Dad and Mother. If you were so lucky, even to sit with them on the front seat. There were so many of us and so few of them that we never could see as much of them as we wanted.”
Cheaper by the Dozen
(Gilbreth and Carey, 13)

• The children as a whole feel they are constantly fighting for attention from their parents.
• This quote offers a sense of what the children from a 14-person household feel when they are neglected more than usual.

“My mother washed my hair at two o’clock… She set it in big rollers all over my head... Then she filed my nails with an emery board instead of just cutting them like usual.” (Blume, 93).

• Margaret, and only child in a family of three, has her mothers undivided attention when she needs her assistance.
• This shows that only children are more likely to have the attention and care that they need by being the center of focus for their parents.

• Average amount of children in a small family ranges from 1-3 (varies due to opinion) 
• Children in small families tend to be more self-sufficient, mature and well-behaved, but can lack social skills
• They receive an abundant amount of attention, love, and care
• Parents tend to become overprotective of children
• Risk of child becoming spoiled or coddled

• Large family typically is 3+ children
• Kids with siblings have better social skills, learn how to build relationships, respect diversity of other, and have built in friendships
• Possible to receive little on-on-one attention from parents; older children often take on the role of parent
• Parents are typically not overprotective of children
• Children learn how to share and cooperate with siblings before entering grade school

“I wish I could meet this woman who shaped so much of Bella’s character. Part of me would have preferred that Bella had an easier, more traditional childhood--that she could have gotten to be the child. But she...didn’t seem resentful in any way. She liked to be the caretaker...perhaps this was the real secret as to why she was drawn to me. Had anyone ever needed her more?”-Edward, page 293"It’s hard for her to stay in one place very long...I did what I could to free her from all the mundane stuff...I feel like kind of a bad daughter...she doesn’t have to stay in one place for me anymore. And then Charlie, I never thought about him needing me, but he really does. The house is too empty for him.”

• Shows that Bella was the parent in the situation with her mother
• Outlines several important personality traits that align with parentification: the need to take care of others, the independence, and the guilt of not doing enough
• Takes Edward's viewpoint into account, shows that he understands what happened to Bella
• Also shows the beginning of his dependence on her, which is a result of parentification with future romantic relationships

• Occurs when your mother is the person you assume the caregiving role of
• Children grow up to be withdrawn and uncommunicative, have a difficult time establishing a personal identity, and can suffer from depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem 
• Children develop a personality that is purely family-based 
• Children grow up to have a more difficult time forming close relationships with others

• Occurs when your father is the person you assume the caregiving role of
• Children grow up to be withdrawn and uncommunicative, have a difficult time establishing a personal identity, and can suffer from depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem 

• Two negative attachment types (avoidant and anxious) are mostly associated with parentification
• Anxious and avoidant attachments are  known to have irrational jealousy in their romantic relationships and experience constant emotional ups and downs throughout their relationships 
• Avoidant also have a fear of both physical and emotional intimacy, leading them to often shut down and be unable to open up and become closer to people. 

• In childhood, parents need to outline the difference between parent and child roles in the family. Failure to do this causes a future lack of connection to the outside world 
• In adolescence, teenagers have a harder time forming close relationships to people around them, causing them to be at a greater risk to experience low self-esteem and loneliness
• The blurred roles cause a lack of sense of self/emotional boundaries between themselves and others, lack of intimacy, and poor social adjustment  

• Greater risk for the development of psychological disorders and substance abuse
• Reduction of hippocampus which leads to reduced stress and emotional management, and memory regulation
• Greater risk of chronic illnesses such as cancer

• All of these aspects from childhood can cause negative impacts on romantic relationships, causing insecurity and a lack of satisfaction with your significant other
• Stems from childhood: sole function is to support the family, so as an adult, you see yourself as only being valuable if you can be of use to others
• See themselves as the sole provider of happiness for significant other
• Often put their significant other's needs before their own, which can lead to being taken advantage of and a problem developing boundaries

• Can be done through self awareness and therapy to promote healthy change
• Children who have gone through this are able to empathize on higher levels
• Adaptive parentification: temporarily allows for the child to assume more parental-roles, which are usually due to a temporary illness of the parent. Allows for empathy, self competency, and social skills to develop in children, which helps with the cohesion of the family. 

• A father, a mother, and children (1 or more)
• The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)
  • Of 10,700 children, 78% of them were from nuclear families (Mollborn et al. 396)
• "Normative in many U.S. contexts" (Mollborn et al. 400)

“A month later, my sister met another boy and started playing happy records again. And my dad kept working. And my mom kept sweeping. And my brother kept fixing his Camaro” (Chbosky “August 25, 1991”)

• Charlie is the youngest of three children
• His father works, and his mother sweeps, as he stated in the novel (shown above).
• Father: provider ("working")
• Mother: homemaker ("sweeping")
• According to research done by University of California sociology professors William and Denise Bielby, men and women tend to identify with both working and family roles, but the way they come to identify with these roles and the level of priority they place on their family role differs:

“…family is given priority in the distribution of role identities among working wives….a strong family identity obligates [husbands] to very limited responsibilities outside of the ‘provider’ role” (Bielby and Bielby 786) 

• A woman, even if she does work outside of the family structure, will place priority on her family, whereas a man in the provider role will not feel the need to participate in duties at home that a woman would "typically do," such as the sweeping in Charlie's household.
  • This does not mean that a father would not parent, but he would feel as though his main responsibility in the family structure is providing for them (income, material things, etc.).

• Bielby, William T., and Denise D. Bielby. “Family Ties: Balancing Commitments to Work and Family in Dual Earner Households.” American Sociological Review, vol. 54, no. 5, 1989, pp. 776–89. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2117753. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.

• Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Kindle ed., New Castle District Library Center, 2010.

• Mollborn, Stefanie, et al. “Who Matters for Children's Early Development? Race/Ethnicity and Extended Household Structures in the United States.” Child Indicators Research, vol. 4, no. 3, July 2011, pp. 389-411, doi:10.1007/s12187-010-9090-2.

• Students show more engagement with novels they can identify with

• These recent novels offer a variety of family structures to analyze, but family is often overlooked as an important aspect of literature.
  
  

• Why it is important in the classroom:
  • 1. Exposes students to different family types
  • 2. Helps students find a connection between their life and literature

• Larger issues and factors with family types
  • Race
  • Ethnic background
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Culture
  • Etc.

"Captain Siege had found her and Di in an escape pod in the wreckage of a cargo ship… No survivors- except for them. She didn’t even have pictures of her parents" (Poston, pp. 6)

• Captain Siege took Ana into her family and raised her like she was her own child. 
• Ana and Di become apart of this new family, which is made up of different types of people, none of them are actually biologically related. 

“She loved the crew of the Dossier, Captain Siege’s ship. They were her home” (Poston pp. 6)

• Ana thought of the crew as her own family.
• She grew up knowing nothing different than this as her normal so she's always accepted this ragtag crew of outlaws as her real family. 

• A found family is a group of people that you feel close to and are not biologically related. 
• They provide the individual with comfort, which they are lacking from their biological family. 
• Usually does not fit into the typical nuclear family mold
• Can be as large or small as you want it to be
• The group will usually be connected through similar experiences and personal bonds to one another.
• Chosen families are more relatable to readers in the LGTBQ+ community

• Sometimes those in the LGBTQ+ community find themselves estranged or removed from their biological families after coming out. 
• Finding a group of people with similar experiences gives these readers a sense of community and acceptance. 
• Found Families support each other and choose to be an active part in each other's lives. 

• Band of outlaws that live together and treat each other like a family
• Siege and Talle act as the mother figures, taking in new members and taking care of the crew.
• None of the crew is biologically related, but they share a bond that is thicker than blood.
• Ana finds home in the people she considers family. She knows she can rely on her family to always have her back. 

• Coming of age readers may struggle to find where they fit in with their family, or may be outright rejected by their biological family. 
• Themes of found families show readers that family doesn't just have to be who you are biologically related to
• Author's communicate with their readers about the positives of found family and how the concept can provide a healthy look on family dynamics. 
• This trope shows readers that the traditional nuclear family might not be realistic for everyone, and that's okay. Readers are shown that they can forage their own families that will love and support them.

• Brooks, David. “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 19 Mar. 2020, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-nuclear-family-was-a-mistake/605536/. 
• Nobel, Jeremy. “Finding Connection Through ‘Chosen Family.’” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 14 June 2019, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/being-unlonely/201906/finding-connection-through-chosen-family. 
• Poston, Ashley. Heart of Iron. Balzer + Bray, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2019.