Parenting

Some adverse challenges tScholars have noted that societies adjust to different social factors by using particular family compositions. Throughout history, families have taken on many different forms, shaped by economic and social factors. These family forms sometimes changed within the same country as the needs of families changed. In the past, for example, families often had more children than the average family does today. In part, this is because children represented an economic benefit for families, as children contributed to the work of farms and businesses. Today, children are more of an economic liability for many families, costing a family monetarily rather than boosting its income or wealth. hat families are faced with today are financial and health issues.Family may also be defined differently in different parts of the world. In some cultures, children are brought into the family through informal adoption. Some cultures incorporate what anthropologists have termed "fictive kin" into family composition. These individuals are included in the family group because of feelings of affection, and may be referred to by family names such as aunt, uncle, brother, or sister. Certain cultures have family arrangements such as polygamy, which is the practice of a husband having more than one wife. This is common in some areas of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asian countries. A few scattered cultures practice polyandry, which is when a wife has more than one husband. Polyandrous marriages can be found in Tibet and among a few tribes in Brazil.
Joe lives with his mother and younger sister. His parents divorced several years ago, and his father recently married someone with two sons. Joe spends most of his time in his mother's household, but does spend some weekends with his father, stepmother, and step-brothers.

Jane lives with her parents, siblings, maternal grandparents, and an aunt. The family shares a house and other expenses. Although Jane wishes she had