Today’s Sex Education Lesson from Vox: Different Kinds of Families

What do the families of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump have in common?

They are all blended families - families where one or all adults in the current relationship have children from a previous relationship! Blended is just one of many, many ways to be family. In our society, we often think that most families are ‘nuclear families’ consisting of a married man and woman, raising their genetically-related children. But, the ‘Leave it to Beaver’ model is no longer the norm. In fact, one of my favorite statistics that I use all the time is that “fewer than half (46%) of U.S. kids younger than 18 years of age are living in a home with two married heterosexual parents in their first marriage. (Pew Research, 2014). In addition to blended families, we have cohabiting, single-parent, LGBTQAI(+), extended, adoptive, foster and chosen families - just to name a few.

When kids bounce off to school, it is often one of the first times they are exposed to families that are different from their own. And so talking about what makes a family and how families are similar and unique, and how to show respect for different families is the beginning of life-long learning about valuing all kinds of families.

When we honor all kinds of families, we honor the people that make up that family - including the kids, who do better socially, emotionally and academically when they feel seen, valued and heard. Respect for others is the cornerstone of healthy friendships which later translates into safe and satisfying sexual relationships which one day may result in a thriving family life.

Though the candidates have different ideas on what families need and how to meet those needs, these high-profile blended families are helping to show the world that there are many ways to be family. No matter our personal politics, we can all thank them for that!

Some discussion questions:

Elementary school: What is a family? Why do we need a family? Is there only one way to be a family or lots of ways to be a family? How are some families the same as each other and how are some families different?

Middle school: What’s a family? What are some different ways people can be a family? Is there a right way and a wrong way to be a family? Are families supposed to always be happy? What are some examples of sadness, loss and grief that families deal with?

High school: What are some things you appreciate about your family? What are some things you wish you could change? Do you envision yourself having a family one day? If so, what will it look like? If not, why not?

Original source: https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/21495274/election-2020-kamala-harris-jill-biden-stepmom-blended-family

Photo credit: Office of the First Lady of the United States