THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE

POOJALAKSHMY V
FAMILY LIFE CYCLE (FLC)
• The FLC is a composite variable created by systematically combining
such commonly used demographic variables as marital status, size of
family, age of family members, and employment status of the head of
household. The ages of the parents and the relative amount of
disposable income usually are inferred from the stage in the family
life cycle.
• The FLC concept is divided into 2 sections :

A. Traditional family life cycle

B. Nontraditional famiky life cycle
 A. TRADITIONAL FLC
• It is a progression of stages through which many families pass,
starting with bachelorhood, moving on to marriage, then to family
growth, to family contraction, and ending with the dissolution of
the basic unit.
 The traditional FLC model is synthesized into 5 basic stages :

Stage 1 : Bachelorhood
Stage 2 : Honeymooners
Stage 3 : Parenthood
Stage 4 : Postparenthood
Stage 5 : Dissolution
Stage 1 : Bachelorhood
• Few financial burdens
• Fashion and recreation oriented
Stage 2 : Honeymooners
• Financially better off
• Highest purchase rate of consumables and durables
• Romantically inclined
Stage 3 : Parenthood
• Elementary school stage
Youngest child < 6 years of age
Low liquid assets
High purchase of baby food and baby oriented products
• High school stage
Youngest child > = 6 years of age
Financially better off
• College phase
All children still financially dependent
High family influence on purchases
Major expense on higher education
Stage 4 : Postparenthood
• Head of the family in labour force
• No dependent chindren
• Expenditure in self development
 Stage 5 : Dissolution
• Single surviving head of family in labour force
• Supported by family and friends
• Have high expendable income
• Spent on loneliness reducing products and services
or
• Single surviving wife
• Low levels of income and savings
• Expenditure on medical products, security, affection
B. NONTRADITIONAL FLC
• The traditional FLC model has lost its ability to fully represent the
progression of stages through which current family and lifestyle
arrangements move. So to compensate these limitations, consumer
researchers have been attempting to search out expanded FLC
models that better reflect diversity of family and lifestyle
arrangements.
An extended FLC scheme accounts for alternative cinsumer realities
Nontraditional FLC stages or Alternative FLC stages :

1. Family households
2. Nonfamily households
1. Family households

• Childless couples
It is increasingly accepted for married couples to elect not to have
children. Contributing forces are more career- oriented married women
and delayed marriages.
• Couples who marry later in life (in their late 30s or later)
More career- oriented men and women and greater occurrence
of couples living togetger. Likely to have fewer or even no children.

• Couples who have first child later in life (in their late 30s or later)
Likely to have fewer children. Stress quality lifestyle : “Only the
best is good enough.”
• Single parent |
High divorce rates(about 50 percent) contribute to a portion of
single-parent households.

• Single parent ||
Young man or woman who has one or more children out of
wedlock.

• Single parent|||
A single person who adopts one or more children.
• Extended family
Young single-adult children who return home to avoid the
expenses of living alone while establishing their careers. Divorced
daughter or son and grandchildren return home to parents. Elderly
parents who move in with children. Newly weds living with in-laws.
2. Nonfamily households

• Unmarried couples
Increased acceptance of heterosexual and homosexual couples.

• Divorsed persons( no children )

High divorce rate contributes to dissolution of households before
children are born.
• Single persons ( most are young )
Primarily a result of delaying first marriages; also, men and
women who never marry.

• Widowed persons ( most are elders )

Longer life expectancy, especially for wome, means more over-75
single – person houshold.
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