By Dr. Jarrod Sadulski | 12/17/2025
As a father of two adult children and a husband married to my wife for over 24 years, I have witnessed the stages of family development firsthand. The family life cycle typically begins with dating that eventually leads to committed relationships.
Family relationships are complex, and they can be either healthy or unhealthy. Marriage often requires compromise, patience, and a willingness to view life as a long-term partnership.
Building a Strong Partnership and Family Life
A strong partnership is built on trust, mutual goals, and compatibility. Healthy partnerships handle future challenges through resilience and communication.
However, a good partnership is more than intimate relationships. Healthy couples build resilience by working through challenges together during their family life.
Each family experiences unique challenges, which may include:
- Physical challenges
- Extended family challenges
- Financial hurdles
When young adults ponder serious relationships, they should give considerable thought to a future family life with that person. Open communication regarding expectations in the various stages of growing a new family is essential.
Parenting and Early Childhood Development
When my children were very young, I wanted to be an intentional father and raise them in a way that would effectively prepare them for the world. Balancing my work and family life was vital to me.
I studied each developmental stage my daughters experienced. When my wife and I were new parents, I was a police officer in Broward County, Florida. As a police officer, I often dealt with juvenile crime. I also worked as a gang liaison officer and on a crime suppression squad.
In that role, most arrests we made involved juveniles for crimes such as burglary, robbery, and assaults. Most of these young people came from an unstable home environment with a bad family life, so their family development was skewed.
Often, juveniles getting in trouble came from family members with substance abuse issues, and both parents were frequently not in the household. Family life has a significant impact on child development and can negatively affect it.
Preparing for Parenthood
An important time in the family life cycle is when couples have children. As I prepared to be a father, I frequently read parenting books and conducted family research to gain a deeper understanding of how to properly fulfill my role as a father.
I wanted to understand how parenting roles influence child development. In the different stages in a child’s life, the beginning years are the most formative.
Why Ages 0-3 Are the Most Critical
According to recent research, the most important years in a child’s development are between birth and three years old. During this developmental stage, it is critical that both parents are engaged and involved in the child’s life.
During this stage, speech and language development, movement and physical development, and cognitive development occur. According to Zero to Three, research shows that all infants and toddlers need good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences to ensure a good start in life.
It is in the first three years of the life cycle that preschool children develop characteristics that shape their personality, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking skills. Out of all life stages, this period in children’s lives and the environment to which they are exposed to is significant.
The abundant support that parents and other family members can provide during this critical time includes a loving, stable home environment free of:
- Substance abuse
- Neglect
- Domestic violence
Providing support to an infant and toddler is more than offering financial support to a family unit. To provide the best opportunity for child development, both parents have an important role in:
- Being present
- Remaining consistent with boundaries and rules for a child
- Fostering a safe, productive learning environment at home
Discipline is important for children in the family unit. When they leave home, those boundaries learned from the family system will help them navigate the complexities of adulthood.
How parents treat each other in a relationship will likely reflect how grown children treat their significant others in their own family life. If children observe that their parents are engaged in domestic violence or loud verbal arguing, then that behavior may be accepted as a normal part of the family system. It can result in similar behavior for those adult children in their own family dynamics.
Family Relationships and Spending Time Together
Family members who spend time with their children often raise children who are better prepared for the different stages of life as the children age. My family and I have spent a lot of time together.
It is also important for parents to spend one-on-one time with their children. From the time my daughters were infants, I have spent one-on-one time with each daughter.
Whether we have a day outing, bring them along for a work trip, or vacation together, that one-on-one time is essential for building confidence, especially for school-age children.
Fathers often underestimate their role in normal family processes and child development. However, fathers help shape the self-confidence of their children.
As children grow up, they know their father has conflicting responsibilities that take him away from them. Children understand that fathers are often out of the household to financially provide for the family.
But what children notice the most is how fathers handle balancing work and their free time. Children quickly notice whether time with them is prioritized or not.
Sibling Relationships and Behavioral Modeling
Sibling relationships are also very important in family dynamics. Healthy family processes should include guiding children through dispute resolution, and parents have an important role in teaching these skills.
Modern Risks from Technology
While child development is an extremely important role in the family life cycle, so is protecting children from harm. It is not only school-age children who are exposed to dangerous criminals.
Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, one of the biggest fears parents had was the suspicious white utility van whose drivers might try to lure children away from a safe environment. Now, the social media platforms that our children use pose hazards.
At a very young age, children are often given digital devices such as tablets and smartphones. They have access to family members’ cell phones, and gaming platforms.
While these digital devices can be used to foster learning, they can also be used by criminals to target children. For example, human trafficking groomers scour the internet for children who are online and unsupervised.
Groomers exploit the vulnerabilities that children post online. In addition to social media, groomers often target children through popular gaming platforms.
To combat these threats, parents must team children about the dangers of the internet and closely monitor their child’s internet use. They should also secure their devices so that young children cannot use those devices without supervision by their parents.
Young Adulthood and Identity Challenges
Adolescence is an important part of the expanded family life cycle. In particular, middle school can be a challenge for children.
During middle school, most children are exposed to behaviors, drugs, and activities that go against family values taught at home. However, children who are raised to be self-confident and respectful of boundaries will likely get through these years much better than those kids who had an unstable early childhood.
Teaching Emotional Intelligence
Family life cycle theory identifies the typical stages families experience over time, from the child-rearing age to the last child leaving the home. Naturally, life stages and caregiving roles change.
One stage in the family life cycle involves the teenage years. Families change and it’s essential to equip children with the tools to help them succeed in their teenage years.
I prepared my daughters for this life cycle stage by teaching them emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence equips people (even teenagers) with the ability to recognize whether someone has a positive influence on them or if they contribute to unhealthy behaviors and decisions.
I encouraged my daughters to apply emotional intelligence by monitoring themselves for changes in their behavior based on the company they kept. Emotional intelligence supports the well-being of teenagers because it helps them identify and control their emotions, which can help them well into adulthood.
Teenage years are emotional transitions toward adulthood, and children should be taught how to control their emotions through emotional intelligence. It is a crucial part of the developmental stage and supports mental health and healthy relationships.
Developmental Tasks
Mental health professionals describe the family life cycle as a framework that displays how families evolve over time and what to expect in different stages for families.
Developmental tasks help to prepare children to be independent. These developmental tasks can also include helping adolescents adjust to and remain resilient when life gets stressful or even exciting.
The Empty Nest and Caring for Aging Parents
It is common for parents to experience “empty nest” syndrome, an adjustment period in the family life cycle that occurs when adult children move out of their parental home to pursue their goals. For empty nesters, that can be a challenging adjustment as their children leave home forever. However, it is often balanced with the pride of seeing adult children taking the knowledge and experience they gained and applying it to their own adult lives.
The later stages of the family life cycle as parents age can be challenging, and it is critical to prepare for them. As parents become older, their physical well-being, including disease control, vision, and overall health, often changes. Cognition may also change.
According to the American Psychological Association, “92% of older adults have at least one chronic condition, and 77% have two or more.” In this stage of the life cycle, extended families may be needed to transport parents and grandparents to appointments and monitor their health issues and safety.
The American Psychological Association also notes that “heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes” result in nearly two-thirds of deaths among people over 65 years of age. As parents and grandparents age, their families can provide support by remaining in close communication. Also, financial assistance may be needed in some cases.
Providing Support through Various Life Stages
Understanding the different stages in the life cycle provides vital insight into how families can grow together and adapt to the common stages they experience over time. Each stage of the life cycle from early relationships to parenting to later-life caregiving will bring unique tasks and challenges for which everyone should prepare. are important to prepare.
The Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies at AMU
For students interested in learning more about infant-toddler development, family development, and other related topics, American Military University (AMU) offers an online Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies. Taught by experienced instructors, the courses offered in this degree program include an introduction to the American family, child and adolescent development, parenting, and an introduction to psychology.
For more information about this bachelor’s degree, visit AMU’s education degree program page.
Note: This program does not award professional licensure and does not qualify you to apply for teaching licensure. This program may be helpful in preparing to earn certain professional certifications.
Also, individual states/professional organizations often require additional hands-on training, internships, or site visits not provided by our University. It is your responsibility to become familiar with all licensure/certification requirements in the state in which you plan to seek employment or from the certification body.
Dr. Jarrod Sadulski is an associate professor in the School of Security and Global Studies and has over 20 years in the field of criminal justice. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Thomas Edison State College, a master’s degree in criminal justice from American Military University, and a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Northcentral University.
His expertise includes training on countering human trafficking, maritime security, mitigating organized crime, and narcotics trafficking trends in Latin America. Jarrod has also testified to both the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate on human trafficking and child exploitation. He has been recognized by the U.S. Senate as an expert in human trafficking.
Jarrod frequently conducts in-country research and consultant work in Central and South America on human trafficking and current trends in narcotics trafficking. Also, he has a background in business development.