Roles and Dynamics

This week in class we talked about the many different relations and interactions within a family. One interaction we discussed was the symbolic interaction. This is like an interpretation of actions. In every family everyone does different things to get their point across. For an example in my family growing up when my mom got upset she would just go to her room or give really short answers. I just learned to give her space and that was an interaction we had in her family. Like I said every family has them, just look at the simple ques that are given everyday in the family environment. I just think it's so interesting that we can communicate without really communicating.
Another interesting topic we talked about was the system theory. In every theory there are roles for everyone. Usually this can be seen with the siblings depending on the age. Usually with the oldest they take the responsibility of being the mom or dad and try to help raise their siblings. In my family I am the baby of 5 kids. I took the role of the comic relief and the one person everyone could tease. I  think that these roles in our family and the way we grew up impacts the way we interact with those outside the family. Since I grew up being teased I even take that role within my friends and other people. This could have knocked my self esteem down, but it didn't and I'm able to be teased without getting offended or my feelings hurt. Now there are times that I'm not in the mood to always be teased, but I know that for some people they can't help but be sarcastic. So roles in the family are very important in the family and outside.
With roles in the family there are also rules. There are boundaries in family relationships. Once again many families have different boundaries. There are different dynamics and boundaries within the parents and children. I found it interesting in class when our professor mentioned that if one parent is closer to the kid that might often mean that the relationship between the parents isn't as going as good. I never thought it would be hard to have a strong relationship with both your kids and your spouse. Some people spend too much time with their spouse and forget their children and some give all their attention to their children, but not to their spouse which drives a wedge in the family. So I want to ask which relationship is more important, mom and dad, or child and parent? I want to give my personal opinion and say that the relationship between mom and dad is the most important. If their relationship isn't going well then they can't raise a healthy family.
This week just take a look at your own personal family and see what roles and dynamics everyone has. Who is close to who and how can we better those relationships? Until next week!

What are the Trends?

There are many different view points on what a family is to some people. Some people believe that living together as boyfriend and girlfriend is a family while others believe you have to be married to be a family. This week in class we learned a lot about trends that's people are following concerning the families. Just a few trends we talked about were; cohabitation, delayed marriage, pre-martial sex, births to unmarried women, living alone, living with extended families, having fewer children, number of people living in a household, divorce, and employed mothers. Since I am at BYU-I"do" I seemed to be interested in the delayed marriage trend. Growing up in the LDS community I have always felt a pressure to get married right away and especially now that I am a returned missionary the pressure is more intense. I am only 22 years old and sometimes feel like a failure because I am not married yet. I also know plenty of other girls who feel the same way who are my age or even sometimes younger. When we were talking about this subject in class we learned that the typical age for young people to get married outside of the LDS faith is around 26-27 years old. What really surprised me was when our teacher mentioned that the typical age for a young adult in the LDS faith to get married was 24 years old. I was actually pretty shocked and instantly felt a lot better about myself. I wish more people knew about this to help them feel better too and to just remind them that it's ok if you haven't gotten married yet and you're only 21 or 22 years old. People sometimes just need a reminder that they are doing ok in their life.

Another trend that I thought about this week was the having fewer children trend. Are people really having fewer children? Are people choosing careers or money over families? Everyone has their own reasoning for not having children or less children, so is it really any of my business? I necessarily wouldn't say that it's my business, but I do want to express what I have learned mixed with a little of my opinion of having kids. Jobs will come and go, money is money, but children and families are precious. Families will be the main source of happiness. If you are a good person, children need a good home to be raised in. You could be that person for a little baby. You can have a major impact not only on that child's life, but everyone around you when you choose to have kids. Our country is going to need future leaders and such positions that need to filled by your future kids who were raised with good morals and standards. Obviously I have no place to tell people how many children they have, but after this week and what I learned I will put more consideration into that myself.

One last thing I want to bring up is that these trends aren't always good trends to follow. I want to make that clear, and some are more important than others. I think the thing with all of these trends that we try to remember is how it will impact my family and future children. Even though I am not a mother yet, I strive to be good now, so that when the time comes my children will have the best chance and opportunities to be raised in a good and healthy environment. Well that is my take on this week. Until next time!!

Who Am I?

Hello! My name is Maddie Blaylock. I am currently a student at Brigham Young University-Idaho. I am in my 6th semester and majoring in Child Development. I am from a small farm town near Boise, Idaho called Parma, Idaho. My town doesn't even have a stoplight, so it's nice and cozy! I have lived there my whole entire life, until I served my mission in Thailand. I served in the Thailand Bangkok mission and ate rice and yummy Thai food for 18 glorious months. I am the baby of my family being the youngest of 5 kids. I am the only one not married and without kids which makes me the best Aunt and designated babysitter! I made this blog to share my insights and things learned about family relations. I hope you enjoy and don't ever hesitate to leave comments and contribute to my learning!!