The influence of Cultures

Hello!!This week we talked a lot about different cultures of the family and how different cultures around the world affect families. An example of a culture in a family is like being financially stable or not. Some people grew up in poverty, raise their kids in poverty, and see their grandchildren struggle with the same thing. The opposite of that culture obviously is that money isn't a problem for any generation. So we were asked to think about things we liked about some of the cultures in our family and things we didn't like. Some people might hate the cultures in their family, but can't find a way to escape them. I don't think anyone wants to live in poverty but breaking that cycle can be so hard if that's all you know! I'll share something that I want to keep and something I want to fix for my own family. Something that I have loved is that my mom was a stay at home mom. Her mom was a stay at home mom. All my sisters are stay at home moms. I eventually want to be a stay at home mom. What can I do now to follow that culture? I have noticed in my dating life that some guys appreciate that desire of mine and some do not agree. I think it has a lot to do with their own personal family cultures. I have noticed that the guys who want me to work and not be a stay at home mom had mothers who worked. They are just following after their own cultures. I think that is a hard part about getting married is that you have to merge different cultures and decide which ones you'll keep and which ones you don't like and decide as a couple to do what is best for your family. 

As I mentioned before another way we think about cultures is thinking about cultures of a country or ethnic group. How do these cultures affect a family? Can these cultures put a strain on families? Do some people feel like their family has to agree with the culture of their surroundings to fit into the community? Does that change the way they initially wanted to raise their children? A lot of questions to think about, but I think in some way the community and culture of the community has a lot of say in how we should raise our families. An easy example is the Mormon culture. Some people might feel as though they will be judged if they disagree with some of the Mormon culture. Another example I look back to is when I served my mission in Thailand and saw the culture their. In Thailand their culture is very cut and clear. Buddhism is the main religion over there and that has take over the culture. So the members had to try to conform to meet the standards of Thailand culture and the Mormon culture. I always had people tell me that it was hard because you couldn't please everyone. I had a lot of parents ask me  how they were supposed to raise their children in both. They didn't want to forget about their roots. It's just little things like this that can put a strain on their family. Raising a family is already hard enough, it is even harder when you have the outside world around you that is trying to push or influence your family in some way. So to families now or future parents, raise your family the way you want to, whether that includes some culture things or not. That is the magical thing about having your own family is that you have the power to follow or not follow. I hope everyone has a good week. Think yourself about the things you want to keep or not. Write them down and figure out how to get there! Until next time!!