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!