Oh Family

Hey kfam!!! So, this week has defiantly been an interesting week in class. We discussed a wide variety of different topics about the family. I just wanted to share with you what I thought was interesting.

The first thing that I thought was pretty interesting was the topic of people who have a happy marriage don’t have conflict. As much as we wish that was true, we all know it’s not. Often times the conflict starts with you or your partner trying to get the other person to do what you want instead of trying to work it out together. We all have gone through that with someone where you don’t really want to do something, but the only reason you do it is because you want to keep the peace. When we do that we are still frustrated with our partner and the conflict is still there, it’s not fully resolved. That’s why you need to work it out together.

Later on, in class we started to talk a little bit about divorce. Usually when someone is getting a divorce you hear them say they were just too different so it wasn’t working out. Sometimes that can be true, but the average couple who is close to divorce has close to ten different areas of incompatibility. You might be thinking yeah, ten is a pretty decent number, but the average couple who is pretty content with their marriage also has ten different areas of incompatibility. This actually surprised me a little bit, but as I though about it a little bit more it made sense. We all have that one pet peeve that drives us absolutely crazy on the inside, we have the choice to either completely blow up about it or simply let it go. To me that’s how we act with differences in a relationship we either blow it out of proportion, or simply let it go.  I do think that differences in a relationship is a good thing, it helps us learn how to look past those differences and see the bigger picture of the relationship.

Another thing that I was completely shocked at was that the employment of mothers with kids under the age of six. In 1950 the percentage of working mothers was about 23.8. In 2007 it jumped to 62.6 percent. In my opinion that is one of the most important times for a mom to be at home. Those first six years of a child’s life is when the bond between a mother and child start to really begin. If you really think about it between those ages are when the child goes through some really exciting things, such as walking, losing their first tooth, and starting to talk. To me those are precious moments in your child’s life that you need to experience. I do however understand that if your family needs a better financial situation and the mother needs to go to work to help support the family that is totally different.

My teacher, Brother Williams, asked us to answer the question “Is it anyone’s business how many kids I have?”  For me this was a really easy question to answer, it was a flat-out no. I personally think that no one has the right to tell me how many kids I can and can’t have. Why does it matter to them if I have four kids versus ten kids, it doesn’t affect them? Then then partner I was discussing the questions said in a way it does affect them in some ways. Say I was living in my parent’s basement and I had eight kids and my family and I were in no hurry to find a place of our own. My parents would probably want a say in how many more kids they could handle because I am living in their house. I do see some of the ways it does affect other people but I still think that they have no business telling me how many kids I should have. I want to know what you guys think of that question, so leave me a comment and tell me what you think!! See you next Saturday!!