Blended Families

This week we talked about the challenges that come with divorce and remarriage. It is a really difficult process for many individuals to go through. One of the hardest positions fall on the children. They feel like a go-between in the family. They don't want to hurt the feelings of either parent when it comes to where they want to live, but many parents do get offended anyways. Something interesting is that girls actually handle divorce within the family better than boys do. Part of this might be because usually the children live with the mother, and they don't have that constant male role model anymore. Then comes the complications of blending families, and stepparents who want to be a positive influence in their step-children's lives, but are unsure of the best way to approach it.

Are You There

This last week was about the importance of parenting and being involved with your child. Talk and listen and spend time together. I thought this Mormon Message was perfect.

Fatherhood

This week in class we were actually given an assignment to find a journal article that had done research to find the importance of fatherhood. That was actually the title of my article, The Importance of Fatherhood. In this article is discussed the various benefits that fathers brought to the family. One of the things that fathers provide to their families is the economic support. It was researched and found that “in homes where a father is present, those in the household are less likely to be poor (Importance p.1).” Children that live in homes with an involved fathers also show higher academic achievement. Fathers are also extremely important at showing the benefits that come from having a positive, well-developed adult relationship. He does this with his relationship with his wife. With the children “boys who witness their father treating their mother with respect and affection are more likely to treat women with the same respect, and girls who witness these positive relationships are more likely to look for that type of positive relationship (Importance p.2).” It is important to recognize that fathers have a huge impact on their families, and to never let there work and importance go unnoticed and under appreciated.

Power & Conflict

This week we talked about the importance of recognizing the different power techniques that members in families may use to achieve something they want. The different power types include coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, referent, and informational. It is important to be aware of these methods, so you can be aware of when you are using them or when they are being used against you. When you are aware of the use of power preventive measures can be taken to improve the relationship between family members. Power can be used in response to conflict between people. Conflict is when there is a difference in opinion, perspective, or experience. It is important to not manipulate those you love, or be manipulated by those as well through the use of power.

Family Crisis

This week we talked about coping with stressful situations in the family. As I was looking at some videos I found this MormonMessage about a father who had a lot of difficult situations come up in his family, but he was strong and they all worked together to push through. He didn't turn to denial, or alcohol, or abuse. He was loving and kind, and it brought the family closer together and made them stronger. I wanted to post this video as a reminder of what marriage and family should be about, and it fit pretty well for Father's Day as well.

The Types of Affair

When ones mentions affair today, we automatically think of sexual relations. There are emotional and physical affairs though. Emotional affairs include: fantasy and romantic. Fantasy is described as "having an emotional affair with someone who has no knowledge about what is taking place, or with someone who is anonymous and would likely never be met." Romantic is "when an individual becom[es] emotionally involved with a specific person other than his or her spouse." The physical affairs are visual and sexual. A visual affair "such as pornography are perhaps the most common type of infidelity." Sexual, of course, is when a person engages in sexual acts with someone other than the person they are attached to. It is important to recognize that many of these affair types are linked and can lead to another. One most take the proper steps to prevent all of these affair types from occurring, so a marriage or relationship can stay strong.

Marriage

I really enjoyed this weeks discussions about keeping a marriage strong, and working through the hard times. When children come it really is important to involve the father and mother in the entire process. Have him go to check-ups with you. Work on names together, and discuss how the workload is going to change when the baby is born. It is really important to just work together and express your love. As I went throughout this week I thought of this Mormon Message and how it really does apply.