Families are Forever

Picture this: The scene is set! Liz comes through the door, excited beyond anything to see her husband. He promised they would do something together tonight. It had been months since they had gotten married and life hadn't felt quite as exciting as she had pictured it would be before she had dawned the wedding dress. Liz sees Jacob sitting on the couch. Her excitement stretches, considering what he might have planned. He turns and notices her. He smiles. She notices that he is holding something in his hands... Is it flowers? Chocolate? Tickets to a game? It's... a remote. "I thought we were going to do something tonight?" Liz starts, uncertain. "We are," Jacob assures, "We used to watch Netflix all the time when we were dating. Were you expecting something else?" Now, this is the question. Why was she expecting something else? I want to touch a little bit more on the role of dating and how it prepares us for marriage as well as some of the conseque...

 When I was a senior in high school, I worked at a daycare. It was a wonderful place and I absolutely adored the children. We worked with kids from 3 months old to 5 years old. I felt like each day, I was just flooded with love for these little people and their creative minds. I had always had a hard time disciplining them though. I wanted to show them a surplus of love especially when they were having a hard time. One little girl had the most difficult time paying attention. She was sweet as a puppy and had a heart of gold, but she just got distracted so easily. Her teacher got frustrated and after a few warnings, sent her to time out. Imminently after, however, that same teacher turned to me.     She said, "Sylvie, don't you even think about comforting her. Don't hold her, rub her back, or console her. She needs to know that this is not okay!"     This teacher knew I had a soft spot. Throughout the school year, I would have urges to comfort children. If one gi...

When you look at a family, you can usually tell that there are certain roles that people play. Perhaps the sister is the peacemaker of the family or maybe the brother is a trouble maker. Dad could by the authority. Or maybe mom is the authority. Every family is unique and develops their own culture to fit whatever circumstances that they may be in. Different countries and religions promote different family cultures. All of this works together to create their roles. But can a family culture change? Let's take a look at a scenario: Let me introduce you to the Smith family. Dad goes to work. Mom stays home with the kids. Brother helps dad with the cars and the lawn. Sister helps mom with the cooking and cleaning. This most certainly is a stereotype, but let's look at it as a potential example. Mr.Smith was always very stern. He worked during the day at a firm, but made time to see his family in the evening. When his kids Jill and Jack wanted something, they always went to their mo...

     We all want the ideal family, but how? There are thousands of ideas, opinions, and controversies on how to achieve a strong functioning family. While we are limited by not having governing laws in the social sciences, we have theories that can guide us in this very question. I'm going to tell you about the systems theory.     Let's start with an analogy!     Have you ever seen a home with no fences or no distinct boundaries? In this home, people come and go whether friends or family or even strangers. Everything is a very relaxed vibe whether you stay two minutes or two days. The door is left open with an unspoken "EVERYONE IS WELCOME" sign picketed right in front.     Have you come across a home with heavy cinderblock walls surrounding the property? Here, no one enters into the driveway without entering a six-digit code. The front gate is made of steal and lifting as high into the sky as the walls connected to it. The front door has its...

     Have you ever wondered why people are having less and less children? Have you ever stopped to consider how this might influence the world? Well, if you're wondering, stop wondering! If you aren't wondering, start wondering and read below!    What would you say the average number of children per household in the United States is today? If  you chose anywhere from 1-2 kids, you are spot on. The number of children being born to each household is drastically decreasing not only in the United States, but all around the world. Many of us might look at this and think, isn't that a good thing? Less people in the world means less people stealing resources and more room to inhabit, right? Let's take a look at the facts:     In a renowned book known as "The Population Bomb",  Paul Ehrlich claims that populations would always be growing and that growth was exponential. He elaborated on this growth saying that population increase was not only a ...