FINAL

I really enjoyed Brother Willams's Family Relations class this semester! I liked the way it was set up because I felt like I learned a lot more. I liked how the classroom was set up because I felt like the students were actually talking to each other and the class discussion was better facilitated that way. I LOVED the way the final was set up because I am pretty sure I learned 100% more than if I had had to study and memorize answers for a test. I learn greatly through sharing my ideas with others and with getting insights from my peers. Thanks Brother Williams!

Blended families

This week in class we discussed blended families and some of the challenges that come from them. I really enjoyed that Sister Williams was able to come in and talk to us. I think it is really neat that she and Brother Williams were able to make it work. It scared me to think that there are so many challenges that come when a family is blended together, from the inlaws to the legal stuff to the relationships that need to be dealt with and may be damaged. I thought it was very interesting when we had Corbin go up and on the board draw the relations that may happen when two families are blended to together. Mom and Dad need to make sure that everyone is included in decisions so that no one feels left out. Good communication is also key in figuring out little quirks.

Parenting styles

I think that learning about parenting styles and the effects it has on children is very interesting. I did a research paper last fall about parenting styles and which one is proven to work the best for children. All the research pointed towards active parenting (authoritative). My parents are actually authoritative and I have seen the positive effects on my siblings and I. They parented with lots of love and also had high expectations for us. When we needed to be punished we were punished with the knowledge of what we did wrong. My parents took an active part in their children's lives and let us know that no matter what we did they still loved us.

Fatherhood

This is a late blog post but I wanted to write about my dad. I am so grateful to be born into a family where my dad is an active part of my life. Somewhere I read that girls need the love of their father and if they don't have it they will go searching for it somewhere else. Sometimes this means getting themselves into relationships that may harm them. I have a cousin who's parents got divorced when she was young. Her mother was remarried but my cousin was never close to her step-father. She never really had the love of a father in her life and as was always very insecure. At 18 she was married to someone 11 years her senior (I'm not saying marrying someone a lot older than you is bad) who did not share many of our families beliefs and we all questioned her decision. Her husband is now in jail for fraud. I am attributing this situation to the fact that she went looking for love wherever she could find it and she just happened to find it with this man. It hurts me to see her struggle but makes me so grateful my father expresses his love for me and is an active part in my life.