Blended Families

A blended family is a family where one or more of the parents have been divorced and have kids from the previous marriage. I learned that a blended family is not ideal and divorce should not ever be the immediate answer to marital problems. There was a study of divorced couples and the results showed that 70% of couples who divorced, two years later realized they could have saved the marriage and should have. Something that is very taboo in our society is marriage counseling. Some people would rather get divorced than go talk to a therapist. I think that is ridiculous!! A quote that I really like is, "The grass is always greener on the side you water." This quote really stuck out to me because relationships really are only as good as what is put into them. I have a lot of great examples in my life of what it means to be in a happy marriage. I am very blessed to have the parents I have and I hope to have a marriage like theirs someday.

Popkin's Problem-Handling Model

When there is a problem between parents and their child/teen, a good source to use is "Popkin's Problem-Handling Model." To follow the model, the parents begin with a polite request. Then they explain how they're feeling with an "I" message. For example, "When you _____, I feel _____ because ____." If that does not work then the parents must use a firmer message. If that still doesn't work then the parents must give a logical consequence, meaning a consequence that logically fits the child's actions. An example of this is if a child keeps leaving their bike out on the lawn, the logical consequence is to take the bike away for a couple of days. That way the child knows that leaving the bike out will prevent him/her from being able to use it. Whereas, if the parent just punished the child by making him/her take out the trash, the child doesn't learn how to take care of the bike. It has to be a logical consequence. Parents must always show love for their children, even when punishing them. Discipline is a teaching moment, not a time to give negative talk to your child. Children need to have contact and feel like they belong. Parents must show respect for their children so that their children will respect them in return.

The History of Work and the Family

Before the Industrial Revolution and World War II, families all worked together to provide a living. Work and family were not separate. Moms and Dads worked together to accomplish goals. It was not uncommon for families to live upstairs and have their place of business on the first floor. When the Industrial Revolution came, fathers left to work in factories for 12 or more hours a day, while mothers stayed home with the children. Fathers became more separate from the family and World War II didn't help. Fathers were sent off to war and mothers were then depended upon to work in factories. They had to help their country and provide a living for their family. This was a huge impact on the family. Families were no longer working together towards a common goal, but became very separate in their lives. When the war was over and the men came home, women didn't want to give up their wages to let their husband be the provider. Wages then became independence and freedom. Today, the man or the woman can be the main provider, but families never did go back to working together to earn a living. We all need to keep in mind the importance of being a family unit. Even if we don't spend every second of the day together, we need to remember to make quality time for each other and have family activities together. Family is the most important thing.

Communication

Communication is fourteen percent words, thirty-five percent tone, and fifty-one percent nonverbal. This shows that most of what we say really isn't conveyed through our words but through our body language and tone of voice. When we communicate we send an idea, thought, or emotion and then the other person has to decode our message and then send their idea, thought, or emotion. If anything is misread then it can become very complicated, especially over text or e-mail. We must give the person the benefit of the doubt and assume the best (within experience). We must be patient, kind, generous, and compassionate. The best communication advice you will ever find is not from me. It is found in the Bible, in the New Testament, in Ephesians, Chapter four, verses twenty-nine through thirty-two. It reads, "(29) Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (30) And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (31) Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: (32) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Crisis in the Family

Crisis can be defined as danger and opportunity. The ABCX Model shows how a family deals with a crisis. "A" stands for the Actual event (What happened?). "B" stands for Behavioral responses (How do they react?). "C" stands for Cognitions (How does the family define the crisis?). "X" stands for eXperience. In a crisis the family turns to resources that they have and try to figure out how they can use those resources. Resources can be things such as: people (extended family and friends), education, religion/faith, money (savings), etc. Each family member may cope with a crisis differently and you just have to make sure that one family member isn't taking on all the stress or weight. A crisis is a chance for the family to learn and grow, that is why there is opportunity. A crisis shouldn't break down a family, but should bring them closer together, despite the challenges they are facing.

Marital Intimacy

Marital intimacy is a very special thing. Exclusive sexual intimacy makes sex more emotional and brings the couple closer together. Sex in marriage is very bonding. Husband and wife should be able to self-disclose during sex in a non-critical way. Communication is very important and that is why you must be able to feel safe, loved, and comfortable with your spouse. All that being said, marital intimacy is worth the wait because the more people you have sex with, the harder and harder it becomes to attach to someone because you lose trust in people more and more. My professor said, "You can never get enough of what you don't need because what you don't need can't satisfy you." This is true for a lot of things, but especially for sex. Sex can be a very special thing as long as it is with the right person, under the right circumstances (in marriage), at the right time.

Marriage Preparation

I titled my post this week "Marriage Preparation" because a lot of people these days are not truly planning for marriage and they just jump in, not really knowing what kind of commitment it is. Marriage preparation starts all the way back in the dating phase. People usually move from dating to proposal to marriage. The way it should go is this: dating, courtship, engagement, and then marriage. Too often we see that men are not courting women anymore. They assume that because you are boyfriend and girlfriend that they don't need to ask to court you, but when they do ask it shows a lot of respect for the girl and also for her family. When it comes to proposals guys think they have to go all out, which is kind of true, but not in the general sense. A proposal should be intimate, something you two share together, and it should be done in a way that is meaningful to you both. Engagements are the perfect time for couples to really start planning for marriage and making decisions together. Make sure you talk about important and hard things with your fiancee because that is how you'll know if you guys can work together as a team. Marriage becomes much easier when you can count on your spouse and make the right decisions together.