What I have learned

Well, next week is the last week of this class. I have learned so much from this class about the family and how they work. One of my favorite topics in class that we discussed was parenting. I have always enjoyed studying about how to parent children effectively. After taking this class I have a better idea of how to parent my children. Another thing that really interested me was communication in the family. So many times things go wrong in the family because a family member has not communicated effectively. It is so important to have open communication in a family. Another topic that we talked about that interested me was stress in the family. It made me reflect back on the times in my family that we have been under stress and the most recent time and the reactions of everyone in the family. As I look back on this class as a whole it's been such a good experience and I have learned so much. I am so grateful that I was able to take this class. My knowledge has increased about the family as a whole.

Parenting

I was happy that we discussed parenting this week. When I was younger, I would read my mom's parenting books. They fascinated me. Anyway, we watched several short videos about how to parent your teenagers. Active parenting instead of permissive or authoritative parenting. At first I kind of laughed at the videos. The teenagers in the videos seemed a little fake and the parents did somewhat as well. But the more I watched them, the more I realized how true they were. I hope to be a really good parent someday. I know I won't be perfect, but I will work on being the very best parent I can be.  I really enjoyed our discussion in class today about how everyone needs to be touched. I remember as a little girl my mother having to chase me to give me a hug sometimes but I still liked to be held and cuddled especially when I was upset. My parents showed me alot of love and affection. I would consider myself to be a huggy person. It's one way that I show people I love and care about them.

Work in the Family

This week we have talked about work and it's impact on families. Working together brings a family closer together. We talked about how work has changed over the centuries. I plan to be a stay-at-home mother and cannot wait to have exciting and meaningful experiences with my children. I have made two goals regarding work in my future family. The first goal is that I will send the message to my children from a young age that it is a privilege to be able to work with mom or dad. I will make sure that there are plenty of opportunities for my children to work one-on-one with either my husband or myself. My second goal is that I will strive to never speak negatively about work. I will speak positively about it to my children so that they will think of it as a positive rather than a negative. Work is something that every person has to participate in. I think that if it is made to be enjoyable rather then a drudgery, then children will learn to love and enjoy it.

Communication: One of the keys to a successful family

 This week in class we have been discussing communication and how important it is to communicate with each other in the family. It's so important to have good communication in the family. Everyone wants to be heard. Sometimes a person just needs to talk and have someone listen to them. We ALL need that. I feel that when someone has proper communication, they are being selfless. They are thinking of the other person and what they are saying and how they are feeling. In my future family, I plan to communicate effectively with my husband and children. Although good communication isn't the only key to a successful marriage, I feel that it is a big part of it.

For today's assignment, we were to write down 10 different times we can remember our family being under stress. It didn't take too long for me to come up with 10. I would like to take time to ponder and explore each on a little more. All families go through stress. It's something that simply cannot be avoided. But it can certainly be dealt with in an appropriate manner. I know that I will go through stress when I have a family of my own someday. I will seek help from the Lord during those times. I know that he will make the stresses that come into our family easier to bear.

Affairs

In class today, we talked about affairs. It was interesting to me because you can have an "affair" with a family member or even a friend that is the same gender. If one of  the people are talking on the phone to their mother for many hours each day, that could be considered an affair. Or if the wife is confiding personal matters to her girlfriend and not her husband. Marriages binds two people together and they literally become one. They are to let nothing get between that sacred bond.

"I want your daughter's hand in marriage..."

Today in class we talked about if the guy a girl is seriously dating should ask the girl's father before proposing to her. This really got me thinking. In the past, I guess this wasn't that important to me. But as I pondered it today, I thought how much sense it makes. My Father knows me well. Not only that, but he is an expert at knowing guys and if they are jerks or not. Not that I would be dating a jerk, but I know that my father would be able to tell if the guy was A. Right for me B. Take care of me C. Respect me. I could see a guy a certain way because I was in love with him, but my Dad would be able to see him from a slightly different prospective. When it comes time, I hope the young man will ask my father's permission to marry me.