Week 13

Well class is over....and I am rather sad! I am grateful for the opportunity I had to learn so much. For our final we had to pick two topics and teach them to a fellow class mates. I thought it would be a lot harder then it actually was. The final got me pumped to want to share what I have learned with others.

Thanks for reading,
Becca

Week 12

This week was probably the best week of the whole semester! We learned about parenting, which is something that really interest me. My professor talked about the needs of kids-which are contact and belonging, power, protection, withdrawal and challenge. We we ran out of time so we were only able to go over contact and belonging and power. With contact and belonging the child's mistaken approach is to undue attention seeking, to stand offish. When this happens the parents need to offer contact freely and to encourage contribution. A child's mistaken approach when it come to power is to control others or to have a power struggle. The parent's response should be to create responsibility through choices and consequences.

Week 11

This week I was really sick and wasn't able to come to class but I really liked this quote form President Thomas S. Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he said "We do live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. Statistics reveal that at some time, for a variety of reasons, you may find yourself in the role of financial provider. I urge you to pursue your education and learn marketable skills so that, should such a situation arise, you are prepared to provide."

Week 10

This week in class we learned about communication Often times couples say that they don't communicate well with each other, that is because they aren't actually communicating at all! There are many means of communication there are words, tone and non-verbal communication. Most of the time 14% of communication is words, 35% is tone and over 50% is non-verbal. My professor said that they most effective way to communicate is to communicate not be to be understood but communicate so you will not be misunderstood. Some other ideas that class mates gave on how to communicate effectively was to not beat around the bush, to validate what the other person is saying, listen, use I feel statements, communicate love and focus-don't bring up the past!

Week 9

This week we learned about how you deal with stress in the family. My professor showed us a diagram of how we think about an experiences. It starts with the Actual event, Both resources, Cognition all equals to  the total experience. What I really liked about this week was when we talked about parents losing a child and the hardship that that event brings. It just reminded me of how hard the pioneers had it. The pioneers had many children die on the trail and they had to bury them by the road and just keep going. I think that we can look to the pioneers and see their strength and how they over came their hardships.

Week 6

So I somehow missed a week of a blog post don't know how that happened but here is a trip back in time! That week we had learned about the transition into marriage. I really liked this quote my Elder Russell M. Nelson-"Meanwhile, mortal misunderstandings can make mischief in marriage. In fact, each marriage starts with two built-in handicaps. It involves two imperfect people. Happiness can come to them only through their earnest effort. Just as harmony comes from an orchestra only when its members make a concentrated effort, so harmony in marriage also requires a concerted effort. That effort will succeed in each partner will minimize personal demands and maximize actions of loving selflessness."    When you get married you have to blend two life's together and that can be difficult through communication and compromise you can overcome those difficulties. 

Week 8

This week in class we talked about the importance of sexual intimacy in a marriage. I think sex between a man and a women is very important once they have taken the vow of marriage. I think that sexual intimacy is a way for a couple to bond. There are many challenges that come with sexual intimacy but it is when you work through those problems that you have a strong couple. Through sexual intimacy needs of the female and male can be meet, both partners can learn to focus on each other instead of themselves, is a way to progress spiritually, build self control and is a leap of faith. All these things are Christ like attributes and that is what we are striving for in this life.

Week 7

This week in class we learned about the importance of proper dating and how that can affect your marriage down the road. First off dating is a variety of activities with a variety of people, courtship is when you are paired off with someone, and just seeing that one person. We also talked in class about attachment, it is important that you know them the most, trust them less then you know them, rely less than you trust, commit less than you rely and touch less then you commit. If you raise the touch notch higher then know, trust, rely and commit it usually raises them all, thus making you maybe feel something for someone, that really isn't there.

Week 5

I have to say this week has been pretty mind blowing! This weeks discussion was on same sex attraction.Sense proposition 8, in California, I have had hard feelings against those who are "gay" or lesbian". I have judged people wrongly and I am very sorry for that. My point of view has completely changed. I now know the struggle and hardships that same sex attraction causes and what events lead up to same sex attraction. I do not think that men and women are "born that way", I think that life events cause confusion and same-sex attraction. My teacher explained it like this:

Variation X (can lead to) Temperament (can lead to) Preference of activity-gender typical or atypical (can lead to) Perceive self as different (can lead to) Non-Specific anomic response (can lead to) Being Sexualized

Week 4

 Are some cultures more valid than others? This was the question of the week in my family relations class. When asked this question I thought about all  the cultures in the world and all the different dynamics we have on this Earth. It is a beautiful thing, that I don't think we can say that one culture is valid and one is not. We also read a story about a Hispanic family moving to America and the difficulties that they had to go through. It really made me think of Hispanic families in a whole different way. I don't think I could  make that lonely and scary trip to America. I am very proud to be an American.

Week 3

This week has been pretty crazy! This week in my family relations class I learned about family theories  you might be asking what are family theories? Well let me teach you...:)
1. Family System theories- view the family as a whole. Each member has a specific purpose in their family and when each member of that family comes together they create a beautiful family
2. Exchange theory- cost vs benefit
3. Symbolic Interaction theory- we are always creating meaning, everything is symbolic
4. Conflict theory- differing opinions make decisions

Some families connect with different theories. I have to say symbolic interaction theory defines my family!

Week 2

This week on my journey to define family I came across some interesting things! From 2000 to 2012, according to the US Census, husband-wife households has increase 3.7% but the percent of households with own children has decreased 5.0%. I also thought this finding was interesting single female households without own children had increased 29%. I didn't even know there are households with single moms living without their own children! Also single male households have increased 29%! I also learned that native Hawaiians have the highest same sex partner percentage, while Vermont is the state with the highest same sex couples. Yesterday, I also watched a very interesting documentary about how fertility rate has decreased to a dangerous number, worldwide!

You can watch the documentary here:
New Economic Reality Demographic Winter 

Hi everyone! My name is Becca Lassen I was born and raised in Thousand Oaks,California but my family and I recently moved to St. Louis, Missouri. I am the second youngest child, in a family of 7. This blog is going to be about the "Family". What I think that means, what  professors think that means and what God thinks that means.