Trends Found in the Family

So this past week in Brother Williams class has been great! Just a little side note, I love the fact that he says "groovy" when he is talking with us! And I love how fun and exciting he is making the class! One of the most interesting things that I learned this week was about the various trends that occur within the family. The ones that we listed include:

• Marriage is occurring later (typically 26 for females, 28 for males).
• Cohabitation is increasing (it is between 60% and 80% now).
• Living alone has increased (due to divorce, personal choice, never marrying, etc.).
• Employed mothers are becoming more common (with children under the age of 6).
• Births to unmarried women are increasing (39.5% of births are to unmarried women).
• There are less births.
• The belief that family life is important is increasing.
• Premarital sex is increasing.
• The average household size is decreasing.

When we were discussing these trends that are taking place in families today, one thing that really caught my attention was how a lot of these trends are connected to one another. For example, because people are generally getting married at later ages, this causes there to be less births because as women get older, they decrease their likelihood of having children. Another example could be that because premarital sex is increasing, there is a chance that those unmarried women are having children. As we closely analyze and look at each trend occurring within the family, we can see how they are all interconnected and work together. I think it is important that we understand how these trends and factors are effecting our families and how we view families in general. 

While one of the trends notes that the belief that family life is important is increasing, there are still many individuals who don't necessarily view families as something that is important. I strongly believe in the value and importance of family life, and I think it is important that we teach our families, especially our children, how important families really are. If we don't teach them the importance of families, who will? 

I am so excited about the things we have been learning in this Family Relations class so far, and I can't wait to learn even more and share it with all of you!