I really enjoyed this weeks class discussion. We talked a lot about gender roles and why males and females are so different from each other. One reason, one very significant reason, is because that is just the way we were created. Men and Women are just created differently and were made to fulfill different roles. And I don't mean to say that women can't have career's or meet specific goals that women have made for themselves like getting an education and/or a career. But, women are naturally better at nurturing than men are. Women seem to have this innate ability to take care of a child and know what they need sometimes just by looking at them. Women, can and do, make connections to EVERYTHING! Whereas, men, generally think a little more spatially then women do. That is why more often than not men are better at things like football, or math, or building things then are women. Not to say that women can't do these things and do them well, because we can, but it comes much more naturally for men. I believe that we were made differently for a reason, I believe that we men and women have different roles to fill in life. No I don't think being a mother is for everybody or that being a stay at home mom is the only option for us as women, but I do believe that there are reasons that we are different and raising a family really shows those differences and why they work in the family system. Children need a mother and a father, and they need those mother/father roles for some very important reasons. A mother and a father offer extra support for their children, they offer extra love, they provide and meet their children's needs together. And the list can go on and on for the reasons why men and women are different.

This weeks discussion I thought was really interesting as we talked about different family dynamics and the roles that are played by each of the different family members and how those roles can change as circumstances change. I think that it is interesting how when a circumstance changes whether it be a death in the family, divorce, loss of job(s), etc. People in the family have to change and step up at times. Often times, for example, if a husband or wife loses their jobs, one or the other either has to start working if they hadn't before or take on more work if both were already working.
Today in particular we were talking about illegal immigration and how often times, only one member of the family (father) will come before the rest of the family and work, planning on sending money to the rest of the family back home, and more often than not, that still is not enough. So, to compensate for their losses, the mother and the older children back home will go to work, which in turn, causes younger children to grow up sooner than they normally would. They start to take on roles of providers and caretakers to help earn and save money to meet up with their family that has gone ahead. Relationships change as head of household roles change, while the father is away working and earning money, mother is home acting out both parental roles while working and earning money for her family. There are so many factors that play into running a family and playing roles and staying close as a family through hardships and trials. I think that it is so interesting how trial and hardships can either pull families together or apart from each other making each person much more dependent on themselves and not relying on anyone else.

Today in class we discussed how the parents play such a significant role in how the family functions as a whole. Some very interesting points were made about how different problems that occur within the family usually start when there is some sort of conflict or tension between the husband and wife and as they come closer and work out their individual problems and concerns the family slowly becomes closer and united as a whole. The problems, whatever they may be, become less and less of a problem in the family. I thought how interesting it was, for example, we talked about asthma that children developed, and I've forgotten the % that was given but as parent trials started to diminish, so did their children's asthma attacks. It is amazing to me what kind of problems can come about through different tensions and trials that the parents go through.

This week talking about the family was really enlightening to me. I have always had questions and never knew which sources were the right sources. Just in these last two weeks I have really seen the importance of research and checking the sources to make sure that they are reliable. There are so many details to look into to know for sure that my sources found are reliable, accredited sources. I have to look at the studies done, how many other people have done the same study and what their conclusions were, if all conclusions to the same study were compatible, etc. There is so much to look at!! But there is so much out there to learn, there are both good and bad things and I'm excited to continue learning about the facts and how to know how to find the right sources

My name is Christie Chandler (Smith on the roll). I am from Wisconsin and this is my eighth semester here at BYU-I, I am currently working on getting a bachelors in University Studies, studying Clothing construction, Child Development, and Dance. I'm excited to take this class and learn more about the family and the different research methods used, and how to personally research information.