Family Trends

As a sociology major, I have studied a lot about individuals and their role in the family. The family is something I am also very passionate about. It is where we can learn essential moral and values that can help us influence society for the better.

I wanted to first express my love and appreciation for the family. I have six people in my family including me and I am so grateful for them. They have taught me so much about how to love and how to sacrifice. I honestly don’t know what I would do without them in my life. Because of my family, I have grown to love learning about other individuals and their families’. This topic will always and forever be near and dear to my heart.

Something that has been on my mind recently are family trends that have been happening lately in our generation. First, I want to talk about cohabitation because it is so prevalent. I served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Des Moines, Iowa. On my mission I met a lot of people who cohabited. This was interesting to me because they were living together for many years. It was just like they were living by common law. In my opinion, I don’t really understand why people cohabitate. If people have already been living together for so long why are they afraid to take that extra step and get married legally. I know that there are many reasons why couples choose to cohabitate but it is so interesting to me that it is becoming more common.

            The second trend I wanted to discuss is the decreasing birth rate within the family. I think it’s interesting how now-a-days families are having less and less children. From what I believe about the family, it is our responsibility to raise and nurture God’s children. Family is so important to me and because of this I want to be able to help raise God’s children in this mortal life. There are so many experiences that we can have and things that we can learn from as we increase the birth rate within the family.

            Another trend that really stuck out to me is the fears that contribute to getting married. These fears include financial reasons, having children, and the fear of divorce. There are many factors that contribute to these fears of getting married. In all honesty, I am a very religious person and so what comes to mind is having faith in God’s plan for you. If you have faith that things will workout in the future and you believe that everything happens for a reason then God will bless you for your efforts. Society will make you think it’s not worth it to get married or feel that it’s okay to just cohabitate.

            Because of these are trends in the family; society has really taken a toll on what is ideal. In spite of what society may think is ideal, my beliefs contradict. The family is essential to why we are here on earth. There are so many opportunities for us to learn and grow. From my experience within the family, I have been so blessed to be taught by wonderful parents and loved by wonderful siblings. I know that because of them they have made me into the person I am today. I know that we can each do our part to be aware of how we can change the societal trends in the family.