Family Trends

To start off I would like to paint a picture in your minds of the status quo of families. over the past few decades the definition of FAMILY has been lost. With each generation, the norms of family life have been stretched, vital parts cut out, and the importance misplaced. family is the most fundamental unit of society, yet we as a society don't seem to know what it is anymore. Some ask if a family is defined only as blood relations, others if it is a collection of people who love and care for each other. what ever definition you hold, I stand resolute that a family is sacred,necessary and of the utmost importance to our growth and learning.
Recent studies overwhelmingly declare the fact that families are changing.
Cohabitation is increasing, even though all research done on the matter suggests these relationships are three times more likely to end.

The birthrate had gone down in almost every region of the world, posing potential economic and demographic problems throughout the globe.

Premarital sex has been on the rise for decades, resulting in increasing danger of  STDs and STIs.

Mothers are increasingly pursuing their careers above the raising of their own children, leaving them in the hands of care takers to raise and teach them.
These are just some of the trends facing the family as of late. These issues can not be ignored, they can not be brushed aside. The family is so very central to the goals, values and success of a society. we can not keep losing our grip on the importance and definition of family.

Hello, my name is Melissa Carr, and I am embarking on a journey to learn the function,importance and definition of the family. Since I plan to become a Marriage and family councilor this will be vital information for me to acquire. Each week over the course of the next few months i will  be posting the many insights, facts and trends I learn about in my Family Relations Class at Brigham young University Idaho.
For my first post, I feel inclined to share the increasingly fragile state of the human family. We are  living in a world that has lost sight of the definition of family. people wander around patching familial relationships with bonds no stronger than Band- Aids, and hope that they will bring lasting joy and security. This is a scary time, if we as a society can not come to a consensus on the definition of its the most fundamental unit, then we can expect to face some serious repercussions. i hope that  our study over the next semester will shed some light on this bleak state of the family. i hope that as we learn together we can work to mend the broken ties in society to regain our hope and strength in the family unit.