Family Cultures

Week 3 Blog: Social Class and Cultural Diversity

This week in class we talked about the different culture that each family has and where it came from. So, what is the definition of culture? According to Webster’s Dictionary, culture is “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time” I think this perfectly describes a family. A family is a group that shares the same beliefs, social rules, and traits, (whether it be religious or racial) A family shares common things in the same place and same times. What cultural similarities do you and your family share? Were you all the same race? Did you all practice the same religion? Or have similar interests? Did you look really similar to your family members, or did people have no idea you were related until you told them? Not all families are “normal.” There are special circumstances that make families, well, special. You may have been adopted, or even have adopted children yourself. Maybe you were a convert to a church that your family didn’t necessarily believe in. Maybe you had a lot of step siblings, with different nationalities and races mixed in. And that’s okay! Each family is unique and that is what makes each family system so great.

Growing up, you may have had rules that you think were beneficial, but you also may have had rules and routines that you don’t necessarily agree with. How do you decide what to keep when you start a family of your own, and how do you decide what to toss out the window? Parenting doesn’t come with a rule book, so it is hard to place blame when you feel like a parent did things a certain way that you didn’t feel was right, but the good thing is that we can learn from the mistakes our parents made to improve our future families. I know personally growing up, there were a lot of things that were don’t that I don’t think were fair, and still think had an affect on me, even still today. I look forward to that day when I can implement good, healthy, loving rules and rituals into my own family. I hope by doing this that I can really establish a healthy relationship between me and my children and me and my spouse to create a good home environment; something I feel that I missed out on.

From a religious perspective, especially in the church, practices that I think encourage unity and bring out the best in families is prayer, scripture study, home evenings, and attending church regularly as a family. I think that when you do anything together as a family, unity and love will be present and grow. Growing up, my family didn’t do most of those things. I don’t place entire blame on anyone, and I know my family was a little messed up, but I look forward to when I can marry someone who wants to raise a family the correct way, and who encourages these routines in our home. It’s so important who you date, because oftentimes they are the type of people you end up marrying. The family is the most important structure and you really have to nurture and care for it. Be with someone who has the same views and goals as you when it comes to raising a righteous family.

What are your thoughts on your family cultures?

How have you done things differently?

Are there things that you family growing up did that you didn’t carry on?

Thanks for reading this week!