Culture and Family
Hey everyone! This week has been awesome, and I've got an interesting topic for ya'll this week. I'd really love to hear from you and listen to what you guys think about culture and how it relates to families.
Alright, to start, what is culture? In good ole' Wikipedia it states:"Culture is the social behavior and norms found in human societies. Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies."So what does culture have to do with families? Well it has EVERYTHING to do with families! For example, an average middle class family from another country in South America will raise their children with different guidelines than an average middle class family in the United States of America. Culture plays a large role in families.
There are even many different cultures in the same country, so it is safe to assume that different cultures are going to believe different strategies on raising children. They will also have different beliefs in family systems. (Check out last weeks blog for information on family systems and behaviors.) Culture as well as family systems lay the foundation for the family. If we understand this principle we can better understand how important culture is.
There are even different cultures in the same country. The United States of America is a great example of this. There are different cultures in different statuses of class. For example, the working class is different from the middle class and the middle class is different than the upper class. There are also immigrants from different countries all over the world bringing their culture to the USA. Differences are not bad. Differences make things diverse. This is important. I also believe we can learn from different cultures, and maybe implement their teachings into our own homes. I can relate to this. I had the opportunity of serving a mission for my church in Argentina. This was the best decision I have ever made. I was able to dive into their culture and learn so much from the people. I realized that their were different teachings in their culture that I wanted my future children to learn from.
Most of the people I served were very poor, and their homes were falling apart. Some people didn't have homes. They just lived in tents or mud type huts. This was normal in their culture. This didn't make them ungrateful or unhappy. They were the most grateful people I have had the privilege of knowing. They absolutely loved their families, and it didn't matter that they had no or little money. Their lives weren't based on material objects like big houses, fancy cars, or even lots of money. They understood the value of what really matters, family....
I want my family to believe this as well. I want my children's culture to be similar to the WONDERFUL people of Argentina. Family first. Every family is different and will have different family systems, and boundaries. I'm not saying that one system or even culture is better then another. Their just different. What is important is that we're doing everything possible to help our families function the best way we can, no matter what situation our family is in.Weather you're a single mother, single father, widowers, whatever the circumstances are, finding the system that is the healthiest for our families is what matters.
Here is a really interesting study that talks about some struggles with family systems and culture differences Mexican immigrant families have when moving to the United States.
https://byui.brightspace.com/content/enforced/428383-Campus.2018.Spring.FAML160/FAML%20160%2001%2c%2014/Lesson%2003-%20Social%20Class%20%26%20Cultural%20Diversity/The%20Costs%20of%20Getting%20Ahead%2c%20from%20Smith%2c%20et%20al.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=b7nazTSNruxBv89BJ7WRws6aW
Let me know what you guys think about the study! Have an awesome week!
Alright, to start, what is culture? In good ole' Wikipedia it states:"Culture is the social behavior and norms found in human societies. Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies."So what does culture have to do with families? Well it has EVERYTHING to do with families! For example, an average middle class family from another country in South America will raise their children with different guidelines than an average middle class family in the United States of America. Culture plays a large role in families.
There are even many different cultures in the same country, so it is safe to assume that different cultures are going to believe different strategies on raising children. They will also have different beliefs in family systems. (Check out last weeks blog for information on family systems and behaviors.) Culture as well as family systems lay the foundation for the family. If we understand this principle we can better understand how important culture is.
There are even different cultures in the same country. The United States of America is a great example of this. There are different cultures in different statuses of class. For example, the working class is different from the middle class and the middle class is different than the upper class. There are also immigrants from different countries all over the world bringing their culture to the USA. Differences are not bad. Differences make things diverse. This is important. I also believe we can learn from different cultures, and maybe implement their teachings into our own homes. I can relate to this. I had the opportunity of serving a mission for my church in Argentina. This was the best decision I have ever made. I was able to dive into their culture and learn so much from the people. I realized that their were different teachings in their culture that I wanted my future children to learn from.
Most of the people I served were very poor, and their homes were falling apart. Some people didn't have homes. They just lived in tents or mud type huts. This was normal in their culture. This didn't make them ungrateful or unhappy. They were the most grateful people I have had the privilege of knowing. They absolutely loved their families, and it didn't matter that they had no or little money. Their lives weren't based on material objects like big houses, fancy cars, or even lots of money. They understood the value of what really matters, family....
I want my family to believe this as well. I want my children's culture to be similar to the WONDERFUL people of Argentina. Family first. Every family is different and will have different family systems, and boundaries. I'm not saying that one system or even culture is better then another. Their just different. What is important is that we're doing everything possible to help our families function the best way we can, no matter what situation our family is in.Weather you're a single mother, single father, widowers, whatever the circumstances are, finding the system that is the healthiest for our families is what matters.
Here is a really interesting study that talks about some struggles with family systems and culture differences Mexican immigrant families have when moving to the United States.
https://byui.brightspace.com/content/enforced/428383-Campus.2018.Spring.FAML160/FAML%20160%2001%2c%2014/Lesson%2003-%20Social%20Class%20%26%20Cultural%20Diversity/The%20Costs%20of%20Getting%20Ahead%2c%20from%20Smith%2c%20et%20al.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=b7nazTSNruxBv89BJ7WRws6aW
Let me know what you guys think about the study! Have an awesome week!
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