An Interview With Anita Failor, Wife And Mother Of Three

Family dynamics and relationships in our younger years help shape our view of the world and how we fit into it. Whether you agree with Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, or Erik Erickson,

Family is strongest when it is through blood, true family can only be biological. In addition the relationship between blood relatives is always more powerful and meaningful even if the members of such family are not close. The relationship shines through and is still strong, in particular, an example from ODACTTT is when Barb

Family. It is a very fluid yet rigid idea. It has a wealth of definitions, all of which range in degree and magnitude, and vary from person to person; yet the concept of how a family should work and operate is very concrete in most American minds. Family is a bond that is crafted every second of everyday until it is powerful, and this can shape beliefs, outlooks, and confidence. A study found that children with father figures that are highly involved benefit because an immense range of emotions are modelled to them as children, and consequently they will be more adapt at recognizing and expressing their own emotions. In contrast children

It is often said that “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,” which means that friends who have been through hardships together often have stronger bonds than families (http://thoughtcatalog.com/nico-lang/2013/09/31-famous-quotatio

Any of the numerous team sports are a perfect example for this, especially at an amatuer level. Becoming a family member starts off with the introductions, practices leading up to the first game that will set a tone for the entire season. As the season kept churning along, all these former strangers thought of just one acceptable result: winning the championship together. Every former stranger begins giving it their all, not for themselves but for the good of the team. At this point, they have become family. The immense amounts of trust and respect for one another, as well as the selflessness becoming increasingly prevalent between these people is second to none. Sadly, they have become a more accurate representation of family than a daughter-- who was too “busy” to call on christmas-- is to her

A family is seen as a group of people who are biologically or psychologically related. They connect on historical, emotional

When we invest ourselves in our families, we often turn to them for support. Even the smallest good morning or their presence at dinner gives a state of calm. It is a comfort that allows us to focus on other things in our lives. A sudden shift or change would affect people in different ways, but it would always have an impact. Imagine seeing someone every morning, and suddenly not being able to call them and

Throughout my life my family and I have gone through rough patches, as most families do.

Family: a relationship by blood, marriage, or affection, in which members may cooperate economically, may care for children, & may consider their identity to be intimately connected to the larger group.

“Sibling relationships in particular are among the longest lasting and most influential relationships in an individual’s lifetime” (Shalash 288). Relationships with siblings definitely affects emotions. Emotions vary when it comes to siblings; they can range from anger and jealousy to joy and gratefulness. Siblings can go from calm and loving while spending time together to fighting physically or verbally within moments. With multiple siblings, favorites are often chosen by parents or siblings so the other siblings may feel like an outcast. When two families are combined different routines can cause great conflict. If a child faces conflicts continuously with their family it can make complications for their love life.

Another theory that explains how to family relates to each other is through the balance of social/behavioral exchange as explained in cognitive behavioral theory. The theory of social exchange is when “people strive to maximize rewards and minimize costs” and the behavior exchange theory is when “there is a high ratio of benefits to costs” (CITATION, pg. 168). Basically, the balance of social/behavioral exchange is about balanced relations; there is a balance in giving a

Determining family structure and dynamics as well as defining the family is a complex process. Personally, I come from a very traditional family. Much like the assumptions made by the students in the article Defining Family: Young Adults’ Perceptions of the Parent-Child Bond by Mellisa Holtzman (2008). This is what comes to mind when most people define family; a nuclear family, with married parents, and biological children. However, a family is a complex system and can take on many different forms.

My family has always been very close. We spend a great deal of time together and express our deep feelings and emotions with one another. If one of us has an issue, every member of the family is aware of it and shares the burden. When a person in the family does not share significant information about one’s life with the rest of the members, there is hurt feelings. Also, if a member cannot attend a family event, the family feels disappointed and misses the absent member. It is evident that connectedness is held as extremely valuable.

As someone who did not grow up with a typical family, I claim most of my close friends as “family” members. Every year we get together for birthdays, vacations and celebrate some holidays together. Some of my close friends are even closer than my actual family. One friend that I grew up with since the 7th grade is practically a brother to me, and even though I have and love my own mom, to this day I call his mother “mom” as well. I do believe that family is based on bonds and emotional ties, not just by blood and marriage. Our textbook defines “fictive kin as close relations with people we consider ‘like family’ but who are not related to us by blood or marriage (p.352)”. This sociological concept helps me realize that my own situation of who and what I consider family is more common than I may have thought before.

Family means many things to different people, yet the word itself can bring about a host of emotions from anyone who hears the word uttered. As a child growing up in the 60s and 70s the family dynamic was defined by the people we grew up with were related to by blood, and extended to the many family members of the different generations that made up the family unit.