Week 10- Society and the Workplace

 This week we talked about a couple of things. A lot of it had to do with today’s society. Brother Williams talked about how while he was a counselor he talked to couples and there were actually a lot of couples who struggled because the woman would come to him and say, “I just feel like my husband is not providing for us, and he doesn’t want to.” Just years ago, it was pretty set in stone that the man is the provider and the woman stays home with the children. Society has changed over time to where a woman can provide and a man can take care of children, or maybe both partners want to provide. I think many conflicts can develop because of this. Nowadays, if a woman wants to have a child it is usually just one. More and more women are wanting to focus on their careers, but this can be dangerous because less people are wanting to stay at home with children. Children are being taken to daycare more often than being with a parent. It is so important as a parent that you make sure to raise your children and show them they are a priority in your life. I have seen social media posts where women actually talk about how they want to be a more traditional wife and stay at home and I look at the comments and people just tear these women apart for wanting to be traditional and I think it is so sad that the world has come to this where women will judge other women for wanting to stay at home with their children.

Another thing we discussed is the differences in dangers from the past to now. The most dangerous year to raise children in public school was in the 1960’s. This surprised me because I thought the most dangerous time would be now, considering all the things I have seen online. There were also more kidnappings in the 1900’s than now. It has a lot to do with technology because now we have access to amber alerts and we can look online at all of the things that go on around us. In the past there wasn’t technology like today, and people would simply let their kids go out to play and tell them to come back at dark. 

We also discussed work in a family. There are pros and cons to involving your work with your family. There’s work in the home, and then there’s work with business. It is great to have your children work around the house and do chores, but it gets complicated when you get money involved. I do not agree with the concept of allowance because then your children will start to expect payment even though they are living and eating for free. When you bring family into business that is a whole other story. I have a cousin who married a man who had the same job as her dad. The husband and the dad decided to combine forces and build a new building and run a business together. During construction they realized they did not have the funds to finish the project. The husband demanded his father in law reimburse him for the money he put in, PLUS an additional amount for his efforts. The father in law said no, and the husband ended up suing his own father in law. I can not think of anything that could cause more contention in a family. I just feel for my cousin who is in the most difficult situation where her own husband is suing her dad. For this reason, I think keeping business and family separate, especially when it comes to money. I did say there are pros and cons, so it is not always bad. My husband’s family is a perfect example of how it can work. My husband’s family owns several businesses and all of the uncles help run the business. Different brothers own different locations around Idaho and Utah. Everyone helps out, and Drew and I go work for his dad in the summertime. His family is amazing and they are so happy to have us help and so we love working there. I know that this would not work with all families, so it really does depend on the situation and the types of people.