Do the decisions you make in a relationship only affect
those involved or do they affect the world?
There
are many different choices that can be made in a relationship or family that
can affect many others than only those who make the decisions. The things couples
choose to do can affect their future or current children, and even themselves. Many
trends in families, marriages, and even just relationships can have negative
affects on the family or relationship.
Here are some worldly trends (data
is an average and does not relate to every relationship and family):
Delayed marriage is increasing. On
average, females are 26 and males are 29 when they decide to get married.
Pre-marital sex is increasing.
Birth rates are decreasing. The average
birth rate is 2.13 and is continuing to decrease. Caucasians have the average
birth rate of 1.5 which is also continuing to decrease.
The number of people who live alone
is rising.
Cohabitation is increasing.
Household Size is decreasing. The average
household size is 2.56 people.
Employed moms is increasing (70%).
These are moms with children 6 and under are employed.
Divorce was rising and has lately
leveled off and plateaued.
Births to unmarried women have
risen (70%).
As we look at these trends, we see
that many of them are related. Delayed marriage can be related to either the rise
in people living alone or the increase of cohabitation. Cohabitation is related
to pre-marital sex which can be related to the rise in births to unmarried
women. Delayed marriage can also be related to divorce because the longer people
wait to get married, the more likely the relationship is to end in divorce.
Lastly, the decrease in birth rates is directly related to the decrease in household
size which could also be a reason for the increase in employed moms of kids
under the age of 6.
Seeing that both birth rates and
household sizes are decreasing is very concerning. The birth rate of 2.13 is an
important number. A couple should have at least 2 kids to take their place in
filling society. The 0.13 comes from casualties of death. If we fall below
2.13, society and economy will take a hit because there will not be enough
people to fill jobs and keep building the economy.
Moms who are employed while they
have children under the age of 6 are missing a very important part in their
children’s development. Some mothers have situations where it is crucial to be
employed in order to be able to provide for their family which is important.
However, if there is financial stability in the family, mothers, especially who
have young children, should strive to stay home with their children. The young
age is when they learn so many important things and it is a crucial time in
their development. It is important that the mother is there to nurture them and
teach them when opportunities come up, which will happen many times throughout
these young years of the child’s life.
It turns out that these nine trends
turn out to greatly affect society and families. Many of these trends have a
huge impact on the children in these families who are practicing the trends. Data
shows that a man and a woman who have a healthy marriage and who don’t follow
these trends have a much more healthy family relationship with the marriage and
children.
Although all families try to make
the best of their situation with what they have, children in families with a same-sex
marriage, single mother or father parent, or a step-parent are much more prone
to mental health illness, abuse, suicide and many more problems than children
in a family with their biological mother and father.
It is important to be aware of the
decisions we make as young people. We need to try and have a larger view of how
our decisions will affect our future families and how they develop. However, it
is important that we make these choices concerning relationships and families
through the inspiration of the Lord because He will always lead is in the right
direction. He knows the plan and exactly how it’s supposed to work out.
