This past week in my family relations class we discussed preparing for marriage,  how dating has changed in modern times, and preparation for marriage. One thing that I found very interesting and that I have seen proven true, is how dating has changed, particularly in how people meet. I have a roommate who believes it is completely normal to meet people on the internet and then date them. Recently this same roommate used a dating app to get a few dates this past week. My main issue with this app was that the way she was matched up with people is if they liked each other's pictures, then they would message back and forth, and she eventually went on a few dates. Needless to say, the dates that she went on were extremely awkward and my roommate would feel that she didn't get along well with the guys she went on these dates with. This example with my roommate illustrated exactly what we discussed in class this week. We talked about how although physical attraction is important in a relationship, similar interests  other factors play into a relationship besides physical attraction. The issue with my roommate's dates was that although she found the guys she dated physically attractive, she didn't know anything about them, and she didn't really care to learn much about them.

In the fourth week of my family relations class, we discussed the impacts of gender in a family structure. We specifically discussed the typical behaviors of genders and the impact of those behaviors on the family as a whole. For example, we discussed how boys and girls have different behaviors typical to their genders and those behaviors are visible at a young age. In my class someone said that when little boys play with a stick for example, that stick is a sword, or a gun. But when a little girl plays with that same stick, it is a fairy wand. It all depends on the behaviors typical to their gender. Someone in my class made the point that boys have a protective behavioral trait and perhaps that is why they are drawn playing with guns and swords, and fighting "bad guys". While girls have a nurturing quality, and tend to play with baby dolls and play house as opposed to fighting games.

The third week in my Family Relations class, we discussed the impact of social class and culture on the family. In preparation for class, I watched a video in which a single mother who had a minimum wage job tried to provide the best for her children. The family was very poor and I thought it was particularly interesting that the mother said, "it's not my fault I'm poor, I grew up poor." This statement seemed like the mother's excuse in a way, she was using the reason of growing up poor as the result of her current situation, while this could have had an impact, there were other contributing factors to her situation. In my class, we also discussed that culture and where you come from contributes more to your family than the social class you're in.

The second week in my Family Relations class, we discussed family dynamics. In particular we discussed theories such as the exchange theory, symbolic interaction theory, conflict theory, and general ecological theory. These theories each play a role in the dynamic of families, but one that I had seen occur in a family was the exchange theory. The exchange theory expresses that when an individual in a family does something, they expect someone else to do something in return. Though this theory expresses a sort of shared contribution to things for the family, it can become a way of keeping score. I have observed this theory in both contributions, and in keeping score. When members of the family do what needs to be done and notice the things others are doing for them, they will continue to do other thing. In a keeping score way, when things need ot be done around the house the family members will say things like "I took out the trash, so you need to do the dishes." members of the family will argue the chores they have done in an effort to get out of doing more than "their share", instead of just doing it.

The first week in my Family Relations class we discussed the effects of social trends on the family.  We discussed various statistics analyzing the relationship between social trends and families, such as birth rates around the world, marriage rates, divorce rates, and cohabitation before marriage rates. I personally thought it was interesting that birth rates and marriage rates have decreased, while divorce rates and cohabitation before marriage have increased. As these social trends have become increasingly common, more families have parents who are not married, or divorced; and many families have few or no children by choice.