To All the Middle Children Out There

I want to dive right into this week's topic by asking a question: What are your own personal beliefs and experiences with fatherhood? Before reading the rest of this post, I urge you to think about and even write down some of your personal beliefs about what fatherhood is and what it should look like, as well as your personal experiences with observing fatherhood in all facets of your life. My goal in writing this post is to provide 5 important points on fatherhood, as well as to reflect on my own experiences with my own father. These important points on fatherhood came mainly from an article I reviewed called How Involved is Involved Fathering? An Exploration of the Contemporary Culture of Fatherhood. I will leave a link at the end of this post to that article.  Point #1: In child-rearing, people should address the "parents" rather than just "mother". This topic has been brought up time and time again in the class I am taking covering family relations and dynam

I have so much to share this week, and I can't wait to get started! Communication is something that I am very passionate and interested in. One reason for this is because I felt I wasn't taught or exposed to healthy communication skills. Shoutout to my weekly to Middle Children! Too often I felt pushed to the side, because I wasn't always able to talk about or understand my feelings. A large part of communication is expressing yourself in an honest open way, and that is something I have always sought to understand better, almost in desperation. So, for those that feel similarly, or for those of you who want tools to effectively communicate in your family and professional life, read on! I want to start off with explaining the Five Secrets of Effective Communication, developed by Dr. David Burns. There are 5 steps included in this technique, and order doesn't necessarily matter depending on the situation. I love this model because it gives straightforward and doable steps

Life is full of stressors. Sometimes we feel like we're barely floating above the water line, struggling to metaphorically or literally survive. Let me first assure you that you and your family are not alone. These stressful times bring crisis and more variables into the equation, which typically throughs us for a loop. The good news is this: these crises also come with opportunities. Identifying and intentionally applying techniques to create opportunities for growth are key actions to bounce back stronger than ever. Let's explore the examples, stories, research and research models on how to do so.  A gentleman by the name of Koos was interested in the family structure and how it functions during crisis. He decided to study this phenomena during the end of World War I in American families. Although the end of the War brought much relief and celebrating, there were lots of stressors and readjustments during this time as well, as you can imagine. Here are some of the stressors t

Hello, hello, hello! Another week, another blog. This week has been a much chiller week as far as homework since we had midterms last week. Thank goodness that's over haha! First off, I want to establish that this will not be a sex ed blog. I believe that type of education should be given first and foremost by parents and trusted, educated sources. I want to address what healthy sexual intimacy looks like in a marriage and how to prevent conflict, infidelity, unhappiness, and tension in this very sacred and important part of marriage. I hope you will treat it with as much respect and interest as I have. Let's get started! Healthy intimacy starts with a healthy understanding of your individual and your partner's individual anatomy and preferences. Shame, anxiety, or repulsion is an enemy to connecting and growing closer. A lot of the times, some people need emotional connection before they feel comfortable and safe enough to have sex. Other times, individuals need sex in ord

 Welcome to week 6 of my official blogging! Before I begin, I want to make a shoutout to my fellow middle children! These past few blog posts have been very research and marriage & family heavy, with spotty references concerning the journey and experiences of middle children. I have since repented, and commit to incorporating my target audience in each of my blogs going forward.  To begin, I want to ask questions to those that are middle children: what are you thoughts and feelings regarding marital adjustments (for those that aren't married)? And for those that are married, what are your thoughts/experiences on the sacrifices and transitions you made in your first year of marriage? And this last questions is for all my middle children: How, if at all, has you upbringing as a middle child affected those thoughts/beliefs? These are the questions I will be answering through the research I examined, and through my own anecdotal experiences.  Firstly, I want to establish the very s

This week's blog is gonna be a good one, especially for my single friends! If you're anything like me, the dating world seems overwhelming, confusing, tiring, and intimidating. There has been a big culture shift in the meaning of what dating is and how it looks in our society. A new term has surfaced that has replaced dating in some ways. The younger generation like to call it "hanging out". Heard of it? Let's dive into these topics and explore different ways dating is approached, and which ways are proven to create and maintain celestial, happy marriages.  Let's start with the definition of hanging out and dating. Hanging out is described as a number of young single adults joining together in a group activity. Dating, on the other hand, is pairing off to experience one-on-one association and commitment. See the difference? Dating used to be a huge part of America's culture, and young people would go on casual, fun dates almost every weekend. It was a way