Skip to main content

Posts

Parenting

Parenting is perhaps the most important profession in the world. There is not a person alive who has not been massively impacted by how their parents interacted with them. Adoption, step-parenthood, homosexuality, socioeconomic status… All of these can affect how a child grows and develops. Perhaps the most important indicator of a healthy child is the method with which they were raised. A child raised in a rich but ultimately (dare I say) abusive household is likely to experience more problems in life. Of course, not all parenting techniques are equal. In fact, I’d say that a majority of them are less than effective. In reference to the sheer number of children that are a byproduct of inferior parenting, I would estimate that most parents aren’t very conscious of their parenting styles. As mentioned in the Demographic Winter post, those with lower education and general morality are having more children than those higher up. Sadly, that means that those who could provide optimal pa
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

Fatherhood and it's Importance in the Modern Family

In times long gone by, fathers were once a very influential figure in the lives of their children. The examples set and the precedents established were viewed as priceless, and their place in the home remained nearly as important as the mother's. Unfortunately, times have changed. Men have become more and more of an optional thing in the lives of their children. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, fathers moved out, and they stopped working in the home in favor of higher paying jobs in factories and fields. With this development, fathers became less prevalent, now solely earning the title of breadwinner. No more was the shining and constant example of a father in the home alongside his wife. For a majority of his day, he was to spend his time serving another's purposes to provide for his family. While honorable, this paved the way for even more devastating occurrences. As this went on, 20 th century psychologists concluded (as was usual) that the father played
Post a Comment
Read more

The Importance of Communication

Effective communication with others is one of the most difficult and vital parts of any individual’s life. As exceptionally hyper-social creatures, humans are very susceptible to negative effects associated with a lack of socializing. Unfortunately, this skill is being lost and discarded rather rapidly. More and more people are feeling and becoming isolated, even when surrounded by crowds of people. More is spoken, but less is said. More is read, and less is understood. True communication is becoming more and more of a lost art. One of the most major difficulties with proper communication is the boundary that lays between minds. I cannot know your experience, just as you cannot know mine. Yet, even such a difficult obstacle as this can be overcome through the simple use of empathy. One can find common ground between experiences, and, through that, communicate. Another major difficulty is apathy. Most people nowadays don’t care enough to communicate properly, or even at all. The
Post a Comment
Read more

Coping with Stress and CBT

Dealing with stress is a difficulty of a lifetime. More accurately, dealing with di stress is a difficulty of a lifetime. The distinction is important for a few reasons. First, stress is actually vital to our survival. Similar to sugar, it is a necessary commodity that is viewed, in modern times at least, as hazardous to our health. In a Nutrition class that I took, we learned that sugar isn’t bad for you, too much of ANYTHING is bad for you . In this way, we clarify that stress is a type of pressure, while distress is distinguished as any stress that exceeds the level of optimal achievement in life. That being said, learning how to cope with distress can be a challenge. There are several ways to do so, including learning how to implement that distress into mere stress, which can be an efficient method for productivity. In the ABCX model, distress over a situation can be clearly exemplified. In that model, “A” stands for “Actual Event.” This is the trigger that warrants distr
Post a Comment
Read more

Children & Responsibility: Finding Meaning in Life

As marriage declines in modern society, so too does much of our economic status (refer to Demographic Winter).   Divorce rates have skyrocketed, marital satisfaction has decreased, and fewer and fewer children are being born into healthy families. Doesn’t it seem ironic that so much misery would prevail when our society encourages us to do what makes us happy? This phenomenon has been deemed the “Paradox of Choice.” As more and more options arise for us to choose between, we become less satisfied with whatever choice we pick, as we can imagine that there may have been a better option out there somewhere. For example, if I gave you a Hershey’s chocolate bar, you probably wouldn’t complain, and would be content with happily eating your bar. But if I gave you a decision between a Symphony bar and full-size Snickers, you may have a dilemma. People higher in the trait of conscientiousness and neuroticism would second-guess themselves, thinking of how much better the other one migh
Post a Comment
Read more

Dating in the Modern Day

Dating is becoming more and more of a lost art. Marriage, courtship - all are now seen as detracting from the pleasures of self-indulgence and lack of intentions. This is part of a much larger movement, in which there is a tendency among those of the newer generation to reject the notion of “no pain, no gain.” A major contributor to this phenomenon is the rise of technology in the lives of adolescents. Whereas the previous generation took risks, broke bones, bled, sweat, and everything in between, the newest generation has risen to learn that the risk of failure outweighs the benefits of success. The has particularly affected relationships. Marriage is now seen as an optional benefit, a mere commitment to someone with whom you have formed an attachment. In past times, marriage was a societal institution. Now, it is viewed as an unnecessary addition onto “love.” This change has roots in the revolutions that took place during the middle of the twentieth century. The rise of femin
Post a Comment
Read more

Differences in the Genders

In the modern Western culture, there has been a dramatic push for the neutralization of gender. One of the many claims involved is that men and women are not only equal, but identical in all ways except biological. While the physiological differences must be considered, other aspects in culture, psychology, and history must be inspected. Interestingly enough, studies have demonstrated that those who consider themselves "transgender" score far more similarly to their original biological gender than that of their preferred gender. Fascinating.  The Big Five (OCEAN) personality test is widely used, having been concocted from grouping thousands of traits into five basic and generic ones. It is often given to employees to determine how well they will match with various jobs, and is used professionally in debates. Overall, a well-established theory. In a study conducted, they set out to determine whether or not men and women have significantly different personalities,
Post a Comment
Read more