Reflection Blog 7

I really enjoyed the article “Great Expectations”. From my experience, when people talk to me about their relationships and reasons why they feel they aren’t working, they usually say something along the lines of, “he’s not my soul mate”. I have always thought that if you put effort into your relationship, it will work. But being in a relationship is a lot of work, and things aren’t always going to go perfectly, and sometimes you will disagree and argue but that is part of being in a relationship. I think that this article was also trying to get the point across that there really is not such thing as a soul mate, and that that belief could end up ruining your relationship with someone you really love.  I got married young, to my high school sweet heart, but he really is my best friend. The article talks about when you are fully committed in a relationship; it gives the opportunity to truly love your partner, warts and all. I really liked the way the article worded that, because if your boyfriend or girlfriend only sees the perfect side of you, how are you going to feel waking up next to them one morning and you both have terrible morning breath. I think people should be who they really are, relaxed and fun when with a significant other. I’m not saying go to the bathroom with the door open or anything, but i think its best to be open with each other, and that is what this article talks about.

Reflection Blog 6

I found the Article “Teens Before Their Time” and chapter 8 to be interesting. I liked learning about what kinds of outside pressures can speed up or slow down puberty. The article talks about environmental factors such as exposure to chemicals along with obesity to be the trigger for girls going through puberty younger. Obesity makes sense and I think that we have known this information for a long time, that fat carries estrogen, and the release of estrogen is what causes females to get secondary sex characteristics younger. The book talks about family dynamics which I thought was interesting. I didn’t really think about a harsh family life, making a child have increased stress, triggering her to mature younger. Another deciding factor of weather a girl will mature younger is the presence of a good father figure. If the girl has a good father, then she will mature at the normal rate, but if the girl does not have a good father, she will mature faster. The theory behind this is that good fathers are rare, and should a good father come along, because good fathers are rare her body wants to be ready to have children when a good father comes around.

I feel like our bodies should work the opposite way, that if you don’t have a good father then you should wait to have kids, so that you can be more mature yourself to be able to take care of your offspring, should the father bail. The theory for this is “lower quality” offspring early vs “better quality” offspring later. I am not sure I agree with our bodies evolution in this way.

               

Reflection Blog 5

I found the article “Parenting: The Lost Art” to be sort of sad. Reading about what young kids are doing breaks my heart, they don’t seem to enjoy being a child, they are missing out on their childhood. The teens in this article are being treated like young adults and are therefore acting like young adults with out having the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. They don't have guidance. When I was growing up and I would disagree with what my mom told me to do, and I would tell her I didn’t like her anymore, and she would tell me that she didn’t care if I liked her right then or not, because she is my mom and not my friend. She is the boss and I need to do what I am told. I grew up respecting that. These kids don’t seem to have parents to teach them what is right and what is wrong, by being their friend, their parents aren’t helping them learn anything about becoming an adult, and doing what you have to do whether you like it or not. I don’t have kids now, but this is definitely something to remember, you are their parent, not their friend and sometimes you have to tell your kids what to do, and they won’t always be happy with you.

If I could do another research project, I would want to know how the kids in this article raised their own children. If they decided to be a parent and teach their children right from wrong and to tell them what to do if necessary, or if they raised their children like they were raised, to be their child’s friend instead of parent.

               

Reflection Blog 4

I really enjoyed the article "Medicating Young Minds". In reading the article though I am not sure I have a complete understanding of ADHD or bipolar disease or any of the other disorders that plague todays youth. I strongly believe that if a child is slightly fidgety or slightly hyperactive or slightly whatever that they shouldn't be medicated. Maybe they need therapy, maybe they need another way to release their energy. Children can also be wild and crazy because guess what, they are kids. However, not all children are just slightly different, some children really do need help. one of the things they said in the article was by "medicating a child's brain, you may be burning the village to save it." Now time for my questions, can children grow out of these disorders, or will they have to be medicated for life? If the child does have to be medicated for life, is it better for them to go through childhood un medicated and have them not have a "normal" childhood in order to not risk damaging part of the brain and wait until they are older, or to medicate them so they can experience childhood how children are supposed to experience it, worry free. The article also states that the frontal lobe doesn't fully mature until around 30, and the frontal lobe is where feelings are controlled, should we wait to medicate until after 30? These are questions I don't really have an answer to.