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Having children is often a personal decision that a person has to make.
Assignment 3
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Chapter 8
Question 1
Having children is often a personal decision that a person has to make. This decision may be between two partners, or just one person might choose to decide on their own for various reasons. Most of the time, the decision to have children rests solely on the would-be parent or parents. However, there are some cases in which other people must step in to make decisions on whether a person should be allowed to have a child or not. Therefore, most people should be allowed to decide on their own, but there are exceptional cases in which a person cannot be allowed to have a child. For example, a drug addict should not be allowed to have a child, especially when they do not commit to getting help for their addiction. Children born to such addicts will have multiple complications, and they are likely to die. Another group of people that should not be allowed to have children is those parents that have too many and cannot support them, hence having more children will put them in danger of problems such as malnutrition, poverty, sickness among others. Severely Mentally ill people who cannot take care of themselves should also not be allowed to have children because they are incapable of deciding to be parents in sound mind and others might take advantage of them.
Question 7
Some of the risks of reduced fertility rates are that countries will have a minimal workforce unable to sustain the economy of the country. Childcare and education sectors will suffer because children will be too few, and hence, people employed in these sectors will be out of jobs. The general economy will also suffer because there will be very few people to employ; graduates from schools and colleges will be really few, and there will be no one to work in the multiple industries of a country. Advantages of reduced fertility rates include the fact that states will be able to provide free services to all the citizens such as medical care and education. Every person will be able to find a job; hence, there will be reduced levels of unemployment. People will also be able to move from one country to another because there are no significant barriers to movement as there is high demand for labor in the low-populated countries.
Chapter 9
Question 3
The most influential in shaping a child’s development is gender. Right from birth, children are defined primarily by their gender. Parents buy their girls pink clothes and toys and paint the walls of their rooms pink as well. On the other hand, gender reveals of boys consist of blue colors, and this goes on to the clothes they wear when they are born. Boys and girls are also encouraged to play with specific types of toys depending on their gender; the girls holding tea parties with their pink-decked Barbies and the boys playing with fire trucks. As they grow up, children notice that their gender plays a significant role in the activities they take part in both at home and outside the home, and this is true among different races and social classes. Gender is, therefore, the fundamental basis of childhood development; other aspects also contribute, but they come after gender.
Question 5
Authoritative parenting style is the best for children according to psychologists and other child experts. This parenting style entails parents giving the child space and permission to make their own decisions, but the parents also set a limit on what the child can do (Seccombe 2012). It, therefore, presents a perfect balance between the authority of the parent and the freedom of the child. The reason why this parenting style works best is that at the developmental stage, children need to be given the space to explore their abilities and experience the consequences of their actions. However, the children still need a lot of guidance in making decisions, and this is where the authoritative parent steps in to set a limit to what the child can do. The result is a well-balanced child that is not afraid to speak their mind or take action, but they also know that there are limits to what they can say and do.
Chapter 10
Question 1
The US has very different policies regarding childcare when compared to European countries. One reason for this is that American culture is more individualistic and self-centered. The choice to have a family is therefore considered an individual one, and people who choose to do this should figure out a way to balance between work and their family without compromising their work. Europe holds family traditions in higher regard, and the government has policies in place to ensure that the family unit remains strong even though people have to work. Another reason is the high population levels in the US compared to Europe. It is challenging for the government to provide childcare and other related benefits to families with children because the number would be too high. In contrast, European countries have a relatively low population, and therefore, the government can step in, for example, women can take a longer time off work to raise babies while still being paid. Third, the US offers different work-family policies because there is a higher emphasis on the economy than social life. Everyone wants to work towards making more money, and this comes at the cost of spending more time at home.
Question 2
Helicopter parenting is characterized by parents who continuously watch over every aspect of their children’s lives at home and in school. The term comes from the fact that this kind of parents hover over their children as a helicopter does. This type of parenting results in a child that cannot handle many situations on their own and have to turn to their parents to help them deal with any problems or challenges they encounter in life. Helicopter parenting is not suitable for the family and especially for the children. Kids do not have the chance to develop problem-solving skills and other life-skills that will guide them as they encounter different situations in their lives. It also leaves children wholly unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with disappointments inevitable in life. Their parents will not always be there to help them, and they will be stressed because they did not learn essential coping skills while growing up. Most parents in the 21st century employ the helicopter parenting style, and it often results in children becoming failures when parents step out of the picture. A person’s success depends on their personality and skill when it comes to handling various situations and challenges they will encounter in their life.
Chapter 11
Question 1
Families today experience higher levels of stress than they did in the past for many reasons. One of the reasons is that both men and women play an equal role in getting a job and providing for their family. In the past, the man went out to work while the woman stayed home to care for the children and the household. Today things are different with females having more opportunities to work and earn as much if not more than their partner. For this reason, the division of chores and labor within the family has to be restructured, and this can cause tensions within the family. Another reason for higher levels of stress within the family is the high cost of living that demands more work to earn more money. As a result of working a lot and not enough leisure time, people find themselves stressed out, and any conflicts are exacerbated greatly, raising stress levels. In addition to this, families have many more demands on their time, such as work, school, and social activities, which leads to a very fast-paced life. Families struggle to balance between all the demands, and this causes a lot of stress.
Question 2
Family violence should not be regarded as a family matter because it affects many people in society. There should be increased intervention efforts because those who have suffered this type of violence are mostly stigmatized and even blamed for what they experienced. Victims have suffered mental, physical, and emotional harm as a result of family violence, and some are too afraid to speak out. Some of the ways to scale up interventions in case of family violence include encouraging neighbors and family members who may be aware of any form of violence to help victims seek help. They can do this by contacting social services or the police anonymously. They can also speak to the victims to let them know that there is help for them. Another measure that can step up intervention in family violence is giving offenders harsh punishment such as prison time and punitive fines and restraining orders.
References
Seccombe, Karen. Exploring marriages and families. Allyn & Bacon, 2012.
Having a roommate
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Having a roommate. For as long as I can remember, I have always been a social person, preferring to live with people I know and trust around me. It was this habit that probably drove me to look for a good roommate after joining college. I thought it would be a good thing given that I am foreign student, to have someone more accustomed to the local scenery and cultural set up. This roommate would be my friend and guide as I embarked on the long journey of studies in a foreign country.
Finding a good roommate can be a daunting task as I learned early in the quest to find one. Many people think it is an easy task especially if the set up provides similar circumstances-as was my case. It dawned on me that many things would have to be put into consideration before I came up with my choice. Being the choosy student who likes an outgoing, yet careful life, I realized early on that many of the potential roommates lacked the last bit. They were simply out to have fun over the course of their college lives. I could not afford to lead such a carefree life seeing how my parents had struggled and succeeded in putting in one of the best institutions.
After having done away with the ones out to have fun, I was left with those who came closest to filling my criteria. I had formulated a small list of pointers that would assist me choose the best of the ones left. Top on the list was personal hygiene. I simply can’t stand filthy people so the potential roommate had to be very clean both personally and in his natural habitat. Of prime importance was the requirement that our cleanliness standards match, since some people tend to have theirs too high for comfort. Secondly, I needed to understand the potential roommate’s conflict resolution strategies. Fighting and shouting at people would automatically disqualify one, as would silence and ignorance. Honesty and trust would also score the potential roommate high marks in my quest to find the best one. I was also keen to know if the potential roommate led a dramatic life as this would impact quite heavily on my life. Having been brought up to embrace humility, I simply can’t entertain dramatic characters. Finally, sleeping habits would have to be established. This would have a major impact on my ability to rest after a long day in class, so heavy snoring and somnambulism would have to be checked.
I finally narrowed the search to two and proceeded to vet them. I decided that the best method to do this would be to live with them each for a predetermined length of time. The first came across as very cooperative in attending to house chores, very understanding in matters pertaining my religious beliefs and quite trustworthy. I knew I could count on him in case of anything. He had good leadership potential as was demonstrated in his suggesting that we formulate a rooster.
In matters of privacy, he performed brilliantly. In a hurry reach a class I was late for, I left my Facebook account open one day. Minutes after leaving the room, I received a call from him informing me of my mistake and his action of logging out. I believe a less honest person would have fallen for the temptation to snoop into my social media habits. He again proved to be trustworthy when he reminded me of some cash I had left on the sofa as went to sleep. I think it had dropped out of my denim pants as I lay on the seat resting. Those and other examples proved to me beyond doubt that he would be a good roommate from a trust and honesty standpoint.
In matters of academics my honest roommate did not really excel. He had slight problems understanding some of the new concepts we were introduced to. As is expected of a good roommate, he asked for assistance which I extended as best as I could. The ability to share problems as well as joys with your roommate seemed to be something he did not have problems with-which suited me just fine. I like sharing some of my life with people around me, so his willingness to open up and share his issues came in handy. We would spend the few moments it takes for sleep to finally overpower one sharing our day with each other. The problems would be identified and probable caused discussed. Afterwards, the best solutions would be identified. Joyful as well as happy moments were also shared. In short, he proved to be one of the best roommates I have ever had.
The second one exhibited all the right signs of being a good roommate right up to the day we moved in. After that, he seemingly changed to his true colors and problems started. I could persevere the loud snoring and impromptu parties at our house, but what angered me the most was his trust issues as well as social misbehavior. He would go through my phone messages and try hacking into my email account, all the while thinking I was oblivious of his misdeeds. The little personal information I had foolishly shared with him was promptly disclosed to his friends who never wasted time in mocking me during their next visits. I discovered later on, that he had tried to access my bank account details, which was totally unacceptable.
Life in school is subject to many influences that one is supposed to look at wisely. The introduction to vices such as smoking and drugs is mostly done at this stage, as my second roommate can unfortunately attest to. His party-loving friends introduced him to cigarettes and alcohol very early in his school life. I later came to find out that he had been also using harder drugs such as marijuana but decided to keep it a secret. His weakness of character exposed him to peer-influence while strengthening my resolve to never use these substances. I felt sad that my roommate’s suffering would serve as an example for my betterment.
I had to let him go after the bank account incident and the shocking realization that I couldn’t trust him anymore. I had brazenly undergone the humiliation resulting from his friends, his attempts to snoop into my personal life, as well as his bad sleeping habits and disturbances from noisy friends. I even chose to ignore the cigarette butts littering our house after each visit from his friends and their foul language, but his dishonesty and the fact that I couldn’t trust him anymore were the final straw for me.
I realized that having a roommate was a good idea, and that it would be even better if the same person was someone you know well, can trust and understands you well enough. The importance of vetting potential roommates was realized and a few lessons learnt on how to handle bad ones. I also saw a good example of the effects of peer influence and poor character management.
American Civil War
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American Civil War
Slavery and westward expansions were the leading causes of the American civil war. The North and South were divided on the two issues. The manifest destiny was the belief that the United States was destined to expand its territory towards the west. For example, the country went to war with Mexico over the state of Texas. The United States won, being the stronger of the two nations. Slavery was part of the controversy of expansion. Critics opposed to the expansion based their argument on the fact that westward expansion would inevitably lead to the spread of the institution of slavery into the new states. The North and the South found it increasingly difficult o compromise on matters of economy and morality regarding slavery and expansion, and things came to a head in the Civil War.
The South depended on plantations of cotton as the mainstay of its economy. Therefore, a lot of labor was required in these plantations. Slavery was the most accessible source of labor. This is because the slaves were essentially the property of their masters; they had no rights. The masters drove the slaves to work in the plantations and their homes without any pay. Because of the free labor, the plantation owners made huge profits without any wage bill to their name. Without slave labor, the economy of the southern part of the United States would inevitably collapse. During the mid-1800s, slavery made up a significant part of the economy.
The North was quite different. The central part of its economy was industry. Because of the availability of employment in the industries, many immigrants moved to the North. There was no shortage of cheap labor to work in the industries; therefore there was no need for a system of slavery. The North was opposed to the institution o slavery on economic grounds as well as moral grounds. On the economic side, their industries prospered without the need for free labor. The moral reason for opposing slavery was that every man had the right o be free. No man could own another as his property; each man should be free. The idea of free labor was also shocking; the Northerners believed that a person should be paid for the work that they did. The expansion of the United States into the west would also lead to the spread of slavery; therefore the North criticized both slavery and westward expansion.
Some of the leading proponents of the westward expansion was John O’Sullivan who coined the phrase ‘manifest destiny.’ He and others who shared his beliefs claimed that there were three main reasons for the expansion of the United States. One of the reasons was that the country was that the white race was more superior compared to others such as the blacks and the Indians. The other purpose was that God ordained westward expansion, and the people of the United States were bound to fulfill their Godly duty. Finally, the third reason was that the other parts of the continent should be fashioned after the United States (O’Sullivan).
Before the Civil War, several attempts at compromise were made between the years 1820 and 1854. The first of these compromises was the Missouri Compromise. It was made in the year 1820 when Missouri wanted to enter the Union as a slave state. As the United States continued to expand, the debate arose as to whether the new members would be allowed entry as Free states or slave states (Wilsey). Missouri brought to light what had earlier been a controversial issue but kept out of the limelight. The solution to the problem was to have an equal number of members in the Union so that slavery would not dominate the whole country. The Missouri compromise can hardly be considered a solution to the festering tempers between states in support of slavery and those against.
The Compromise of 1850 was the second compromise between the second and the South. It happened after the war with Mexico. As a result of this war, the United States acquired new territories such as New Mexico, California, and Arizona. The question as to whether slavery should be allowed in these states came up once again. It involved several bills passed by Congress regarding slavery that managed to delay the Civil War but did little to decrease the tension between the warring factions. The third compromise made between the North and the South to suspend the Civil war was the Kansas-Nebraska Act (Wunder). The act allowed people who lived in the two territories to make up their minds on whether slavery should be allowed within their borders. Illinois senator Stephen Douglas authored the act. The Act led to several acts of violence involving the abolitionists and supporters of slavery.
One of the notable opposers of slavery and westward expansion was President Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation declaration which marked a massive moment in history. The Civil war came about as a result of this declaration. The declaration abolished slavery in the United States (Lincoln). The South was deeply unhappy with this and decided to go to war with the North who supported the abolition. Stephen Douglas, Senator of Illinois, held a different view of slavery from Lincoln (Guelzo 16). In their debates that happened before Lincoln joined politics, the two men exchanged words regarding their opposing stances. Douglas stated that the new territories should be allowed to decide whether they would permit slavery or not. Lincoln on the other hand completely opposed slavery spreading into the new territories.
The Civil War is a clear sign that the United States was unable to sustain a democracy. Slavery and westward expansion were the leading causes of tension between the South and the North. The North was abolitionist while the South supported the institution of slavery. The North also fought against westward expansion as it would lead to further spread of slavery into the new territories. Despite three legislative compromises in 1820, 1850 and 1854, the North and South were unable to reach an agreement and the simmering tension culminated in the American Civil War.
Works Cited
Guelzo, Allen C. “Lincoln Lost, Douglas Won.” First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life 289 (2019): 14-16.
Lincoln, Abraham. “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore, Maryland.” April 18.1864: 301-302.
Wilsey, John. ““Our Country Is Destined to be the Great Nation of Futurity”: John L. O’Sullivan’s Manifest Destiny and Christian Nationalism, 1837–1846.” Religions 8.4 (2017): 68.
Wunder, John R., and Joann M. Ross, eds. The Nebraska-Kansas Act of 1854. Vol. 10. U of Nebraska Press, 2008.