Divorce and Blended Families

This week we have been talking about divorce, some predictors of divorce, and blended families. It was encouraging to hear in class that over 70% of people will never get a divorce! But we did talk about a few different predictors that could possibly lead to divorce. To just name a few; non-religious, less education, parents divorced, married very young, dual earner home, prior divorce, culture, and finances. There are many different reasons that the qualifications on this list could lead to divorce. If the couple has parents who have been divorced before then divorce is normal in the family. They have already experienced it through their parents and they know more about it than other couples whose parents are still married. Those who marry under the age of 18 have a higher chance of getting divorced just because they haven't really had a chance to make real decisions for themselves. This is probably the first big decision they have ever made and it should probably be thought about for a bit longer. I thought that having a dual income home was really interesting how it can lead to divorce. It makes sense though because it causes so much stress on the family like we have talked about before. Another interesting fact Brother Williams told us was that 70% of divorced people two years later said that they could have and should have saved the marriage. Divorce is a very serious thing and should be thoroughly thought through and prayed about.

Some guidelines Brother Williams gave us today for blended families really stood out to me. I think these are definitely crucial to consider and think about before deciding to marry with a blended family.

1) It will take a minimum of two years to reach a form of normalcy within a blended family
2) The biological parent needs to take on most of the discipline
        - There is no basis for authority for the new parent
3) The step parent should come in and start to play the role of an aunt or an uncle. They will still support the rules and respect the other parent.