In Chapter 6 relationships are mostly discussed. These writers discussed sibling relationships, adult friendshops, and relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren. As time changes people and traditions are changing as well.
According to Hillier and Barrow, the relationship with siblings, solid or shaky, is likely to be the longest relationship in an individual's life. Sometimes siblings cause problems or conflicts with each other, but can also give support in a social environment that does not always foster social bonds (Connidis, 2001). The grandparents of today have multiple of siblings compared to their own offspring. That is how sthis is slowly changin from generation to generation. Each generation is having less and less children then their own parents.
Adult friendships are important also, especially for older people who do not have relatives or their children close by. A major study was conducted in which 84 percent said their close friend was a women (Hillier & Barrow, 2011). The chapter also mentioned that many older people who have lost their spouse wanted to remarry, but did not procede for many reasons. One being out of respect and others being because their children would disapprove or what people might say.
Lastly with life expectancy increasing we are seeing what use to be 3 generation families become 4 or 5 generation families. People are most likely to act the way their own grandparents acted toward them. Their are many different types of grandparents, there is fun and happy who want to enjoy their grandchildren. There is also the grandparent who holds the role of authority and dicipline or is the voice of wisdom. The intimacy with them is important in how they are viewed such as a confident, advisor, or friend.
In conclusion what I found most interesting was sibling relationships and how vital they are. The comment that changed my mind was about older people who lost their spouse wanted to remarry. My mind was always set that they should not remarry out of respect, but now I believce their is nothing wrong with that. In our changing society one thing that has not changed is that whatever the relationship may be sibling, friendship or grandparenting they are all important, they give us a sense of belonging.
Connidis, I. A. (2001). Family ties and aging. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.
Hillier, S. & Barrow, G. (2011) Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed. pp 3-28). California: WADSWORTH.
Flor,
ReplyDeleteI thought that this chapter was very interesting also. All the information about siblings was the most interesting seeing that I have so many and mostly girls. The chapter also talked about how once you have a sibling, you are related for life, no matter how you feel about each other. There are many families that have so much conflict it keeps the family from having a real relationship with each other.
As for grandparents remarrying when their spouse dies, I am all for it. I do not see their remarrying as a disrespect, but as a desire to continue living. The elderly needs to have companionship and wants to continue enjoying life and if getting married again is what is needed, then go for it. This chapter was about relationships and how they are a benefit for everyone.
Flor, I also wrote a weekly text blog review about this chapter. I thought that it was interesting that the grandparents of today have multiple siblings compared to their own offspring. I believe this is true for the most part. My mawmaw had two sisters and including her that is three children and she and my pawpaw had five children so they had more offspring than siblings. On my mother’s side, my Ganny had four brothers and sisters and including her that makes five. She and my Papa had five children so they had the same amount of children as siblings. My mom and dad each had four siblings and I have one sister, so I do believe this is changing. Things are getting more expensive now and it is very expensive to have a baby. You mentioned that many older people who lost their spouse wanted to remarry, but did not because of many reasons including that their children would disapprove. My Papa passed away many years ago and I’ve never thought of my Ganny re-marrying because I cannot picture her with anyone else.
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