Family Problems

Chapter 5: Family Problems

This chapter focuses on family problems as a social problem. Some of the main topics are divorce and abuse, but this is not why I chose the chapter. However, I did choose to blog about divorce and abuse because it is so common. I think that family problems can be related to by everyone. A lot of people think that there is problems in their family and they are the minority. Everyone always says "my family is so dysfunctional" (now termed imbalance family) but I have yet to see a completely functional one. 

 Abuse
 
 These are lines by Zach (2008)


My Life
 surrounded by walls
no where to go
walls are closing in
no more air flow

no one can hear you
like your never there
no one can help
no one is there

kicking and screaming
yelling for help
mom sits and watches
while dad grabs his belt

mom doesn't say anything
until dad leaves
she doesn't care
at least I didn't believe

this always happened
every single night
mom just sat and watched
without putting up a fight

going to school
with new bruises every day
teachers always asked
I blew their help away

knowing if I told
it would only get worse
begging on my knees
for him not to immerse

just laying there as time passed by
watching myself get beat
I just thought to myself
one day ill be back on my feet

the time had finally come
many years after
I finally stood up for myself
it never happened thereafter.

There a many different types of abuse. Here are some statistics on child abuse from the National Children's Alliance (2009):
  •  Nearly five children die every day in America from abuse and neglect
  •  In 2009, an estimated 1,770 children died from abuse in the United States.


This video is put together with text, images, and music all related so abuse in the family, watch "Contemporary Social Problems-Family Issues" (2008)




Divorce
 Divorce (or the dissolution of marriage) is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties.

Divorce is a pretty small word for how much hurt it can sometimes cause. We view divorce in our society because on average 50% of marriages end in divorce (Divorcerate 2011). That is broken down into a number of categories. Visit this site for an easy to read graph on divorces by age, gender, and frequency:


Our book lists 8 Social Causes for Divorce, but there are far more consequences. People have to make so many decisions after a divorce when children are involved that sometimes things get ugly. According to the text 60% of divorces involve children.

Here is one article, "Whether to Keep the Family Home After Divorce." This is something that one must consider in rough economic times.



References:

Contemporary Social Problems-Family Issues. (2008, March 17) [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2WR80RA9Ig


National Children's Alliance. (2011). National Statistics on Child Abuse. Retrieved from http://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/NCANationalStatistics


Divorcerate. (2011) What is the current divorce rate in America?. Retrieved from http://www.divorcerate.org/
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