Make Them Proud

This week in my Family Relations class we discussed the cultural differences of families. Every family is so different, and for so many reasons! It could be an ethnic background, where they were raised, how many kids are in the family, extended family, socio-economic status, religion, education levels, and so much more.

I watched a video about a family with a single mom and two kids. They lived in a really low income area of Ohio and they were extremely poor. I could tell that the family loved each other, but they were lacking a lot more than money. They were a bit broken by their lack of resources and I believe it took a toll on their relationships. The sons didn’t have a great deal of respect for their mom, who did the best that she could, but was still lacking some. The mother hoped to do much better, and carried her dreams for a better life with her daily. The sons didn’t believe in her dreams and they ended up following in her footsteps.

This family, and many others like it beg the question, why are we this way and what can be done? According to many studies, children are highly likely to follow in their parents footsteps in many ways, whether they recognize it or not. Parents love their children and they love their own parents. I think in many ways children hope that they will become at least a little bit like their own parents (because “hey, I turned out okay!”) But many also move forward with ideas of how they are going to be different.

The mother in this video explained that she grew up in a home with twenty-two children. She said that if her daddy saw her now and what she had made of her life, he would be proud. So I think that’s it. I think along with trying the best we can and learning from our parents, the best thing we can do is try to make them proud. We can try to do a little better and be a little better, but most of all, make our children proud to call us their parents.