dq's

DQ 7-1
What are some of the drawbacks of postponing pregnancy? What are some of the benefits? Identify at least three of each and explain.
There are many disadvantages and advantages of waiting to have children. Many couples take the time to complete their education and establish a secure career path. Working for several years may generate financial security that is needed when providing for a family. With age, hopefully, comes wisdom and maturity that can be beneficial in raising children. Many older couples postpone families to travel and experience risks and opportunities they may otherwise not have when having to raise a family. By waiting it gives you and your spouse time to build a strong foundation for your children. The disadvantages of waiting is (I use me as an example) you might have waited to long. Right now, I was just released from the hospital on Sunday I am 35 and I was just diagnosed with CHF (congested heart failure) and was told that my lungs are very weak. I had 1 miscarriage at the age of 28 my body couldn’t hold the baby and I was recently told that I will never be able to give birth to a child because my heart can not bear it I would probably have a heart attack while giving birth because of the stress your heart is under. Now I wish I wouldn’t have waited because i have always wanted children.
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There are many drawbacks of postponing pregnancy for women and men. While not everyone will experience these drawbacks, many do. There are many physiological risks in delayed pregnancy. The peak opportunity for women to normally get pregnant is in their early to mid twenties. The older a women is, the chance of fertilization decreases. A male's sperm is affected by age, as well, increasing the risk of unsuccessful fertilization, Also, the quality of a woman's egg decrease as she gets older and the risk of birth defects in delayed pregnancy increases. An older pregnant woman is at a higher risk of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, fetal death, and health risks of her own such as diabetes and hypertension. Emotionally, an older mother and/or father may not have the stamina, energy, or patience needed in the demands of raising a child. The older you are, the greater risk that you will not live to see the child into advanced or even early adulthood. Another drawback is the reduced number of children a couple will have the older they are before they start a family. This has an impact in society as a reduction in family size means less people in the future for the workforce. (SOC-220, Lecture 7)
There can be many benefits, as well, in delaying creating a family. Many couples take the time to complete their education and establish a secure career path. Working for several years may generate financial security that is needed when providing for a family. With age, hopefully, comes wisdom and maturity that can be beneficial in raising children. Many older couples postpone families to travel and experience risks and opportunities they may otherwise not have when having to raise a family. Personally, I chose to get my doctor of chiropractic degree before getting married and having a family. This decision worked for me. However, I feel that a couple needs to weigh the pros and cons together an decide what is the best for them when starting a family.
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According to much study it has been said some of the benefits of postponing pregnancy include thought-through pregnancies where mothers are in stable relationships, another is that its more health conscious, plan to contribute positively to society through example and the birth of their child,inspiration for research and new treatments,contribution to education and social capital and example of respect for diversity and differences these would be considered. it is said that Higher amounts of educated women over age 35 giving birth means that they are making a positive contribution to society and the economy on a number of levels through their delayed pregnancy and the birth of their child – education, innovation, health, financial, and as social or human capital. now for the disadvantages which are: unexpected pregnancy for example, an older woman may also fall pregnant unexpectedly similar to younger women, or when in menopause which is usually considered an unlikely time to conceive. other disadvantages such as older health issues, lost independence and community-support are also on the list of the cons(Medic8,2014). anythoughts?

DQ 7-2
What are some of the challenges facing a blended family?

Some of the challenges facing a blended family are that it happens to be a very critical situation to deal with. They, the family, have to all learn to get a long with each other and except everyone for whom they are. The most serious thing to worry about is that the stepparents could abuse their stepchildren, especially sexually. The children have to learn how to like and accept their stepparents as another parent of their very own. They must learn how to respect them. The kids will have to take awhile to get use to their other stepbrothers and stepsisters ways. The children will have a hard time calling their step mom, mom, and their stepfather, dad. It will be a very awkward situation since they already have a real mom and dad. Their stepparents can never replace their real parents, and they, the stepchildren, have to get the full understanding of that idea at least some point of time with their new family arrangements.

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There are many challenges that face blended families. I come from a difficult past in that both my parents were married and divorced and I was a bastard child. My mom got married and I was then adopted by my step dad. My biological father married multiple times adding brothers and sisters of mine with each spouse. What can easily be noted by this is that blended family life is complex to say the least. It takes a lot of patience, love, and kindness to make it through some tough situations. In the past 10 years, however, my entire family has come to know the Lord and many relationships have been healed. A blended family is not a recipe for disaster, but I do believe it takes more work and more patience then a family that is formed and maintained in the way in which Christ intended.

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I believe that blended families can be very beautiful when blended correctly. For those who are not blended correctly, challenges may arise. Some challenges that blended families go through are children accepting the new parent, the new parent displaying favoritism over their biological children versus the step-children; and one of the biggest issues I've seen is when the biological parent that's on the outside and the step-parent have conflict.
Many times families are faces with such issues and do not know how to handle things properly. I believe that it takes very mature adults to make a blended family successful. The two biological parents should have a discussion with each other first to figure out a plan of action to make blending go smoothly. After they agree on how, they should approach the child first with the new scenario. All step-parents and biological parents should be included in decision making in regard to the children. Although they are not biological, the children will still be being raised under the step-parents care, therefore that person should be on the same page of parenting as the biological parents.