Culture is “customs, arts, social institutions, achievements, a set of shared attitudes, values, practices, and/or goals.” When we talk about family culture, we may think that since it’s ingrained into us, and we have been raised a certain way, we cannot change our own family culture. But I am here to say THAT IS A MYTH! You can change family culture. It will take time and effort, but it can be done! In some cultures, the grandmother is the one who makes the decisions for her children and their families. There are cultures that once the daughter is married; they are now part of the husband’s family and pretty much doesn’t even exist to her family anymore. These may be extreme cases for your family in our country. Maybe you are part of a family that doesn’t hug, doesn’t address large issues, or even say you love one another. These are probably more of the things that we can relate to. Thankfully, we have the power to change that if we feel it will be of benefit for our family!
Socioeconomic status is “an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person’s work experience and of an individuals or family’s economic and social position in relation to others, based on household income, earners education, and occupation.” There are many things that we automatically think of when we think of someone’s socioeconomic status. We think of material possessions, clothes, formal education, house size and location, speech and mannerisms, and money. You can probably think of someone in each of the different socioeconomic classes and you can think of what they might wear, where they live, what they drive, the jobs that have, and so on.
When bringing family culture and socioeconomic class together we can realize there are possibilities for change in family culture that our family may have set forth before us. For example, There is a woman who is poor, has no education, no car, the trailer is unclean, her clothing consists of her work uniform from Burger King (where she walks to work 10 miles every day), she has 2 sons that have no supervision due to having no father. Her children recognize their class and strive to live a higher class wearing nicer clothing and dreaming of becoming lawyers. Sadly, they are unable to graduate from high school, have children young, get into drugs, and live at home with their mom and no jobs. If the sons had seen these trends and recognized the culture in their own family needed to change, they may have been able to break the cycle and move up to a higher socioeconomic class.
In class we talked about 3 things that guarantee a person to get out of poverty and stay out of poverty. These are things that, if taught and understand would allow someone to change their family culture and move them up a socioeconomic class. These include; don’t procreate until married, finish high school, and get a job- any job. These are things that do not seem too hard, but they are. We live in a time when over 40% of children are born to parents who are not married, usually meaning they will end up in broken homes which have proven significant negative impacts on children. Finishing high school sounds easy, until you are the one who is expected to work and bring home money to your family, you have children while still in high school, or get caught up in drugs that end up being more important than schoolwork. And getting ANY job. When combined with the other two suggestions, a job will allow you to have a foundation to begin your journey. As long as you are earning more than you spend, you will be alright.
I hope that we are not too quick to judge, but quick to love. We are understanding of everyone’s situations, and that we will educate those around us to allow everyone to enjoy a fulfilling life! Here’s to changing family cultures that need changing!!
Best of Family Relations 