For
the first post, each group will learn some information about each person’s
family of origin. This should aid each group in beginning to imagine their
respective adoptee. While some of the information may at first appear to be
unrelated to our subject of study, life-span issues for individuals with
disabilities, fear not. It will all make sense as we move through the semester.
Vasha Singh – Week One
Arup and Shura Singh had a large family. They both came from
large families, but theirs was particularly big: 9 children and counting, the
oldest in college and the youngest on the way. Arup owned a construction
company in a large suburb of a major city, and the family was doing well. They
traveled several times a year back to their country of origin, India, to a
beautiful town south of Delhi. The Singhs prepared to welcome a new child into
their home. Shura wondered if this might be the last one – her mother had
stopped at 10, so she might as well.
Is it unusual for a family whose country of origin is India to have such a large family? (Hint: Look at demographic information regarding ethnicity and family size)
1. Birth order can affect family dynamics in both positive and negative ways. Age and order can bring family members closer or it can tear them apart. With every new child born comes a new jealously of older siblings and a competition within the family, hindering the family dynamic. Perri Klass explains, “Children and parents alike are profoundly affected by the constellations of siblings; it is said that no two children grow up in the same family, because each sibling’s experience is so different” (Klass, 2011).
ReplyDeleteWith first siblings, they tend to be more responsible and motivated to succeed because their parents have higher expectations of them. They tend to be more obedient because the parents are new at parenting and watch their first child’s every move while enforcing stricter rules (Klass, 2011). The first child is the groundbreaker who sets the stage for the younger siblings. The firstborn tends to be closer with the parents because he or she has had more time with them and is more conservative to gain a parents approval. Pressure is placed on firstborns to help and look out for younger siblings and they have more responsibilities (Staci, 2011).
Rules are a little more lenient for the second or middleborn because the parents have some experience. This can cause controversy between the older sibling and middleborn because the older sibling didn’t get to do the same things as their younger sibling. However the middleborn is always compared to the older sibling, which puts a lot of pressure on him or her. Middleborns need to differ from firstborns and be more creative when finding the approval of their parents, but it’s hard when their older sibling is the prime example in their life. The relationship between the firstborn and secondborn often lies in the hands of the firstborn. It is his or her decision to welcome the new child with open arms or to resent and feel superior to the secondborn (Staci, 2011). Research shows that the middle child tends to feel left out and neglected because parents give them the least attention (Summers, 1999).
The last child will always be known as the baby of the family, which can get them more power than even the oldest child. Rules for the last child become even more lenient and that is why they tend to be more creative and daring. This child is the parent’s last one and they try to hold on for as long as they can, giving him or her lots of attention and love. This can start controversy between the baby of the family and the other siblings (Staci, 2011).
Salmon and Daly performed a study to test family member preference of each individual family member. A questionnaire was given to 300 undergraduates, half female and half male, of various backgrounds asking them which family member they felt closest to? For those who were firstborns, 64 percent of them said a parent over their siblings. For lastborns, 34 percent of them said a parent over a sibling and for middleborns, only 10 percent said a parent over a sibling. This goes to show how middle children tends to get the least attention, affecting the family dynamic because they are being and feeling left out (Summers, 1999).
Salmon and Daly did another study on the contact between grandparents and grandchildren due to birth order and parental birth order. A questionnaire was given to 112 undergraduates (66 female, 46 male) that involved the regularity of contact with grandparents and the birth order of the participant’s parents. Although the grandchild’s birth order did not correlate with contact, parental birth order did. The mother’s birth order had an affect on the contact kept between her children and parents as well as the father’s birth order affected the contact kept between his children and his parents. The results were when the parent was middleborn his or her child saw less of that parent’s mother and father. This once again shows how the middleborn is affected by less attention, throwing off the family dynamic (Summers, 1999).
2. Yes, it is unusual for an Indian family to have so many children because India is a country that focuses on reducing the size of families. Back in the day tradition and lack of knowledge led to an increased family size and now a lot of money and time are spent towards family planning methods to decrease the amount of children a family has. In the past there was a great desire on having sons in the family to help with labor, the elderly, to keep the family name and property, and for religious reasons. This is a factor that contributed to large family size in earlier years, when Vasha’s parents were having children, because they wanted as many sons as possible (May and Heer, 1968).
ReplyDeleteNow, the average ideal family has 2.5 children whereas it was 6 children in the 1960’s. India was one of the first countries to form a national family planning program. There are now multiple laws and forms of contraception that limits the amount of children a family has. In 2000, The National Population Policy supported population stabilization by planning to have a fertility rate of 2.1 by 2010. For contraception, there was a 43.8% contraceptive prevalence rate amongst married women. Female sterilization is the most common of these methods as 85% of women rely on it. Over the past ten years, two new contraception methods were introduced. These were the CopperT-380A, which enables a woman from getting pregnant for ten years and Emergency oral contraception, which lessens unwanted pregnancies (India and Family Planning: An Overview).
Question 1:
ReplyDeleteKyle Summers. (March 3, 1999). Evolutionary psychology, birth order and family
dynamics. In TREE. Retrieved September 6, 2011 fromhttp://core.ecu.edu/biol/summersk/summerwebpage/articles/Summers1999_Birth%20order%20and%20family%20dynamics.pdf.
Perri Klass. (September 8, 2011). Fun to Debate, but How Important?. In The New York
Times. Retrieved September 6, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/health/08klas.html.
Staci B. (2011). How Birth Order Affects and Sibling and Family Dynamics. In Factoidz.
Retrieved September 6, 2011 from http://factoidz.com/birth-order-and-family-dynamics/
question 2:
David A. May and David M. Heer. (July, 1968). Son Survivorship Motivation and
Family Size in India: A Computer Simulation. In Population Studies. Retrieved September 6, 2011 fromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/2173019?seq=3
India and Family Planning: An Overview. Retrieved September 6, 2011 fromhttp://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/Family_Planning_Fact_Sheets_india.pdf