"Parenting in Gospel Context: Practices Do Make a Difference"

The next chapter I used as inspiration for my blog was chapter 11, which is all about parenting. I chose to talk to parents about if they felt that having religion in their life and the gospel helped them in their roles as parents. Many people agreed that having a religion helps bring a lot of peace as a parent.

"I think family is important, but in a much broader sense. Anyone who grows up with a two parent household, with financial stability and love, is highly likely to live a successful life. But, based on my experiences in the world, that's not the only type of good family. Some people think a mother and father are essential, I personally think two fathers is fine as long as each loves the child and cares for the child accordingly, sharing the responsibility of a child equally. Then I think of Tara (name changed to protect privacy), her divorce was nasty and she is just now really recovering...but her daughters are happy as can be. I think family is important, but the parameters of family are less important. I think of my own situation. I never found much comfort with my family. I had two parents who are married, were financially stable most of my childhood, but I still ended up with issues. It wasn't until I met my husband and formed a new family, my own family, that I saw comfort and peace from a family member. I don't turn to my birth family, but I turn to my chosen family. Family is essential or happiness, because it gives us belonging. It gives us a safety net when we mess up, but family does not have guidelines to what can or cannot constitute the sense of belonging. In my case, I was given an intact family but my chosen family is what gave me happiness, not the family I was given. A lot of times, chosen and given family overlap. Like with my sister, I have a sense of belonging. I don't think it's innate because I didn't feel that when I was younger. It wasn't until we chose to be friends that I felt happiness and comfort. Family is all about who you choose and whether or not they choose you back. Only then can a "family" bring happiness. Without a chosen family, happiness is hard to come by."