Yours, Mine and Ours
Protective Meet Pluralistic
Figure 4-1
Admiral Frank Beardsley is a widower and father of eight. Helen North is Frank's high school sweetheart and mother of ten. Frank and Helen re-connect at a high school reunion and marry almost immediately. Now everyone needs to learn to adjust to a very cramped and different way of living. The two sets of children have been brought up in very different ways.
Frank has always created a loving, but very disciplined environment for his children. In contrast, Helen's children were brought up to be free spirits in more of a chaotic environment.
Frank Beardsley's family was a protective family. Protective families are low on conversation and high on conformity (Remland & Sanford, 2007).5 The Admiral is the head of the house and the children quietly obey his rules. In order to not disrupt the conformity, the children rarely question what Frank tells them. So when Frank's children first encounter Helen and her children they are bewildered.
Helen North has a pluralistic family. Pluralistic families communicate in open and unconstrained ways, discussing a broad range of topics and explore them in depth (Remland & Sanford, 2007).6 Helen has raised all of her children to be independent thinkers. There is no topic cannot be thoroughly discussed as a group. Many times she calls a family meeting where everyone can vent about a situation and then work together to find a solution. Helen's children find Frank's family to be strange and way too uptight.
Frank has always created a loving, but very disciplined environment for his children. In contrast, Helen's children were brought up to be free spirits in more of a chaotic environment.
Frank Beardsley's family was a protective family. Protective families are low on conversation and high on conformity (Remland & Sanford, 2007).5 The Admiral is the head of the house and the children quietly obey his rules. In order to not disrupt the conformity, the children rarely question what Frank tells them. So when Frank's children first encounter Helen and her children they are bewildered.
Helen North has a pluralistic family. Pluralistic families communicate in open and unconstrained ways, discussing a broad range of topics and explore them in depth (Remland & Sanford, 2007).6 Helen has raised all of her children to be independent thinkers. There is no topic cannot be thoroughly discussed as a group. Many times she calls a family meeting where everyone can vent about a situation and then work together to find a solution. Helen's children find Frank's family to be strange and way too uptight.
Conflicts
Figure 4-2
Although both sets of children were raised in loving environments, they are all shocked by their parents decision to marry each other so quickly and begin to rebel. According to Guerrero, "Same-sex siblings of about the same age are particularly likely to engage in frequent, competitive fighting."7 Frank and Helen's children exhibit this behavior. The movie Yours, Mine and Ours is a prime example of both of these theories.
All eighteen of these children are forced to live under the same roof and are not happy about it. The bathroom schedule is one of the biggest disputes. The children also find it difficult to agree on how rooms should be decorated.
At the beginning, the children form alliances within their original family to work against the other family. There is quite a bit of bickering. However, the children included in the adolescence range tend to argue the most. As a result, the younger children model after the older ones and begin to fight against one another.
All eighteen of these children are forced to live under the same roof and are not happy about it. The bathroom schedule is one of the biggest disputes. The children also find it difficult to agree on how rooms should be decorated.
At the beginning, the children form alliances within their original family to work against the other family. There is quite a bit of bickering. However, the children included in the adolescence range tend to argue the most. As a result, the younger children model after the older ones and begin to fight against one another.
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