Science in Family

There is more science involved in families than I think we care to admit. Recently I have been learning a lot about family science. I have discovered trends, data, biases, theories... and the list continues. Family is such a personal and emotional word and unit that it can be difficult to look at the science behind it. When a couple is struggling with infertility, science is really the only thing they can think about. They might ask themselves things like, Am I taking enough vitamins? How do I calculate ovulation? When does implantation happen? What diet should I be on to increase chances of pregnancy? And many other questions will always be running through their brains. Science surrounds us in our every day lives and most of the time we don't even realize it. 

When taking about family science specifically it is important to make sure that it is good science. It is so easy to find an article or study that is falsified or reported incorrectly. It is difficult to sift through all the voices telling you different things. It is so important to know what good science is. So what is good science? How do we decipher all the voices whispering in our ears (wouldn't that be really creepy if that was how it worked?) There are some key components to look at when looking for trustworthy science. Some of those are looking at the way the research was conducted, was it a significant sample size, was it random, was there a control group to make comparisons from? All of these things are important to consider when we are looking for good science. We must then make our own opinions and what we believe about what the good science we have observed.  

Everyday we make observations and judgements about our surroundings. These can be simple or complex. From these we can form a hypothesis and then we form a theory. In relation to getting pregnant this could be that you observe that you are drinking a lot of soda and hypothesis that if you drank less then you could increase your chances of becoming pregnant. So your theory is that drinking less soda helps you become pregnant. 

You can see why science is so important and surrounds us. 

Something that I believe is so important for people who are struggling to start a family is to look at some family science research. It is so easy to get caught up in the idea of having a baby that when we finally get that baby we have no idea what to do with it. What is the best way to raise this baby that will become a person one day with their own thoughts and emotions. 

Understanding what is best for children is something that is so important before becoming a parent. What kind of environment and example should we be setting for our kids? In the world today there is a lot of debate on what a family looks like and what it should be. I think a better debate should be on behalf of children. What family is best for children. What outcomes are we looking for in children? What is important for us to be teaching? How to measure that outcome? 

 In fact science really should be our go to when looking at this. What a better way to look at data and make conclusions than looking at what the science says. 

I love science because it can clearly give you the facts and then you can do with that what you decide. Science helps us navigate this crazy world that we are living in and what a blessing it is to have it so readily available to us.