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American Family History
When delving into an American Family History, there are certain advantages and certain disadvantages to learning about the people who immigrated to a new country in the New World. There are usually a great many records of the people once they are in...
Cheap Family Fun Ideas
Like most families, we are on a monthly budget and we live paycheck to paycheck. There are times we simply can’t budget in a trip to the movies or the skating rink. The prices for activities have gone through the roof and when you have a 6 person...
Childhood Friendships
Childhood friendships are as special as they are a necessary part of growing up. While some of our children will maintain these friendships into adulthood, many will not. Kids move away or they find other friends with more current interests and...
Teaching Children Good Manners
Last week in my newsletter, I mentioned that my children knew how to behave in nice restaurants because they had been exposed to the atmosphere at an early age. My idea of well behaved might be different from yours, however, I think there are...
The Planning of a Bridal Shower!
Planning a bridal shower? Maybe a dear friend or even sister is getting married and you are in charge of planning the bridal shower? Bridal showers are customary and traditional. They aren't all about the bridal shower gifts though! They are a way...
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Creating a Family Identity
CREATING A FAMILY IDENTITY
Everyone who has a family has stories to share. Family traditions, quotes and tall tales are valuable tools that can be used to help create a unique family identity. It gives us a sense of where we came from, our values, our sense of humor, our history and sense of belonging to something comfortable, unique and bigger than ourselves. Our family's faith and foundation is transferred to us by other, usually older, family members, and is important to us as we carve out our place in the big world.
The most obvious and sometimes most difficult way to create a family identity is by taking the time to talk to our children, really talk to them, at length, about ourselves, our family growing up, and what their grandparents and great grandparents were like. Why is this so difficult? Because now, more than ever we are shuttling our kids from one activity to another, breathlessly throwing fast food at them and sending them off to bed with no more than, "Brush your teeth," in the way of conversation. We drive here and there listening to talk radio while our kids are plugged into video games and MP3 players with headphones that further distance them from their siblings sitting right next to them.
In order to enhance your ability to create a family identity, you don't need to quit everything and homeschool your children, although that works for some who are called to that lifestyle. Family traditions are important to building the family identity and seem to come naturally with holidays and birthdays. However, so can implementing things as simple as having no electronic entertainment on Mondays in order to enjoy more productive time together.
A half hour, bedtime tuck-in with stories, private talks and prayers will nurture a relationship and deepen the children's sense of belonging to something bigger and more
important than themselves.
Working as a team on a project such as gardening for Grandma, volunteering together at a community food bank, or making home made gift wrap can all enhance your family identity and relationships.
Throughout your day you can say things to your children such as, "I'm so glad we live in a family that can talk about anything!" or "I love that my children are each others' best friends!" When correcting your children, gently point out that, "Our family doesn't call each other names," or "We don't spit on the playground," or "Our family likes to be polite, kind, or helpful to others."
Camping as a family is an activity that has stood the test of time when it comes to knitting families together. What better time to share family history and stories than around a campfire while enjoying s'mores and the clean mountain air?
There are countless ways to create your family identity and instill that identity into your children. Use your creativity to think of things that will work for your family members' interests and schedules. Make what you choose an integral part of all of your lives. It will enrich your children's lives, and create an important foundation for your family identity.
Try a few of these ideas or some of your own and you may be surprised at the way it sparks a new depth to the relationships in your family and a deeper understanding of who you; The Smiths, The Coronados, The Demchaks...really are and where you fit into this busy, confusing, big, beautiful world.
Visit "stories" at http://www.familytree4u.com to see more family related articles and funny stories.
Ginny Warren 2/04
About the Author
Ginny Warren is a work at home Mom, and owner of Family Tree 4-U creator of personalized, illustrated family trees. She enjoys family activities, the out doors and freelance writing.
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| Family.org |
| Offers practical help for marriage and child-rearing. Recent magazine articles, letters from Dr. James Dobson, news, and RealAudio broadcasts. |
| www.family.org |
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| FamilyFun: Fun stuff for Kids, Parents - and More Family Fun |
| Family Fun is your online source for arts and crafts, recipes, and parties for every holiday, plus hundreds of ideas for kid crafts, birthday cakes, ... |
| familyfun.go.com |
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| Family.ca |
| Take polls, rant and rave on Canada's family broadcaster site. Full of shockwave games, animation and information about the shows they carry. |
| www.family.ca |
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| Family.com - closed beta |
| Features a to do list, calendar, and recommended sites for health, shopping, and recipes. |
| family.go.com |
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| FamilySearch.org - Family History and Genealogy Records |
| Search for family ancestors. Billions of free family tree, family history, ancestry, genealogy and census records. |
| www.familysearch.org |
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| Family - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), ... Members of the nuclear family use descriptive kinship terms: ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Family (biology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| The concept of rank at that time was still in statu nascendi, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera, ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Family Guy |
| The official Family Guy website with everything you ever wanted to know about the show and more. |
| www.familyguy.com |
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| Parenting advice, child development and family reference at ... |
| FamilyEducation.com provides parents with educational printables, games, activities, parenting ideas, tips, family advice, and information on learning ... |
| www.familyeducation.com |
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| Family Life Today |
| FamilyLife, a division of Campus Crusade for Christ, provides practical, biblical tools to strengthen marriage and family relationships, including the ... |
| www.familylife.com |
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| WorldVillage - A Family Friendly Portal for Families, Kids, Adults ... |
| WorldVillage is for families, kids, adults, parents and teachers. Features include coupon codes, online games, downloads, internet monitoring and internet ... |
| www.worldvillage.com |
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| Open Directory - Home: Family |
| Family Check-up - Provides assessment activities and access to educational materials related to family health with respect to family life, finances, ... |
| dmoz.org |
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| Free Family Ecards, Family Greeting Cards, Family Greetings, Cards ... |
| Express your appreciation to your family/ loved ones for all that they have ... Reach out to your friend/ family/ loved one and let them know how much you ... |
| cards.123greetings.com |
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| kids and family news articles - arizona education - arizona family ... |
| Family News Articles - azcentral.com provides articles and reports on Arizona education and Arizona family events. |
| www.azcentral.com |
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| Google Directory - Home > Family |
| Many articles dealing with a wide range of topics from single parenting, family life, child development and stress management. ... |
| www.google.com |
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| Family Research Council: Wednesday, December 6, 2006 |
| Christian organization promoting the traditional family unit and the Judeo-Christian value system upon which it is built. Provides links, commentary, news, ... |
| www.frc.org |
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| Sesame Workshop - Home Page |
| The non-profit educational organization behind the show and related educational outreach. |
| www.sesameworkshop.org |
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| National Sex Offender Registry |
| Free national US search for registered sex offenders. Map registered sex offenders to see who lives in your area. |
| www.familywatchdog.us |
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| FHI Family Health International |
| Provides the highest quality research, education and services in family planning, STDs/HIV and family health to improve the health and well-being of ... |
| www.fhi.org |
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| National Family Caregivers Association |
| Caregiving advocacy organization with tips and statistics on caregiving in America. |
| www.nfcacares.org |
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