Traits of Healthy Families #10 Valuing Table Time

This post is guest written by Cassidy Ward, currently a sophomore Public Relations major at Harding University Laughter, arguing, crying, rejoicing, complaining, praising, and praying. All these and more I have experienced while gathering around the table with family to eat. One of the things I appreciate most about coming home from college during the holidays is family table time. Spending time together at the table to eat and converse during the holidays is important because it’s a time to reconnect, grow closer, and learn new things about your family and yourself. I grew up in a family where it
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December 15, 2017 | by
Categories: Family and Holidays.

Traits of Healthy Families #6-9

Lately I’ve been expanding on Dolores Curran’s book “Traits of a Healthy Family” which identifies 15 traits that healthy families exhibit.  She is quick to point out that no family is perfect or lives out all of these 15 traits.   However, healthy families as a whole will show these qualities.  Last month’s column was guest-written by my daughter and covered the traits of “Valuing table time” and “strong sense of rituals and traditions.”  This edition will examine how and why playfulness, leisure time, balance, and shared responsibility are important in family life. We’ve all heard it said that “The
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December 15, 2017 | by
Categories: Family, Marriage, Mental Health, Parenting, and Relationships.

Traits of a Healthy Family #3-5

Last month’s column introduced the traits of good communication and valuing family time and conversation.  In this issue, three more of the 15 traits from Dolores Curran’s book, “Traits of a Healthy Family” will be covered.  Traits 3 – 5 have to do with providing every family member with a sense of inclusion and acceptance. Trait three, “affirming and supporting one another”, really starts with the parents.   Happy parents make for happy kids.  Affirming parents have good self-esteem, and work to instill a positive mood in the home.  This positive tone in the home creates a general expectation that
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December 15, 2017 | by
Categories: Family, Marriage, Mental Health, Parenting, and Relationships.

Traits of a Healthy Family #1-2

What do healthy families look like?  There’s a saying; “Crazy comes in many forms but sanity just has one.”  Dolores Curran, author of “Traits of a Healthy Family,” surveyed professionals in education, ministry, health care, and family counseling, asking them to identify what they observed in families they deemed as “healthy.”  Based on this survey, 15 traits were identified as components of healthy families.   There is no single family that embodies all of these traits, so don’t feel pressure to master them all.  This issue will look at the first two in Curran’s list; communication, and valuing family time
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December 15, 2017 | by
Categories: Family, Mental Health, Parenting, Personal Growth, and Relationships.