My Somewhat Strong Family

    Being in this class has made a lot of things about my family make sense. I really enjoy this class and talking about everyones experiences. One of the things we talked about in class in the six characteristics to make a strong family. I think I have a pretty strong, but like every family we're not perfect. 

One characteristic that my family is good at is time. In the reading Strong Families Around the World by John Defrain, it says that one of the best memories from our childhood are mostly likely memories of family activities and usually doesn't coat a lot of money. This is true for me too. One of my favorite memories is playing in the sprinkler in my backyard with my mom and my little brother. Now that I have read about this and talked about it in class it makes more sense to me. It's the quality time with your family that really counts. 

One characteristic my family can use more of is communication. My little brother, Ryan, is 16 years old and is off in his own world. He doesn't really talk to anyone in my family when he doesn't have to. If it was up to him i don't think he would ever be home. I think after reading and discussing strong families me and the rest of my family need to make more of a commitment to talk to him, even if he doesn't want to talk back. I think this would make a big impact on my family and help increase other characteristics like appreciation and affection. 

Knowing these six characteristic I think really helps make a better family. When I go home this next weekend I'm going to bring my strong families packet home with me and have my parents read it. I think it would help my family be stronger and commit more time and effort.