¶ … Strong Families
One question that has intrigued researchers in the field of family studies for many years is the question of what constitutes a strong family. Why are some families so close-knit with well-adjusted members who openly love each other and lead productive lives, while other families flounder in a quagmire of dysfunction and trouble? What are the qualities that make for success in families? Finding an answer to this question is important, because the answer can give researchers the foundation they need to give families information they can use to create their own strong families (DeFrain). A fair amount of research into this question has been conducted over the past twenty years, and researchers are finally starting to put together the pieces that make up successful families. This paper will examine the current research on strong families, provide real-life examples of strong families in action, and determine the most important indicators of families that are headed toward success.
So, what are the characteristics of strong families? John DeFrain, in his essay "Creating Strong Families," found that strong families have six main attributes that help them succeed over the long-term. These attributes are:
Appreciation and Affection -- Strong families regularly express love and affection for each other.
Commitment -- Strong families make the family a priority and invest time in each other.
Positive Communication -- Strong families talk regularly with each other, often for no other reason than to just chat.
Enjoyable Time Together -- Strong families do things together and enjoy each other's company.
Spiritual Well-Being -- Strong families have members who have love and compassion for each other and the world.
Successful Management of Stress and Crisis -- Strong families develop good stress management skills and use them regularly.
Families who exhibit these characteristics generally have closer, happier relationships with one another. However, these characteristics do not just develop overnight. Somebody has to put them into practice. Those "somebodies" are parents. Parents are the key to strong families. They are the ones who provide the lead for children on how to act toward one another. The parents are to the family what a hard drive is to a computer; without them, the family can not operate.
It takes strong parents to make strong families. What, then, are the characteristics of strong parents? The YMCA asked itself that very question, and conducted a nationwide poll of 1,005 parents to answer it. The most important thing in making strong parents, the poll found out, is for the parents to have a good relationship with each other ("Building Strong Families"). Parents who have an excellent relationship with one another are more likely to feel successful as parents and up to the challenges of parenting ("Building Strong Families"). In fact, having an excellent relationship with each other is the parenting factor most consistently related to a wide range of strong parenting factors. Parents with healthy relationships with each other do the things that help their children grow up healthy ("Building Strong Families").
Another important characteristic of successful parents is having standards for themselves as parents. Parents of strong families set standards for themselves that they feel they must reach in order to be successful ("Building Strong Families"). Some common standards of successful parents are having respectful children with good behavior and good values, being able to give their children love, getting involved with and making time for their children, and helping their children live happy, productive lives ("Building Strong Families").
The final characteristic of successful parents, the YMCA discovered, is the willingness to utilize outside resources ("Building Strong Families"). When parents seek and obtain the support and encouragement of those around them, they experience less stress and greater satisfaction with their parental roles. Family, friends,...
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