This morning I was on the Internet when I really should have been getting ready to go run some errands but I came across a blog http://www.dinneralovestory.com/ that talked about reading a book called The Secrets of Happy Families. I'm not sure how good the book is after reading a negative review of it on Amazon. What the blogger liked most from the book was learning about the "Do You Know" scale. The "Do You Know" scale is a list of questions made by some researchers to figure out how well children know their family history.
These are questions like "Do you know where your parents met?" Or, "Do you know some of the jobs that your parents had when they were young?" According to the results of the study, the more a child knows about his family's history "the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the more successfully they believed their families functioned." Clearly, generations need to be connected.
It's not necessarily the knowledge itself that empowers children but the actual process of how that knowledge is transmitted. So tonight over dinner I hope to ask these questions. I would like to connect better with my children, especially at mealtimes, and this seems like a good springboard for things we can talk about.
In addition, being a member of the LDS Church which strongly emphasizes knowing your family history, (see Malachi 4:5-6) this really resonates with me. I have been spending 5 minutes reading family history stories of my grandparents to my children every Sunday but I would like to fit more of it in at other times. I wonder how well my children will do?
Here is the article that lists the questions.
These are questions like "Do you know where your parents met?" Or, "Do you know some of the jobs that your parents had when they were young?" According to the results of the study, the more a child knows about his family's history "the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the more successfully they believed their families functioned." Clearly, generations need to be connected.
It's not necessarily the knowledge itself that empowers children but the actual process of how that knowledge is transmitted. So tonight over dinner I hope to ask these questions. I would like to connect better with my children, especially at mealtimes, and this seems like a good springboard for things we can talk about.
In addition, being a member of the LDS Church which strongly emphasizes knowing your family history, (see Malachi 4:5-6) this really resonates with me. I have been spending 5 minutes reading family history stories of my grandparents to my children every Sunday but I would like to fit more of it in at other times. I wonder how well my children will do?
Here is the article that lists the questions.
16 out of 20! I missed 4, 17, 19, and 20
ReplyDeleteThanks, David! Except 20 is not really a legitimate question...
ReplyDelete