Keeping “Family Issues” In Perspective

It’s hard not to look to heredity or family history to explain the myriad of behavior issues that can come up with our kids. After all, we really WANT to have someone or something to blame so we don’t have to live with the ambiguity and the wondering of why exactly they are behaving the way they are. There is a danger, however, in letting “family issues” and family history takeover and not dealing with our children as individuals living in the here and now. I think of those family issues like a comfy old sweater—it’s so hard not to … Continue reading

The Good and Bad of “It Runs In The Family”

Heredity is a funny thing–and I am not just talking about genetic inheritance either–but all those quirks, personality traits, tendencies, and values that tend to run in families. It does not even have to be a biological relation. Each family has its own “culture”–just like a work environment, church, or community–and it can be interesting to look over both the good and the bad of what sort of things run in the family… One of my daughters said once that “divorce runs in my family”–with grandparents and great-grandparents and her own parents, she was right in noticing that she doesn’t … Continue reading