It matters what children see and
hear. They breathe it in like air and
will model it before your eyes. Their models are their parents and family
members — we know what we know from our families. We inadvertently do what they do without even
knowing it until someone points it out.
My daughter sent me a video of my 11
month old grandchild. She was “reading a
book.” She knew just what to do with a
book. You sit with it; you open it, look
at the page, than you say words. When
you are done talking, you turn the page from right to left. When you close the book you pick up another
book. While watching her sister, our 4
year old granddaughter said, “Oh my goodness”, which informed me what she hears
Mommy and Daddy say in their home.
Everything you know you learned in your family. Your family values, ethics, habits, sense of
right and wrong shape your behaviors and influence the decisions you make every
day. I tell my students, in a few years,
you will leave your home and go out into the world to make a life for
yourself. Will the rules and
expectations you grew up with be the same, or will they change. A Genogram / family
tree project is an opportunity to evaluate your family — what do you like, what
do you not like, what will you change when you make your own home. Your home — your rules.
The purpose of the family tree is to answer the questions
1. Why
am I the way I am
2. Why
do I say the things I say
3. Why
do I respond the way I do
4. Why
am I argumentative, or shy, or quiet, or boisterous or angry, or calm — you get
the picture
5. Why
do I believe what I believe
To assist in looking back at family history, download a free genogram
lesson by clicking on the link below:
