Its summer time and most young people want to be as far away from learning as possible. However summer with its long rides up to the cottage, sun sets and waiting for fish to bite provides an excellent opportunity for you to hang with your kids and re affirm family values. As the gang was heading to a family reunion this past weekend. I started telling the kids about the people they were going to see…and where they came from. (Not the Birds and the Bees but our Family History).
Now there may be parts of your family history that you are not proud of, not every family has empty closets. However your family history is just that… History… It’s done and over… It is History… You can tell an edited version of any family story, and use it as a parenting tool. Perhaps you have some issues in your family that are not so nice…For example Uncle so and so who likes to drink lots of beer and tell jokes that make other people uncomfortable. “Why does he do that Mom???” ” Well Son if you take into perspective that Grandma was married at the age of 19 to Granddad who was 40 and a wounded World War Two Veteran it’s no surprise that sometimes things were a bit rocky in their relationship… and Uncle So and So had to step in when his parents were not handling things well. That’s why Uncle So and So acts the way he does sometimes, and is why Dad does not like to drink.”
Lesson taught, perhaps not quite learned, but it’s out there to be used as a parenting tool as situations present themselves. As I have mentioned before in previous blogs it works better with my kids when I admit that I have done something wrong or dropped the ball. The kids know that I am not perfect and nor is anyone else. But there are better ways to handle difficult situations and sometimes it’s best to know the whole story before you judge a person. And really what pre teen does not want hear the story of Great Grand Mother Betty who was married 3 times had 12 kids and was shipwrecked off of the coast of Newfoundland…She lived to be 98…and had bunions…just like Mom…and that’s why you have to carry that stuff because Moms feet hurt… (Warning if Mom has Great Grandmas feet she may have her extended expiry date…So be ready to have her around for a while!)” Please Mom stop now!!” How about you do you use Family Lore as a teaching tool??? Is History really History??? Let me know.
Danielle