Family Menu
Our biological or adopted family will influence us in more ways than we can imagine. Our family can be a source of love and many blessings. Our family also can be a source of pain, abuse, frustration, anger, and fear. We learn ways of perceiving, attitudes, values, skills, spiritual beliefs, coping mechanisms, and emotional expression from our families. How has your family influenced you?
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Turning Parental Anxiety into a Catalyst for Family Harmony
by Gwen Payne - December 2024
"Managing parental anxiety is a significant challenge that affects both caregivers and their
families, often influencing a child's sense of security and well-being. Recognizing how
stress manifests and implementing effective strategies can help create a more supportive
and nurturing environment. This article provides insights and practical approaches to
address anxiety, offering guidance on fostering resilience and a balanced atmosphere for
the entire family..."
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Five Tasks for the Empowerment of Young Adults
by Dr. Michael Obsatz
“When people share concerns about youth drug abuse and violence, they often come up with
consequences and punishments. Young people use drugs and act out in violent ways because they
lack maturity, self-esteem, and interpersonal skills.
If we want our young people to live productive, mature lives, there are five tasks which they must accomplish..."
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21 Skills for Raising Empowered Children
by Dr. Michael Obsatz
“From “Raising Nonviolent Children in a Violent World“ by Dr. Michael Obsatz
1. Setting goals and planning for your future 2. Disciplining yourself, improving your skills 3. Brainstorming and problem-solving 4. Coping with disappointments by grieving, forgiving and bouncing back 5. Asking for nurturing and care when you need it..."
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Some Questions about the Impact of Your Family of Origin and Your Childhood on the Rest of Your Life
by David J. Decker
“Understanding How Your Early Life Experiences Can Affect The Development Of
Toxic Shame In Who You Have Been And Who You Are Now...Use the following questions as a means to “transport yourself back in time” to assist you in remembering what your childhood was like and to help you identify where you developed your shame and your current unhealthy and dysfunctional patterns, attitudes, and behaviors..."
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Some Practical Way to Be a More Effective and Respectful Parent
by David J. Decker
“Parenting your children can be one of the hardest tasks you take on over the course of your lifetime. Unfortunately, it is all too easy simply to fall back on and use what your own parents did with you, even if what they did was shaming, hurtful, disrespectful, and destructive. Sadly, that may be all you know. The goal in effective parenting is to expand your repertoire of behaviors to teach your children how to become cooperative, productive, and healthy adults..."
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Do You Know What Parenting Style You Use?
Storytelling with Family
“Do you know what parenting style you use? While exploring this topic with parents, I have found that often people will parent their children the same way that they were parented..." by Carolyn Penniman
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Formation, Conformation, Transformation, and Illumination
By Dr. Michael Obsatz - July 2022
"As children, we are taught to listen to our parents, obey rules, and conform to certain norms. These norms are created by a culture -- norms about gender, norms about appearance, norms about seeking approval, and norms about being accepted and popular..."
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Why Kids are Hurting – video
By Dr. Michael Obsatz
In this video, Dr. Michael Obsatz talks about why kids are hurting these days.
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Lost: Understanding and Coping With Abandonment
By Dr. Michael Obsatz
"We hear a lot about abandonment. Infants are abandoned in front of churches. Victims of bullies are often abandoned when they come forward and tell their truth..."
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MAN-ifest Destiny: Teaching Our Sons About Healthy Manhood
By Dr. Michael Obsatz - August 2017
"In this technological age, it is easy to get lost in noise, clutter, and machines, and lose face-to-face connections. What’s important may become trivial, and what’s trivial can seem very important. There are still limiting messages out there about what it means to be a “real man.”
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The Fatherly Heart: Involved Fatherhood as Spiritual Practice - video
By Dr. Michael Obsatz
"Raising emotionally, physically and spiritually healthy sons and daughters is a crucial enterprise in creating a world of peace, love, and compassion."
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Helping Young Kids Overcome Shame
By Dr. Michael Obsatz
"Shame is very pervasive in America. Most people have some amount of shame. Some people have been hurt, abandoned, abused, neglected and ridiculed, and have enormous amounts of shame.."
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Breaking the Parental Grip
By Dr. Michael Obsatz
"During infancy and childhood, children need their parents love, attention, support, and guidance..."
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The ICING Can Never be the CAKE
By Dr. Michael Obsatz
"The cake. We are the cake. The cake means that we are complete, whole, and wonderful. We are loveable as we are..."
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Storytelling in Small Groups with Family
Reflection and Prompts
Quotations for Small Group Storytelling with Family
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