Family support

In the last few days, being with family has been prevalent. Gregg and I helped do some yard care with one son and his wife, Gregg and boys finished reshingling the garage, my sister and I went to our nephew’s and my godchild’s graduation open house, and we did a brief Memorial Day visit to my father’s grave.

In attending my nephew’s open house in Iowa, I was again reminded of the value of connecting with extended family. Family can be such a gift, and though some work is necessary to stay in touch, it seems to me to be well worth it. Support of family invites numerous benefits.

A few ways to support family and positive development - specifically for adolescents – are listed at http://www.search-institute.org/assets/. Find there some ideas for concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising successful young people; they include:
*Family support with high levels of love.
*Positive family communication where the young person is willing to seek advice and counsel from parent(s).
*Other adult relationships, with the young person receiving support from three or more nonparent adults.

Extended relatives, and family friends, can be some of that support toward positive development. I am grateful for getting to be a part of and amongst that support in these recent days past.