Having healthy relationships is an important aspect of leading a fulfilling life. Forging healthy relationships starts with the lessons you learn about relationships from your experiences with your own family. Knowing what makes a family healthy and incorporating these factors into your family life are the best ways to ensure that your children feel safe and nurtured and will be empowered to develop positive relationships when they grow up.
Identification
The Lower Mainland Assessment and Referral Service reports that healthy families are members of communities that extend beyond their nuclear units. These communities include religious organizations (temples, synagogues, mosques and churches), neighborhoods and networks for new parents. Healthy families rely on outsiders for support.
Benefits
One of the positive aspects of a healthy family is commitment. According to the University of Florida, commitment is the expectation that a family will stay together forever, whether in positive or challenging times. Committed families offer a sense of unity, belonging and trust to their members. Family commitment involves providing time and energy to the family regularly and by pursuing activities together that everyone enjoys. Healthy families also engage in religious or spiritual activities together, such as prayer and meditation, which contributes to the spiritual development of each family member.
Features
The University of Florida reports that healthy families include members who communicate effectively by listening to words and to nonverbal messages. Healthy families paraphrase what other members have said and ask clarifying questions to verify they have understood one another properly. They use positive language to support and to encourage each other and are honest, but never brutally so.
Effects
Healthy families support the health of each family member by eating nutritious meals together, exercising together and going to sleep early. The result, according to the University of Florida, is that each family member's individual wellness helps him manage stress and has a positive influence on the family's collective well-being. Healthy families congratulate family members for their achievements and use positive words to describe one another. They show their care through words, hugs and other gestures, which make each member of the family feel good.
Considerations
The University of Florida offers some ideas for those interested in creating a healthy family. It suggests starting by leaving notes of encouragement in a child's lunchbox or your spouse's briefcase or purse. The university recommends using humor and laughter to reduce stress and to keep things in perspective. The University of Florida also reports that healthy families are not afraid to have conflicts, but they always communicate love even while explaining any frustrations to one another.
