Family Units are Built On Relationships

So many families find it difficult to spend quality time together. It's either TV, video games, the
Internet or something else that keeps us from communicating effectively with one another. What
can parents do to help 'bond the family' together, to improve communication and have fun again?
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A healthy family is built on good relationships. Maintaining good relationships with one's
children is not always easy and requires conscious effort and skill. There is much that you as a
parent can do to foster good relationships with your children. This includes:
Making a conscious effort to build and maintain a sound relationship with your children;
Making time to spend with them; and
Spending time with them engaged in activates, playing games, having fun and helping them
acquire new skills.
With this in mind, a group of professionals from business, education and psychology developed
'The Ka-Ching! Business Parenting Course' which is a structured yet flexible program designed
to assist parents in ensuring their children's future success and happiness. It focuses on two main
areas:
1. Providing children with the necessary knowledge, skills and characteristics to achieve success
in later life.
2. Producing a bond of love, respect and understanding between parents and children through
positive interaction.
The course is essentially a clear and practical step-by-step guide, which positively involves
parents with their children - as partners. Children between the ages of 6 and 14 will derive the
maximum benefit from the course and parents don't need to have any specialist knowledge of
business.
The basis of The Ka-Ching! Business Parenting Course consists of a wide variety of realistic
business projects, which parents and children take on together. In the process of carrying out the
various projects, children acquire the critical business, financial and supporting skills, knowledge
and characteristics in an enjoyable and challenging environment.
The Ka-Ching! Business Parenting Course a very useful, structured way to achieve the three
goals mentioned at the start of this article, since it provides a vehicle whereby you can spend
time with your children in the context of activity and fun while at the same time teaching your

children valuable life skills.

How to use the course:
You will benefit most from this course if you adhere to the following principles:
Keep your eye on the process not the content of what you child is learning. The experience
gained in being part of a business project is far more important than the specific details of what
they are doing.
Keep your long-term intention in mind when working with your child. Do not expect your child
to be the "perfect little person" or the perfect businessperson - these are long-term goals that take
many, many years to achieve. See this exercise as a part of the process of helping your child
grow and develop into a well-functioning happy adult.
Allow your child to make decisions and to feel the consequences of these choices. Children need
to feel that they have choices and have control over their lives. Wherever possible allow your
children to choose - of course you can encourage them to think about the consequences of their
actions and decisions and to make their decisions with full knowledge of what they are doing and
the consequences of their choices.
Build your child's confidence and self-esteem by stressing successes. Success should be
measured not by the outcome achieved but by the amount of effort and the amount of learning
that has taken place.
Be aware of the messages and beliefs you transmit to your child about the world. Common
messages and beliefs that parents pass on to their children include: The world is harsh. Life is
unfair. People cannot be trusted. Life is full of opportunities. No matter what happens you will be
able to handle it. People are basically kind and good. Some of these messages are negative and
some are positive. What do you want your child to think about the world? What messages do you
want to pass on? How are you going to pass these messages on?
Make time to work on this course with your children. This time should be set aside and should be
made a priority.
Have fun while working through the material. Children learn best when they are enjoying
themselves.
Be sure to check the course benefits at: http://www.ka-chingworld.com/programmes/
Ka-Ching! Business Parenting Course
Home based course teaching Entrepreneurship and Life-Skills to your children

Importance of Family
A family is a miniature replica of the society in itself. The importance of family lies in the fact,
that it cements a nation together by providing it a past, a present and a future. To know more
about the importance of family, read on...

Take a pause for a few seconds and ask yourself, "Why do you work so hard?". What motivates
you to do so, day after day? Most of the readers may utter a single word to answer both the
question, "Family" and may lecture me on the importance of family and family relationships.
But, what is a family? All of us inherit our physical attributes from our parents. However, when
you start interacting with the outside world, you realize that they are not enough to ensure your
success, not even your survival. When you find yourself in such a situation, what is it that
sustains and supports you. The values which were passed to you by your family make your
survival and growth possible. The values such as patience, care, understanding and commitment
etc. instilled in you, differentiates you from the rest. If you are already a successful person, then
it only underlies the importance of family and the values inherited by you.
Importance of Family
It is not difficult to uncover the importance of family. You may or may not be aware, but your
family was the first school you entered, as soon as you arrived in this merciless and cruel world.
"Survival of the fittest", is the golden rule in this world. In other words, 'Let the unfit perish', is
the motto. When you stepped into this world, you were unfit to survive on your own and by the
rule a perishable entity. However, your arrival made your family happy and they took you home
and from day one, you started learning about love, care and family relationship. Your parents
didn't change your wet nappies only to stop you wailing, but because you were uncomfortable
with it. I think, this one single example is enough to convince you of the importance of family. If
you are not, then let me know, I have an endless list of examples which I could draw on and on.
Family Relationship
Your family is the environment where you learned to use your faculties and understand and cope
with the physical world. It is a time when you didn't bother with trivial things, such as the family
relationship, because you knew you are the kingpin of your family. It is the place, where you
learned how family relationships work, by observing your parents, grandparents, your siblings
and rest of the family members deal with each other. You must have enjoyed meeting them on
family vacations and family reunions and exchanging family reunion gifts with them.
With the passage of time, you matured and started taking note of other people on the fringe of

your family and then of those, outside your family and how your family members interacted with
them. It is this point in your life, when you learnt, what is meant by a healthy relationships and
how to make a relationship last. You also noticed, how your family coped and adjusted with the
ups and downs of life and time. Do you remember, whether your family exposed you to these
difficult times or were you cocooned in the safety of your family totally, unaware of them.
Importance of Family: Identity
What you learned from your family becomes your value system and forms your perceptions and
basis of actions. An individual is known by his or her actions. It is your family that gave you an
identity. Whenever you move from one place to another, you carry your family history with you.
Have you ever noticed that your opinions always confirmed to the values you acquired from your
family or delved deep inside them to find the seeds of thoughts that lies at their bottom? Who
planted these thoughts? What gives you courage, when you are riding the wave of fortune at its
deepest trough with its crest hanging over your head like a sword.
Every individual, barring few unfortunates, are similar to the earth enveloped by its environment,
which acts as a protective layer and keeps the empty space out. The earth is populated and fertile
because of it. For an individual, the importance of family is incalculable.

Advantages of the Traditional Nuclear

Family
Here is a discussion about the advantages of the traditional nuclear family.

The traditional nuclear family basically is made up of a father, mother and a couple of children or
so, and hence is compact and small. The fathers role is of providing for the family as well as
protecting it, while also being the familys disciplinary role model. The womans role within the
traditional nuclear family consists of housework and motherhood. It is based on a heterosexual
relationship generally involving romantic love.
In recent decades, this traditional form of the family has undergone major changes, with
increasing rates of divorce leading to single-parent families, remarriages, resulting in extended
families. These trends and the resulting problems that they cause, especially for the children, has
brought the advantages of traditional nuclear families back into focus.
So, Here are Some of the Main Advantages of the Nuclear Family:
A Stable Environment: Children raised in a family with the same parents during their growing
years have a higher likelihood of having stability in their relationship and emotional bonding.
Children that grow up in a single-parent household have higher chances of feeling a sense of loss
regarding the absent parent, and miss out on the advantage of the emotional support and dual
insights that both a father and a mother can provide.
Behavioral Stability: With both the father and the mother, children get a better sense of what is
acceptable and unacceptable, as far as behavior is concerned, especially when both the parents
look after their nurturing. When both parents agree on the kind of behavior that they want from
their children, it adds authority, and thus can be instilled in a better way.
A Sense of Consistency: When children grow up in a nuclear family, they get a sense
consistency, especially when it also includes closeness with other members of the family such as
grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. This enables them to feel as if they are a part of a
wider whole, particularly during traditional get-togethers. This provides a strong foundation to
their roots, and can be a guiding principle all their lives.

Learning Skills: In a nuclear family, children usually get far more extensive training in life
skills. For instance, mothers usually teach their children relationship skills, like emotional
response skills and how to have smooth relations with others, while fathers, in general, teach
their children handiwork skills and sports skills, like fixing things around the house or hitting a
baseball, as well as how to deal with the world outside.
Sharing Responsibility: With two parents sharing the responsibility of raising the children, it
enables one parent to take time to pursue other interests or get a rest while the other parent plays
or works with the children. Children that are raised in a traditional nuclear family also tend to
take on some of the sharing of the responsibilities, such as older siblings taking care of younger
siblings. In a nuclear family, such roles are usually performed by expectation and example, rather
than formal instruction.
Physical and Emotional Support: Nuclear families usually have more physical and emotional
resources with which they can reinforce the whole. Through observing their parents and by
following the examples set by them, children learn how to help in the building of the family.

How Does Divorce Affect the Family

Divorce affects not only both the partners, but it also leaves a strong impact on the family life.
Read on to know about how divorce affects the family.

Marriage made in heaven! Marriage vows taken to be together forever! The magical starting
days of married life are full of dreams and pleasure. But as the time passes, many couples may
begin to realize that they are not perfect for each other. They come to know about the huge
differences between them; and feel that they are not compatible with each other. Small arguments
may turn to big conflicts. Sometimes these conflicts cross the tolerance limit and make it difficult
for the couple to live together and the couple starts thinking about breaking the relationship and
getting separated. Yes, they wish to get a divorce!
Divorce is a legal termination of marriage between a husband and wife. But why do marriages
fail? It may be due to certain marital problems such as aggressiveness of one of the partners,
workaholism, physical or emotional abuse, alcohol or drug addiction, family stress and strain or
infidelity of a partner. Whatever might be the reason, but divorce and separation is definitely
painful for both the partners. And its not all only about the couple; it also affects the entire
family, especially the children. Lets see how divorce affects the family life.
Effects of Divorce on the Family
When the couple is going through a divorce, it is a very stressful situation for them. It is equally
painful and at times, a heart-wrenching experience for their children. After the divorce, family
relationships are totally disturbed. One or both the partners may face emotional as well as
financial problems. He/she may feel lonely and rejected. There may be some problems regarding
residence, job and finances. When it is about getting the custody of children, it can be a big issue.
Anyway, the couple is mature enough to deal with these problems. But, it is very difficult for
their children to face this painful situation.
A child needs both the parents equally. Parental love and support is a key to the healthy physical
and mental development of a child. When one of the parents is away from them due to
separation, they might become extremely sad and depressed. They may feel lonely and insecure.
They could experience the fear of being abandoned. Many children are afraid of losing the
attachment with their relatives, neighbors and friends. Some behavioral problems such as
impulsiveness and aggressiveness are common with the children of divorced couples. The
academic performance of the children is also badly affected. They may feel insecure due to the
financial problems of their parent. Unable to cope up with the stress, these children may become
the victims of alcohol or drug abuse.
Hence, as a parent, its your responsibility to support your children and handle this situation with
patience and diplomacy. Once you both have taken the decision of getting separated, you should
mentally prepare your children for your divorce, so that they can accept your decision. Openly
discuss about your divorce in a positive way. Make them aware about the reasons behind the
divorce. Make them realize that their mom and dad are still there to support them, so that they
wont feel lonely and insecure. Give constant emotional and financial support to your children so
that they would be ready to accept the changes.