Family History Helps Your Kids
- Leslie Ryan
- Jun 11
- 2 min read
Back in 2008 the National Institute of Health in the US did a study that discovered that knowledge of their Family History helps your kids be better adjusted than those who did not, "We report that knowledge of family history is significantly correlated with internal locus of control, higher self-esteem, better family functioning, greater family cohesiveness, lower levels of anxiety, and lower incidence of behavior problems."
Does this sound like a Win-Win to anyone else but me? Institutional school may be out for now, but maybe we can keep those kids entertained inside away from the summer heat, and pass on our love for family history at the same time! Here are some fun activities that you might enjoy!
Tell them a story! It could be about when they were born, everyone loves a story about themselves, right? Who was there? Was there an adventure getting to the hospital? Who came to visit them first? You could begin building a family tree on a simple pedigree sheet, and add pictures of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings. You could take pictures of family pictures already hanging or in a scrapbook, print them, and attach them to the tree.
Who are these people, for example? Do they look like anyone in the family there? Wouldn't it be great for your kids who may live far away from their grands to be able to forge a stronger relationship when they hardly ever get to see each other in person?
Here's a neat tree example I found on Etsy. You can click on the image to go to the site if you like. Talk about the people in the photos. Where were they born? Where did they live or work or go to school? Google their addresses, or your addresses growing up and find pictures of houses, schools, work sites, etc.
If those recent ancestors are available to come visit or could do a face time type of interview, your kids can interview them with some pre-prepared questions. Build those relationships with relatives they may only see once a year!
If you get back to the immigrants in your family, find where they came from on a world map and put pins or flags in it! Why did they come to America? Why did they move to wherever they live now? What jobs did they have? Do those still exist?
A knowledge of their family history can help your kids find their own identity and security. You can build better relationships with them and other family members while passing the Family History Torch on to the next generation this summer. Let's go!
Lots of us slow down in the summer due to these additional seasonal family obligations, so these are just a few thoughts to spark some interest to pass our passion on to the next generation. How's your tree coming? Email me for a free review of your brick wall - maybe another set of eyes can get you moving again!
Thanks for sharing your time and thoughts with me again!
Kindest regards,
Leslie Ryan
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No copyright infringement is intended.
Additional reading - the National Institute of Health report from 2008
