Recommended Resource: "Sharing Family Strengths" Activity Booklet

This week I came across a great resource on Minnesota's Family and Children's Services Web site: a printable booklet titled "Sharing Family Strengths." You can download it right from their Web site, or email them with your name and mailing address to request a free copy.

What I really like about it is that it's not a one-size-fits-all kind of activity book. It's based on interviews conducted with two thousand families, who identified their most critical strengths as:

• Communication
• Health
• Time together
• Spirituality
• Support
• Respect
• Unity
• Cultural traditions
• Extended sense of family

The booklet includes activities, conversation starters, and suggestions for how you can work with your kids to develop and strengthen each of these areas.

In addition, one of the key themes throughout the booklet is the idea that families are made up of more than just parents and children--a freeing concept, right? There's the dog, the neighbors, friends the children call "aunts" and "uncles," and a host of of caring "others" who step in and love your kids right alongside you. And recognizing that, together with your kids, can be pretty empowering.

Related: Write a Family Mission Statement | Reasons to Observe Family Traditions