Perfectly+Satisfied+Imperfect+Families

Workshop on March 9, 2009 What does the word family mean to you? While it may seem like a simple question, I really urge you to dig down deep and come up with your best definition. Every person has a unique family experience, so the word can be described in many different ways. The traditional view of a family includes children living with their married mother and father. More recently, however, modern society has grown further and further from that notion. Julia T. Wood intelligently introduces nontraditional families in her article, //What’s a Family, Anyway?// She discusses family diversity and promotes respect for all families. “There’s a big difference between deciding what you personally want in a family and deciding to honor the choices that others make” (Wood, 298). She suggests that we can improve our own relationships by embracing the various lifestyles of others. In this workshop, we will describe several ideas of what family means and then relate those ideas to our own families. We will pinpoint certain groups of families that deviate from the image of a traditional family. First we will discuss **lesbian and gay families**. We will correct the misjudgment that homosexuals can’t be biological parents and examine the challenges that these families undergo. Next we will talk about issues concerning **interracial families**. We will acknowledge the ignorance that these families are faced with on a daily basis and consider the difficulty children endure in defining who they are. We will introduce the troubles of **divorced and blended families** and evaluate how situations change family life. “Divorce may end a marriage, but it doesn’t end a family” (Wood, 297). Sometimes families even grow stronger after this type of change. Finally we will explore **families without children** and verify that individuals may have different views about whom the “immediate” family entails. After breaking down specific types of families and analyzing their lifestyles, we will then figure out how we can improve our communication with different families. After all, the best way to learn about ourselves is through interaction with others. We will distinguish between personal choice and respect for others’ choices, understand that family roles can change over time, recognize diversity in other families, and, ultimately, learn from our differences. I will discuss what my family has taught me, and I will encourage everyone to open up and describe to the class what their family means to them. As Wood stresses, the most effective way to better our family relations is to learn from the experiences of those around us. I will leave you with the question, “What does it take to have a family?” I hope that your insight into family life is broadened at the conclusion of this workshop.
 * Perfectly Satisfied Imperfect Families**

Please watch this video from the //Land Before Time// collection, and then share your reflections on the discussion board.

I think we would all agree that family does not only refer to the people with whom we share blood. So, in your opinion, what separates friends and family? What makes some people so important that they bump up to family status? media type="youtube" key="4Hsiwf8GFyw" height="344" width="425"