What Is Your Family Brand?
Despite their differences, your family tends to function under a single logo. What does yours say?
We live in a world of brands. Everything from the clothes you wear to the car you drive has a recognisable brand. Sports stars and celebrities such as Greg Norman, Oprah Winfrey and Elle Macpherson are global brands that everyone recognises.
Families too develop their own unique brands, leaving their mark on children's character and personalities.
As every parent knows, kids in the same family have different temperaments, talents and interests, even though they come from the same gene pool. It can be frustrating to know that you raise your kids in similar ways yet they grow up to be so different.
Birth order plays a part in this. Siblings want to be different to each other - So one child may be the academic star, another the sports nut and a third the family comedian. That's the way of family life. Yet despite these differences, your kids will have lots in common due to the family environment that kids experience.
The following four aspects all help establish your family brand:
The family atmosphere. You can impact on the atmosphere by consciously adopting the mood and mindset you want.
Shared values and attitudes. Step back and look at what your kids have in common. Values and attitudes are modelled and taught and reflect parental priorities.
Parenting style. Your parenting style will influence the family. For instance, a permissive style, where anything goes, often produces a chaotic family style where respect for others is lacking. The preferred style for raising kids today is an authoritative style, which is like a guided democracy. Someone needs to be in charge, but you don't have to use the authoritarian methods of past generations.
Family rituals and traditions. Rituals and traditions are those habitual behaviours that bring you together as a group and identify you as a family. They include mealtimes, birthdays and other traditions that are unique to your family. Rituals not only anchor your kids to their family but they make a statement about what you value.
So take a minute or two to reflect on your family brand. It will leave a lasting impact on the type of adults your kids will become.
We live in a world of brands. Everything from the clothes you wear to the car you drive has a recognisable brand. Sports stars and celebrities such as Greg Norman, Oprah Winfrey and Elle Macpherson are global brands that everyone recognises.
Families too develop their own unique brands, leaving their mark on children's character and personalities.
As every parent knows, kids in the same family have different temperaments, talents and interests, even though they come from the same gene pool. It can be frustrating to know that you raise your kids in similar ways yet they grow up to be so different.
Birth order plays a part in this. Siblings want to be different to each other - So one child may be the academic star, another the sports nut and a third the family comedian. That's the way of family life. Yet despite these differences, your kids will have lots in common due to the family environment that kids experience.
The following four aspects all help establish your family brand:
The family atmosphere. You can impact on the atmosphere by consciously adopting the mood and mindset you want.
Shared values and attitudes. Step back and look at what your kids have in common. Values and attitudes are modelled and taught and reflect parental priorities.
Parenting style. Your parenting style will influence the family. For instance, a permissive style, where anything goes, often produces a chaotic family style where respect for others is lacking. The preferred style for raising kids today is an authoritative style, which is like a guided democracy. Someone needs to be in charge, but you don't have to use the authoritarian methods of past generations.
Family rituals and traditions. Rituals and traditions are those habitual behaviours that bring you together as a group and identify you as a family. They include mealtimes, birthdays and other traditions that are unique to your family. Rituals not only anchor your kids to their family but they make a statement about what you value.
So take a minute or two to reflect on your family brand. It will leave a lasting impact on the type of adults your kids will become.
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