What do most of us want in life?

A family.

Family can be both bloodlines where we are born into the family. Also, a family can be a group of people who are not related but consider each other family due to the close bond they have with each other.

Family are the people that we want to spend time with and celebrate life’s joys and also life’s pains. For example, we want to call up people, including friends, who will listen to us when we are excited about a new relationship, a birthday, or a new adventure. We also call people we consider family when we hear sad news such as a loss of a family member, an end of a relationship, or a loss of a job.

How do we begin considering people family? It begins with our feeling safe in their presence. It is also when we feel safe enough to talk about who we are and where we are at on our journey. Family comes down to people who can tell how we are doing when we say nothing at all. Or, family can be people who we go to when we have something to share and they listen.

What matters most with family is that we feel heard, seen, valued, and most of all, loved. Family comes with joys and when sharing our story it may also come with the pain of feeling misunderstood or not heard. We all go through journeys of learning how to listen and talk.

This series on healthy family communication will focus on how we can communicate with each other and feel heard, seen, and valued no matte the conversation. It will be a blog series for parents, educators, and mental health workers. We all play a role in talking and sharing in the different roles we are in every day.

What does family mean to you? Is there another way to explain it based on what you experienced? You can write your comments below.

Here is a podcast with one mother sharing about how to communicate with he children. Subscribe to the An Apple A Day with Dr. Amanda podcast and YouTube channel to hear more!

Check out Jennie McQueen’s interview about how to build healthy mothers on the An Apple A Day with Dr. Amanda podcast. Subscribe today!