Thursday - Social and Emotional Strength

According to the Provident Living website, here are ten common challenges facing families.

1. Parenting Issues
2. Marital Issues
3. Divorce
4. Grieving
5. Out of Wedlock Pregnancy
6. Emotional and Mental Problems
7. Substance Abuse
8. Eating Disorders
9. Stress
10. Pornography

Lots to talk about in this area. I'll probably keep my goals in this area to myself, and just post about diffent topics. Today, I'm going to post part of a talk (Garth A. Hanson, “Building for Their Future,” Ensign, Dec. 2003, 39)that talks about how to help your children make good decisions.


1. Pray about decisions in family prayers, and encourage your children to pray about decisions in their personal prayers.

2. Find as many ways as possible to interact with your children at all ages. Establish basic practices in your family that will encourage conversation, interaction, and teaching opportunities.

3. Regularly interview your children individually. Ask your child questions that will encourage him or her to discuss, make, and evaluate decisions. Such questions might include: How are your relationships with friends? Are you embarrassed by anything we do as a family? What financial and transportation needs do you have?

4. Provide appropriate advice as children make decisions in each stage of their development. Let them know how you feel about the choices before them and the possible outcomes. Provide less advice on less significant decisions as children mature so they can practice the decision-making process. Know that your children are more capable of making good decisions than you realize. Let them try what you’ve taught them.

5. Hold regular family councils. Invite all the children to participate in family decisions. Follow up on decisions made in earlier family councils by evaluating together the results of those decisions. Let the children see that their opinions matter.

6. Treat your children with respect throughout their lives. When you do so, they will respect you in return, even though at times they may cause you grief. Interacting and teaching without respect can bring negative results. Children who see their parents’ respect and sacrifice for them are more likely to honor their parents’ desires, which leads to better decisions.

7. Teach your children to gather good information. Encourage them to get to know teachers, Church leaders, and other adults. Then ask them to share that information with you as they make important decisions.