Strong families play an important role in the community and contribute to a healthy society overall. For example, positive development of a young child depends on a parent’s ability to nurture, teach, and provide. Despite daily stressors such as finances, health and emotional barriers, positive family interactions, including a sense of belonging, love, connection, trust, sensitivity, and responsibility, can contribute to overall well-being. Family traditions are just one example of how families can create a sense of connection, closeness, emotional safety, security, and stability. To help strengthen families, the Christian County FCS Extension service offered the program, “Creating and Maintaining Family Traditions” to the general public. The program emphasized ways in which the creation or maintenance of family traditions contributes to building strong families. 59 total people participated in the program. Of the 56 who completed program evaluations, 56 noted the connection between strong families and family traditions and 46 reported intent to maintain or create a new family tradition as a result of this program. 

Specifically, 56 of the participants indicated that they felt that their family traditions provided a source of identity, 56 indicated that they their family traditions strengthened their family bond, 55 indicated that family traditions offered a degree of comfort and security, 56 reported that they think traditions connect generations, and 56 identified with ways in which traditions pass on cultural and religious heritage.  Lastly, 56 participants indicated that traditions create lasting memories. 

As a result of this program, participants learned (or plan to):

• “Working to keep family together” 
• “Keeping pictures”
• “Since father has past, to be the ‘glue’”
• “Get older children together to discuss adding/changing traditions that no longer fit life styles”

Six-Month “Family Traditions” Follow-up Success Story:

Strong families play an important role in the community and contribute to a healthy society overall. Strong families are those who are create a sense of connection, closeness, emotional safety, security, and stability. One way to maintain a strong and healthy family is through traditions. Six months ago, in Sept. – Oct. 2017, the Christian County FCS Extension service offered the program, “Creating and Maintaining Family Traditions” to the general public. The program emphasized ways in which the creation or maintenance of family traditions contributes to building strong families. 59 people participated in the program and 56 completed program evaluations. All participants who completed evaluations were sent six-month post program evaluations. 22 completed the 6-month post program evaluation. Of these, 19 participants reported that they maintained a family tradition as a result of this program and 11 participants reported that they created a new family tradition as a result of this program. Examples of the traditions maintained and/or created include:

• “Birthdays—we make a homemade cake & it always goes on a Family cake stand that is 150 yrs old!”
• “Family outing to the country to view & enjoy hundreds of blue bells blooming this spring” 
• “Took 14 yr old antiquing & told stories about childhood”