Ch. 10 Communication Issues in Families

Communication is a huge part of keeping relationships strong, especially family relationships. There are four main issues with communication that families commonly have to deal with. The first communication issue is family roles. Each person within the family plays a role throughout the family system. These roles vary for each family and are based on the emotional and social functions each individual has on the family. In my family my dad is the family jokester. He always uses jokes to make a situation better and he thinks he's the funniest person you could ever meet. My mom is the family peacemaker. Whenever my brother and I get into a fight she usually steps in to diffuse the situation. My brother would definately be the blammer and I think I would be the placater. The second communication issue is family rituals. Rituals are repetitive activites that have special meaning to whom it affects. Every year my family and I go to a motorcycle race in Indianapolis. This is the one day a year that really brings us close together because we all enjoy going to the race and spending time together on something we love. The third issue with communication in families is family stories. Family stories can help connect different generations by sharing some personal battles that the person may have had to overcome. Family stories can also bring back memories and remind them of their history. My grandparents usually like to tell stories about how life was a whole lot different when they were younger and they also like to tell stories about what my mom and dad would do when they were my age. The final issue with communication in families is family secrets. Some secrets that should be kept confidential are things like health issues, family conflicts, financial information and religous practices. In my family I don't think we really have any secrets and I think that is why we are such a close knit family. I love my family and even though they get under my skin sometimes, I wouldn't trade them for anyone else in the world!