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The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy Families [Secure eReader (recommended)/Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/Adobe PDF]
eBook by David Niven
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$9.99 |
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$8.49 |
eBook Category: Family/Relationships
eBook Description: The Simple Science of a Happy Family. From raising children to getting along with in-laws, what do people with close and loving families do differently than those with strained or unfulfilling relationships? Sociologists, therapists, and psychiatrists have spent entire careers investigating the ins and outs of family dynamics, yet their findings are inaccessible to ordinary people, hidden in obscure journals to be shared with other experts. Now, David Niven, the international bestselling author of The 100 Simple Secret series has collected the most current and significant data from more than a thousand of the best scientific studies on families and then spelled out the findings in plain English. The advice is based not on one person's unique experiences or opinions, but offers for the first time the research of noted scientists studying average American families. These findings have been boiled down to one hundred essential ways to find and maintain love, joy, and satisfaction in all family relationships. Each statistic is accompanied by a true story about a real family showing the results in action. Don't Forget the Past: Parents who share stories of family history with their children create higher levels of concern for family members and increase the likelihood of their children's happiness. No Price Tag: Once basic necessities are met, the increasing economic status of one's family has zero effect on the likelihood of feeling satisfied with life. Let Every Opinion Be Heard: Senior citizens having trouble living in their own homes are 84 percent more likely to be satisfied with their housing situation if they feel as if their concerns are an important part of selecting a new home or facility. The Greatest Gift: Life satisfaction is 72 percent more likely among those who feel content with their family life.
eBook Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc./PerfectBound, Published: 2004
Fictionwise Release Date: April 2004
Available eBook Formats [Secure eReader (recommended)/Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/Adobe PDF - What's this?]: SECURE MOBIPOCKET FORMAT [257 KB], SECURE MICROSOFT READER FORMAT [230 KB] - Requires Microsoft Reader 2.1.1 for PCs, or Microsoft Reader 2.2.2 on Pocket PC 2002 handheld devices. Some older Pocket PCs can be upgraded. Learn More., SECURE EREADER (RECOMMENDED) FORMAT [157 KB], SECURE ADOBE PDF FORMAT [3.7 MB]
All formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED
Microsoft Reader ISBN: 9780060756512
Adobe Reader ISBN: 9780060756543
Mobipocket Reader ISBN: 9780060756529
eReader ISBN: 9780060756505
 
Introduction Steve Burkett likes to talk about families -- his family, your family, families in general. "Just think for a minute about the kinds of messages we receive every day," says Steve, a retired sociologist, a parent, and a grandparent. "We read that people are working longer hours to avoid being with their families. We hear that divorce rates have hit a record high. Extended families don't exist and elderly family members in need are cast aside. Meanwhile, children are out of control, doing things that boggle the imagination. It's in the newspapers, the TV news, the shows and movies we watch, the songs we listen to. We have a family-averse popular culture, and we're in danger of having a family-averse culture. "We wouldn't be here without families. We literally would not be here. And yet the message out there is 'run and hide.' It's like an all-encompassing public health warning -- except it's about the ills of marriage, of sibling relationships, of dealing with parents, of dealing with children. I just saw a study with experts referring to people in their early twenties as being in an extended adolescence, while they are now calling adolescence an extension of toddler years, which is like saying the twenties are an extension of the terrible twos. "A family structure is as old as recorded time," adds Steve, "and yet here we are, theoretically advanced in so many ways, and we hear about family life as if it's some kind of extreme, dangerous sport like cliff diving. And the worst of it is, for far too many people that's true. Too many people feel their family life is out of control or just plain unfulfilling." Polls confirm that many people share Steve's concerns. When asked whether they thought morals were improving or declining, eight out of ten said declining. When asked why, their most frequent response was the instability of marriage and family. Steve says that the long-held expectation that every new generation would enjoy advantages unknown to previous generations feels like it is being turned on its head. "We may have more freedom than ever, more ability to choose our paths in life, but our family life is going backward," he says. All this at a time when "families are more important than ever." Steve has participated in designing a parenting workshop that helps new parents prepare for their responsibilities and more experienced parents deal with difficulties they may encounter. The first thing he tells people in the program is to keep their focus on reality. "We need a big dose of reality. Not some song and dance that family life is perfect, because that's not true, but not the horror notions that family life is dangerous and ugly, because that's not true either." As I conducted the research for The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy Families, reading studies about the habits, practices, and attitudes that contribute to a satisfying family life, I kept Steve's thoughts in mind. Addressing everything from raising children to getting along with in-laws, this is a book about real families, the struggles and joys of their lives, and what they can do to make their family life more satisfying. Each entry in The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy Families presents the conclusions of psychologists and other scientists who study all aspects of everyday family life. Each entry presents the core scientific finding, an example of the principle, and the basic advice experts recommend. The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy Families is a tool for you to use to help examine your habits and attitudes with an eye toward being a positive force for your individual family members, for your family as a whole, and for yourself, because as Steve says, "A family is the most important thing most people will ever do in their lives." Copyright © 2004 by David Niven, Ph.D.
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