Discussion: Healthy vs. Dysfunctional Families 77 unread replies.77 replies.
Today you hear so much about dysfunctional families, and to be honest the term is often misused and overused. Sure, each of us had our times growing up where our family wasn't fully functioning or perhaps our family did "things" much differently than the family next door. It just seems that too many people want to use the term dysfunctional and apply it to every aspect of family living and problems. To be honest, most dysfunctional families are characterized by extremely rigid rules, poor communication, high levels of tension and/or conflict, and either battering/physical/emotional abuse of one or more family members. If your family has most of these characteristics then you might want to consider talking with a professional counselor or psychologist.
Sometimes families are just plain funny and you just need to have a good laugh when looking at the different characters. Although its fictional, view this YouTube video and see if you recognized anyone that could or might be part of your family!
Meet the Beckers, Episode 1 (Links to an external site.)
Duration (03:22)
Now, let's shift the focus from the dysfunctional aspect and take some time to focus on healthy aspects of families. After all, in the end, isn't that what we all really desire, a healthy family? For example, one trait to focus on is trust. To trust means to have confidence in or reliance on a person, friend, or family member. When you have high levels of trust in families, you have a sense of confidence that other members will look out for your best intentions.
You are encouraged to intermingle and merge the discussion questions if appropriate. Post your reactions to the questions and thoughtfully draw on your own insights and experiences while at the same time incorporating what you have learned in readings and content contained in the module.
Consider the following for your discussion activity. Using essay format, post your initial response(s) to the associated Discussion Board forum.
What makes a family healthy? What do you think the major traits of a healthy family are? Give an explanation of each trait. What do you see as some of the keys to building strong family bonds? Give your rationale. As a class, generate a list of traits and keys to strong family bonds that result in healthy families.
Post your initial response(s) by Day 4 of the module's week. No later than Day 6 or 7, return to the discussion forum and read your classmates' responses and post meaningful comments to a minimum of three of your classmates. There are no extensions beyond Day 7; no exceptions. Late posts will not increase your score.