1. Family Life Merit Badge

2. Requirements
1. Prepare an outline on what a family is and discuss this with your merit badge counselor. Tell why families are important to individuals and to society. Discuss how the actions of one member can affect other members.
2. List several reasons why you are important to your family and discuss this with your parents or guardians and with your merit badge counselor.
3. Prepare a list of your regular home duties or chores (at least five) and do them for 90 days. Keep a record of how often you do each of them.
4. With the approval of your parents or guardians and your merit badge counselor, decide on and carry out a project that you would do around the home that would benefit your family. Submit a report to your merit badge counselor outlining how the project benefited your family.

3. Requirements
5. Plan and carry out a project that involves the participation of your family. After completing the project, discuss the following with your merit badge. counselor:
a. The objective or goal of the project
b. How individual members of your family participated
c. The results of the project
6. Do the following:
a. Discuss with your merit badge counselor how to plan and carry out a family meeting.
b. After this discussion, plan and carry out a family meeting to include the following subjects:
1. Avoiding substance abuse
2. Understanding the growing-up process and how the body changes, and making responsible decisions dealing with sex
4. Personal and family finances
5. A crisis situation within your family
6. The effect of technology on your family
Discussion of each of these subjects will very likely carry over to more than one family meeting.

4. Requirements 7. Discuss the following with your counselor:
a. Your understanding of what makes an effective father and why, and your thoughts on the father's role in the family
b. Your understanding of the responsibilities of a parent.

5. What is a family?
Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place.

6. Basic Family Tree Mother: a female parent Father: a male parent
Son: a male child of the parent(s)
Daughter: a female child of the parent(s)
Brother: a male child of the same parent(s)
Sister: a female child of the same parent(s)
Grandfather: father of a father or mother
Grandmother: mother of a father or mother

7. Why are families important?
Family plays an important role in the life of the individual. Beginning with Adam, all human beings have come into this world with certain needs that can be satisfied only in intimate relationships with other people. In this circle of the family, one's deep and abiding needs for belonging, for love, for intimacy and for social contact are to be met. It is here that the establishment of identity and the development of personal worth take place. Here the earliest work in the socialization of the individual occurs; values are implanted in the young and are transmitted from one generation to the next.

8. Why are families important to individuals and Society?
(DISSCUSSION)

9. How does your actions affect others in your family?
What things can you change about yourself - your speech, actions, dress, or some other area to help prevent you from stumbling others?

10. Why are you important to your family?
Repair things around the house
Earn money
Religious guidance
Provide meals
Love, nurture, support and security
Role model and set a good example

11. What do you do to help your family?

12. Keep a record of your chores (at least five) for 90 days
Read to Sister
Mow Grass
Make Bed
Take Garbage Out
Empty Dishwasher
Walk Dog
05/15 – 05/22
05/23 – 05/30
06/01 – 06/08
06/09 – 06/16
06/17 – 06/24
06/25 – 07/01
07/02 – 07/08
SAMPLE RECORD

13. “Do a project around the house”
Have a Garage Sale
Help Create a Walkway
Rake the Leaves

14. Plan and carry out a project that involves the participation of your family
The objective or goal of the project
How individual members of your family participated
The results of the project
Family Vacation

15. Family Meeting Avoiding substance abuse
Understanding the growing-up process and how the body changes, and making responsible decisions dealing with sex
Personal and family finances
A crisis situation within your family
The effect of technology on your family
Discussion of each of these subjects will very likely carry over to more than one family meeting.

16. Father's role in the family What makes an effective father?

17. What are the responsibilities of parents?

18. The End