Family Values By: Patrick McGuire, Christopher Hopkin, Elsa Ojeda, Caden Barthlome, Amanda Cook, Mark Clements, Raul Puga

Our PSA announcement What we decided to do for our PSA announcement is the importance of family values. We believe in order to be a happy family it must have five important qualities. First the importance of quality time with one another, whether it is a little amount of time or a lot it can make the children's and the parents bond stronger. Next we felt generosity is a great trait that family can share with one another, showing how important it can be to give help or gifts when they need it most. Forgiveness is when family member makes a mistake or does something wrong the family works together and understands in order to make things right. We felt that respect is also another important value that every family must have in order to be closer and happier with one another that is why every family member must respect each others space and decisions in order to make a better family. Lastly honesty with each other is what makes the family closer and stronger because if you want everyone to trust and believe in each other than they must be honest with each other to build that bond that every family must have in order to have better family values.

Quality Time Quality time is a pivotal piece in the function of a welcoming and loving family for each member to grow and strengthen the bonds of togetherness. The importance of this family trait is to focus more on the “quality” than the “time”. Time spent having fun and enjoying each others' company will prove to be much more beneficial (even if only for a short amount of time) than long hours partaking in boring tasks. Setting aside some time every week to plan out family activities is a great tip for creating quality family time. Keeping your activities interesting, fun, and diverse is a great idea to help capture those special moments having fun together!

Quality Time (Continued) It is important to note that every family is unique, enjoy different things, and have separate beliefs. Finding what your family connects with best and including every member so that everyone has a good time is absolutely critical. Some great ideas to start with are board game nights, family walks or hikes, a few games of bowling, a round of mini-golf, perhaps attending a musical concert, or a short camping trip are all wonderful ideas to start with. Find your family's niche and explore your options, you may be surprised by the results. Although every family is different in the way they bond or spend time together, one thing that they all have in common is if you make time for one another then the families bond will be stronger and make a happier family.

Generosity Generosity is a very important value that many have forgotten. We have become more and more materialistic and selfish. We must learn to be generous to those less fortunate and to those that need it the most. I’m not just talking in a monitory way but by giving someone a helping hand when they most are in need of it. This is something we can teach our families to do a lot more of. It starts with family and helping the people that we love the most. A good example: Maybe your mom had a rough day at work show her that you care and help her around the house. These little things can make someone’s day and it will make you feel good about what you’re doing for that person. Let’s not lose these great values that make us better people let’s make them stronger and teach others on how to be generous.

Forgiveness “ Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as revenge, with an increased ability to wish the offender well. "This is a key element in families, and any family that is without it will become less strong and quite possibly be broken. We all naturally have flaws and weaknesses, and when you are confined to such close spaces as you are in families these flaws at times seem to become magnified. This makes forgiveness a necessary part of any family surviving. Without forgiveness we hold on to grudges and as we know a house divided against itself cannot stand. All and all if you see a happy family you will find a family that is willing to forgive.

Respect I believe that there is two forms of respect that are being forgotten in some families today. They are respect to others and respect to the parents. My parents taught me to address people older than myself as Mr. and Mrs. (not just their first name). This is out of respect to them. If parents would teach their children this kind of respect, I believe that crime and other mischief from teens would decrease. The second is respect towards the parents. I see to often kids that just don't listen to their parents and it's not just in younger kids. I see it with teens in middle school and high school to often in my opinion. Parents are just trying to help kids get through their life and are only concerned about their well-being. Respect is the type of thing that passed on from person to person. To receive someone's respect, in return a person must give that person their respect first. However, we also have to keep in mind that parents must also respect other people for their children learn from their example so it is not only the children job to learn respect but also the parents in order to have a family that respect one another.

Honesty Honesty is being trustworthy with your family in a way that allows every member to rely upon one another to do what is right and best for everyone. The need for integrity in today’s families is a value that continually becomes eroded by the acidic lifestyles encouraged by the media and the world. If families are honest with one another then they can expect to rely upon each other as well. Families who cannot trust one another to do what is right quickly become unstable and are unable to forge bonds in a constructive manner. Honesty doesn’t only mean telling the truth, it means that everyone within a family unit can have faith in one another. If there is no trust within one’s own family how can there be love? If one cannot trust their own family to be honest then who can they trust?

Honesty (continued) The lack of honesty and trust within families is a major issue in today’s society which needs to be improved in order to ensure a happy and loving familial relationship. Honest can be a hard standard to obtain when one is afraid of parental disapproval. This is why parents should make their homes a loving and understanding environment for their children. If children are afraid to tell their parents the truth in the face of what may seem like corporal punishment, then how can said parents expect the honest truth from their children? With honesty comes understanding for those wrongs that have been committed and then forgiveness is giving for those wrongs.

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