The Whole and Healthy Family: Helping Your Kids Thrive in Mind, Body, and Spirit

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The one critique I would give is that while she desires it to be a "how we" it is in fact a how to. The tagline even says "helping YOUR kids thrive in Mind, Body, and spirit. Thus, it would have benefitted the reader immensely if she added a sort of " if you feel called, these are the starting steps. " She made compelling arguments for many of the areas they have pursued health, but took for granted that many would have already followed her in her story. As a new reader, I wished for beginning steps but often felt I saw the culmination of those efforts in many of the chapters. How often do you go on a vacation with your family and encounter complaining children? Something’s too boring, or you’re too busy. Involving the whole family in vacation planning might help. [5] Carr D., & Springer K. W (2010). Advances in families and health research in the 21st century. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 743–761. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00728.x [ Google Scholar] Umberson D., Williams K., Thomas P. A., Liu H., & Thomeer M. B (2014). Race, gender, and chains of disadvantage: Childhood adversity, social relationships, and health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 55, 20–38. doi:10.1177/ 0022146514521426 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar]

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Take your family's first step

The Whole and Healthy Family is rich with practical and accessible ideas to help your family grow healthier physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Jodi's ideas are straightforward and full of thoughtful wisdom and insight. This book is not a list of things to do but rather an invitation to look deeper at the systems and structures of your family and see where you can grow. Best of all, it is an invitation to know your children in deep and intimate ways. I walked away from The Whole and Healthy Family feeling inspired and empowered to help my family flourish." Overall, it was somewhat fascinating, and at other times, eyebrow raising, to get a peek into this family’s life. Join us on Facebook for ongoing tips, activities and stories of how other families are benefitting from taking part in HENRY activities. Seltzer J. A., & Bianchi S. M (2013). Demographic change and parent-child relationships in adulthood. Annual Review of Sociology, 39, 275–290. doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-071312-145602 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar] Denney J. T., Gorman B. K., & Barrera C. B (2013). Families, resources, and adult health: Where do sexual minorities fit? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 54, 46. doi:10.1177/0022146512469629 [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar]

Audrey Roloff, New York Times bestselling author of A Love Letter Life and cofounder of The Marriage Journal Grigoryeva A. (2017). Own gender, sibling’s gender, parent’s gender: The division of elderly parent care among adult children. American Sociological Review, 82, 116–146. doi:10.1177/0003122416686521 [ Google Scholar] Bangerter L. R., Liu Y., Kim K., Zarit S. H., Birditt K. S., & Fingerman K. L (2017). Everyday support to aging parents: Links to middle-aged children’s diurnal cortisol and daily mood. The Gerontologist, gnw207. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw207 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar]Liu H., & Waite L (2014). Bad marriage, broken heart? Age and gender differences in the link between marital quality and cardiovascular risks among older adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 55, 403–423 doi:10.1177/0022146514556893 [ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ Google Scholar] As children and parents age, the nature of the parent–child relationship often changes such that adult children may take on a caregiving role for their older parents ( Pinquart & Soerensen, 2007). Adult children often experience competing pressures of employment, taking care of their own children, and providing care for older parents ( Evans et al., 2016). Support and strain from intergenerational ties during this stressful time of balancing family roles and work obligations may be particularly important for the mental health of adults in midlife ( Thomas, 2016). Most evidence suggests that caregiving for parents is related to lower well-being for adult children, including more negative affect and greater stress response in terms of overall output of daily cortisol ( Bangerter et al., 2017); however, some studies suggest that caregiving may be beneficial or neutral for well-being ( Merz et al., 2010). Family scholars suggest that this discrepancy may be due to varying types of caregiving and relationship quality. For example, providing emotional support to parents can increase well-being, but providing instrumental support does not unless the caregiver is emotionally engaged ( Morelli, Lee, Arnn, & Zaki, 2015). Moreover, the quality of the adult child-parent relationship may matter more for the well-being of adult children than does the caregiving they provide ( Merz, Schuengel, et al., 2009). Merz E.-M., Schulze H.-J., & Schuengel C (2010). Consequences of filial support for two generations: A narrative and quantitative review. Journal of Family Issues, 31, 1530–1554. doi:10.1177/0192513x10365116 [ Google Scholar] Degeneffe C. E., & Burcham C. M (2008). Adult sibling caregiving for persons with traumatic brain injury: Predictors of affective and instrumental support. Journal of Rehabilitation, 74, 10–20. [ Google Scholar] If you feel you need a break from all the activity, your family probably does, too. It’s great to honor social obligations and keep the kids busy, but sometimes you just have to chill out. If your weekends are constantly booked, try to make it a habit to set aside just one weekend a month to have no plans.