When I was a teen, I went through my parent’s photo albums and they told stories about our family. Those experiences made me a big fan of family histories in all of their forms. Digital photography has totally changed the way we capture memories (a topic in a whole different E-book). So how can you as a parent make sure your history gets shared with your teen?
Some families have a lot of information about the generations that came before them. Others have stories and more limited information. I am a big fan of genealogy because I think it grounds us to know our history. It doesn’t have to be a major “roots” project, but it is important for your teen to have a bit of knowledge about those that came before.
This is another way to help your teen learn that there is much more to life than just their experiences. Take another jab at the “it’s all about me” framework of adolescence. Researching your family history can also be a wonderful project that can engage all members of the family. As in all things, don’t get obsessed. But there are excellent tools and resources out there now that make the process easier. Websites like www.ancestry.org or www.afrigeneas.com are a great place to start if you are interested.
Ok, so much for my speech on genealogy, there are lots of ways to talk about history without doing a major genealogical search. Tell stories!! The most important part of history is the stories we tell. Remember those moments of conversation we talked about earlier? These are also take ’em where when? you can get ‘em conversations? Well, throw in a little story when you have a chance. “Did you know that your great grandmother was the first women in her family to graduate from high school?” That’s just an example of course. The art of storytelling is getting lost. Let’s get it back again.
Again, be prepared for the “why are you telling me this” look and the eye roll. Trust me, in spite of both, your teen will remember the stories.
