The importance of family rituals

Mary Jane Rotherman, PhD Psychologist, shares advice for parents on family rituals are important in helping keep a family close and calm, especially in a time of change
Parenting Tips | The Importance of Family Rituals
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The importance of family rituals

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If you don't have family rituals, you are stressed on an everyday basis. Rituals ground families and they help calm people, especially in times of great change. If you are moving. If your child is going through a difficult school transition. If someone has a health problem or somebody is depressed or alcoholic, family rituals remind the whole family that they love each other and the traditions of the past will go on forever. If you are a mother who didn't have a family ritual when your child was born about bedtime, you were more stressed than your friends. Families that had their children go to bed at a specific time, in a specific way, the same lullaby each night, the same kind of kissing every night, makes things a lot calmer. Think about all the opportunities to created rituals for your family around holidays, around religious beliefs, special occasions, New Years, transitions from one school to the next, getting report cards. Morning rituals, evening rituals, after school rituals, habits or consistent daily routines. They create comfort and happiness for children and families.
ALL PARENTS, Family Life, Family Time

Mary Jane Rotherman, PhD Psychologist, shares advice for parents on family rituals are important in helping keep a family close and calm, especially in a time of change

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Mary Jane Rotheram, PhD

Psychologist

Dr. Rotheram-Borus has spent the past 20 years developing, evaluating, and disseminating evidence-based interventions for children and families. She has worked extensively with adolescents, especially those at risk for substance abuse, HIV, homelessness, depression, suicide, and long-term unemployment. Dr. Rotheram-Borus has directed and implemented several landmark intervention studies that have demonstrated the benefits of providing behavior change programs and support to families in risky situations. Several of these programs have received national and international recognition, including designation as model programs by the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, Dr. Rotheram-Borus has ongoing projects in Uganda, China, and South Africa, as well as the United States. Dr. Rotheram-Borus has authored or co-authored more than 200 journal articles, including publications in Science, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the American Journal of Public Health. She has received more than 40 grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to design prevention programs for children and families at high risk for HIV, mental health problems, suicide, and substance abuse. In 2001, Science identified her as number two of the top-funded NIH multi-grant recipients; she was the only woman in the top ten.

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