Journaling Prompts About Family
It seems like there’s a different holiday or day of observance every day of the year. I only recently realize that just a week after Mother’s Day this year was International Family Day, which took place on Sunday, May 15th.
I mean, it makes sense that if we’re going to celebrate mothers, fathers, and grandparents, we would also celebrate families. Whether we’re talking about biological, foster, adoptive, or other types of familial units, families are an integral part of our society.
As humans, we are pack animals. We survive and thrive when we live in community with others. For many people, the family unit was the first community they ever knew. For others, family came in other, less traditional forms. One thing is certain, family is a popular subject. Countless books are written about family life, and lots of movies and TV shows are set within families.
Because of how it means different things to different people, I thought this would be a great topic to explore for journaling. This article will cover both the origins of International Family Day and provide prompts to help delve deeper into a concept that’s both familiar and evolving.
International Family Day
Ever the researcher, I decided to look into what seems like a cute idea for a holiday. What I found is that this day was created by United Nations and has a meaningful history.
According to a UN website, the day is officially called the “International Day of Families.” It has its origins in the 1980s when the UN began to focus more on issues related to families and the role of families in the developing world.
In 1989, the UN declared a Year of the Family in order to raise awareness of and promote family issues among both governmental and non-governmental organizations. In 1993, the UN resolved to make May 15th the International Day of Families. Each year since 1993, the UN has brought attention to issues that impact families. Recent years have had a theme. (This year’s them was “Families and Urbanization”.)
The goal is to “promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.” On its webpage, the UN has information regarding maternity, women’s reproductive rights, and family homelessness. There are also links to documents, publications, conventions and events addressing family issues.
Ultimately, the UN notes that the goals for helping people thrive in all countries around the world, start with supporting families.
20 Journaling Prompts
Given the importance family plays in societies- both large and small- it seemed fitting to create some prompts to help explore the many facets of family life. Here are a few to get you started:
- What does the term family mean to you? What image comes to mind when you think of a family?
- How has the concept of family changed for you from when you were a child?
- Did you grow up in a traditional family? If not, did you find people who became like family to you? Explore those family units.
- Do you have a faith, spiritual, or support group family? If so, how does this family function for you?
- Do you have a “work family?” In what ways are your co-workers like a family?
- What does a “family friendly” workplace look like to you? Have you worked in such a place or have you had a job at a workplace that claimed to be family friendly but wasn’t?
- Do you have an extended family? How many relatives are in that family and what is your relationship with those members?
- A common description for a family is “dysfunctional.” Do you feel your family is functional or dysfunctional? How so?
- What you were younger, how did you imagine your family being when you grew up? Is your current family situation what you had imagined as a child or does it differ?
- What family vacations were most memorable when you were younger?
- What were your family holidays like when you were younger?
- Did you have any family traditions when you were growing up? How did they start and are they still carried on today?
- Are there any special foods or meals that are unique to your family? Do you have the recipes? Start a list and make plans to compile a cookbook.
- Think of family members who have passed. Which where you closest with? What are your memories of them?
- If you could interview a relative who has passed away, who would it be and what would you ask them.
- Who were the family members you admired most when you were younger and what made them so special to you?
- Who were the family members you least admired when you were younger and why?
- What is the most unique thing about your family? What makes it special?
- Did you have friends to close to you or your family that you thought they were your relatives? Describe your relationship with them.
- Make a bucket list of bonding activities you want to do with your current family (relatives, social groups or even work families).
Are you using journaling prompts to explore aspects of your life like family? Have an idea for a journaling prompts topic you’d like to see on this blog? Leave suggestions in the comments below!
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