Family Care
Family care routines are the variety of daily activities, traditional behaviors, and special celebrations that provide shared enjoyment, pleasure, and meaning to family life. These routines include things such as family fun (e.g., relaxation activities, hobbies, vacations); celebrations, traditions, special events; spiritual and religious practices; pets; and sense of humor. Mothers often played key roles in decision-making and problem solving related to use of family assets and resources (e.g., time, money, insurance, knowledge, others), but other members also participated when it came to family care.
An important aspect of family care routines was associated with creating meaningful rituals that provided opportunities to establish their separateness and yet identify with the family. Culture, religion, ethnicity, and ancestral traditions played important roles in constructing these routines. Unlike many family routines that included regular repetitive actions, family care routines were more intentional and often included decision-making, a period of planning, and emotionally charged symbolic member interactions.
Family care routines included special times when members spent time together engaged in behaviors mutually valued. While these times may be elaborate celebrations, families also organized usual activities into family events. For instance, one family had several evenings a week when the whole family worked together in the garden and as the crops were ready shared in the cooking, canning, and sharing with family and friends. While some traditions and celebrations involved gift giving, signaled a transitional life period, or involved ancestral heritage, other family care routines related to family solidarity and indicated the value of member attachments.
Family Activities Suggestion
You may want to check out our family activities from the Diabetes Toolkit.
Click here to view the "Family Activities" in the Diabetes Toolkit.
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