FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

1. Our family members are the closest people we will ever have. Why are family relationships so important for people? Family is very important to people. It is the emotional center of their lives. Your family will always listen to you and give you advice when you need it. They will always cover your back and support you no matter if you are right or wrong. They will make you feel secure and confident. Your family will always guide you and protect you. You can talk to them if you have problems. They teach you how to be understanding, caring, patient and respectful.

2. How can you describe the relationships in your family? Do you do anything together with your family? I am happy, because I have a good and loving family. It means the world to me. They are always there for me in difficult times; they help me when I am in trouble. They respect me and my opinions. We discuss our problems and always look for the best solutions. Of course, my parents can be strict sometimes, but they mean well and want me to be the best I can be. We spend a lot of time together: go to the cinema and to the country, travel, read the same books, play different games, talk and have family meals. We have a tradition to celebrate all holidays together.

  My brother/sister and I used to fight when we were little. My brother/sister called me names, tried to hit me and ruined my stuff. Our parents thought it was my fault, because I am older. But now we have a wonderful relationship. I help my brother/sister with homework and he/she helps me with household chores. We learnt to respect each others’ private space and differences.

3. What are the most dangerous family problems? We spend so much time with our family members, that these relations play the biggest role in our lives. Family problems can be very serious, because they may lead to quarrels, misunderstanding, frustration and even divorce. In my opinion the most dangerous family problems are generation gap and sibling rivalry.

The term “generation gap” means that the older and the younger generation may have different ideas and attitudes. Teenagers tend to rebel against their parents – it’s a normal part of growing up. They actively try to figure out who they are. Their friends become more important than family and they often listen to them and not to their mom and dad. It doesn’t mean that one of the generations is bad; it just means that they are different.

Sibling rivalry describes bad relations between brothers and sisters. They can fight, quarrel, pick on each other, rat each other out, play ugly tricks on each other. Sometimes it is a fight for attention. Very often a little bit of sibling rivalry is also normal, because this way children test their power and learn about each others’ differences.

To solve both these problems parents and children should spend more time together, discuss and compromise.

4. Imagine that you are talking to a British teenager. Ask him/her questions about his/her family.

5. What advice can you give someone whose children are always fighting?