Healthy Family System Research Paper

1456 Words6 Pages

Developments of Healthy Family Systems
A Review of What A Healthy System Is and How It Is Developed
Matthew Davis
Liberty University

Developments of Healthy Family Systems There are three key elements that are essential to a healthy family system and those are nutrition, boundaries, and spiritual support. How do these elements create a healthy family system? Without these elements can a family system still function? How are family systems developed here in the United States? I will attempt to answer these questions by using each element as a guide to what a healthy family system is and how it is portrayed here in our westernized society. Nutrition is the very first element to providing a child and family with proper development. …show more content…

Another key component to a healthy family system are boundaries (Collins, 2013). If there are no boundaries within a family structure then children and parents have no course of action of how to correctly function within the family system. Setting limits for children is a method that parents can use to help create a setting where children learn to personal control, which in turn teaches them to make individual choices (Collins, 2013). For healthy family systems to actually work children and parents need to thrive within their roles. I have seen many cases where there are no boundaries within families, the parent acts like the child, while the child has to then become the adult. This causes a deep residing crisis within the home, where a child’s childhood is stripped from them. In such cases profound mistrust toward adults as being capable care takers or leaders develop into an issue with these children and can carry on throughout their lifespan (Parfitt, Pike, and Ayers, …show more content…

A biblical example of this type of system comes out of the passage where Abraham sent a servant to pick out a daughter for his son Isaac. We find trust and boundaries in this example. Abraham was the head of the household, and in their society the leader, patriarch, or father of the household selected their son’s wife (Meyers, 2014). However, there are many times where we find sons of Israel picking out their own wives (The Holy Bible, 1989). This is where the element of trust comes into play, Isaac trusted his father enough to find the perfect woman for him. I believe this is one of many excellent examples of family development within a healthy family system. I must admit that in today’s society we have a much different cultural design then the Hebrews had. However, for families to function in a healthy fashion there must be an facet of trust in the boundaries that are set within the family