AAD HATTER 5

THE EVOLVING FAMILY

What is the ideal family? Most people still describe the traditional nuclear family as the healthiest domestic unit.

Kathy Lynn, family consultant and in- structor of a new course at Douglas College entitled The Evolving Family, says it's time we redefined our notions of family health in our society.

“Somewhere in our heart we still think the traditional family is the healthiest, most viable way to live, despite the fact that we are going through dramatic changes and new types of family organization are evolving.”

“It's a myth that the traditional nuclear family is healthy just because of the nature of its structure,” says Lynn. “We must begin to look at the dynamics within a given family,as opposed to labelling it “broken” or “whole”.”

The workshop will examine different family structures and propose guide- lines for assessing family health, as well as ways to help families develop

strategies to best deal with their cir- cumstances. Lynn says the one-day course will be of interest to social service professionals and others who work with or are interested in families.

Lynn says it is especially important for professionals to look at how families are coping with their situations, no matter what the arrangement is, in order to help them maximize their strengths and minimize their weak- nesses.

in particular, we have to consider how children are being dealt with, says Lynn. “By labelling children of single parent families as products of broken homes we aren't doing them any good because this lowers their self-esteem. The real issues are whether they are coping well with situations such as multiple care-givers or two homes. Are they growing up feeling strong and secure.”

The Evolving Family will be presented on Thursday, March 26, 9:00 to 3:00 at Douglas College. For more informa- tion call the Community Programs and Services division at 520-5473.