why family history matters for your children

Knowing family history is the strongest predictor of children and adolescents’ ability to successfully handle troubling, stressful, or trying circumstances! 

Studies conducted at Emory University have demonstrated that children with a higher knowledge of their family history have:

• higher self-esteem
• better family functioning
• greater family cohesiveness
• lower levels of anxiety
• lower incidence of behavior problems
• greater belief in their own ability to control themselves
• greater belief in their own ability to influence the world around them

A miner with his children in Kopperston, West Virginia, 1946 (public domain, from NARA)

How do you and your family members score on some questions from Dr. Marshall Duke’s “Do You Know” test?

• Do you know the source of your name?
• Do you know the national background of your family (such as English, German, Russian, etc)?
• Do you know where your mother and/or father grew up?
• Do you know where some of your grandparents grew up?

(You can find Dr. Duke’s blog about his “Do You Know” test, all 20 questions from it, and summary of his study findings here.)

Discover your family history…and give your children Deeper Roots that will benefit them the rest of their lives! Take opportunities to share what you learn:

• During meals
• While walking together
• Doing errands or cleaning together
• On family vacations
• During holiday celebrations
• Traveling to or from regular activities
• Anytime you’re together!