This year is moving so incredibly fast, it is hard to believe that kids will be back to school in a few weeks. Here are a few things to learn and to do for families:

1. FAMILY TOGETHERNESS WEEK – September 5-11, 2021. The General Conference Family Ministry Department has released a very attractive and delightful resource you can distribute in your respective churches to promote and encourage everyone to use for this special week of emphasis on the family. This resource — Living Fruitful Love — is based on the Fruit-of-the-Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23). I have attached the pdf file of the resource and the graphic to use for promotional purposes you can share with your churches.  There are a lot of very nice, practical, fun activities from the Family Life Director in the Trans-European Division (TED) in England, Karen Holford.

2. Our Brains are Wired through Touch, and without Touch, We Fail to Flourish. A 2021 review examined the neurobiological, psychosocial, and behavioral correlates of touch during the COVID-19 pandemic. With mandated social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, countless individuals have been deprived of touch on an unprecedented level. Investigators argued that touch deprivation in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic will have detrimental consequences on individuals’ neuropsychological well-being, mental health, and relationships.

3. 5 Ways to support each other as a parent.As a couple, you learn to support each other in many facets of life – career ambitions, financial goals, a healthy lifestyle, the list goes on. One area that takes many couples by surprise is parenting. It’s hard figuring out your own needs and identity as a parent. Knowing how to support your spouse as a parent can be a challenge all its own. Read the latest PREPARE-ENRICH blog post.

4. Family and Psychopathic Behavior.Family instability in childhood appears to lead to an increase in deception, coldness, impulsivity, and aggression, and to a decrease in kindness, trust, generosity, and honesty. Read from the Institute for Family Studies.

5. What we need to know about our tweens’ brains. Some parts of parenting get easier as my kids get older, but other parts feel more complicated and the stakes feel higher to get it right. read more.

6. How to Find Unity as a Step couple. It’s extremely rare for a couple to meet, fall in love, marry, and parent their children the exact same way. It is even more uncommon to have that scenario unfold between two people who each bring their own kids into the relationship. However, it is a belief both blended and nuclear couples hold tightly to: Parents should be a “united front” with their children. What does it really mean to be a “united front?” And how do you get there if you are opposites with your parenting styles? Read on for answers to your questions on this important subject.

Submitted by Abraham Swamidass, Family Life Ministries Coordinator