Your Family Constitution: A Modern Approach to Family Values and Household Structure
Scott Gale
Spectrum International Press

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Scott Gale’s – “Your Family Constitution: A Modern Approach to Family Values and Household Structure” holds a disclaimer on the frontspiece. –Neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader.

“Your Family Constitution: A Modern Approach to Family Values and Household Structure” is a 140 page book comprised of two sections. Section presents Our Family Constitution with explanation for how the book came about, as well as delineation as to what a Family Constitution actually entails. Writer Gale explains how it was BC, before constitution and how his family was able to climb back from rock bottom.

Section 2 explains how to construct a family constitution, how to live according to it. A household bill of rights, ideas and activities of today’s family explain practical parenting to continue to work.Gale’s last chapter is perhaps the most telling; ‘End of the Book, But Not The Journey.’Parenting is a continuing process.

Gale reveals that a family crisis centered on parental role vs whining child which quickly escalated out of hand to culminate in a memorable Mother’s Day trip home from what was to be a quiet family celebration at the beach.

Unambiguous and reliable expectations, clearly voiced, were not a part of the workings of the family at that time as their too busy, uptight way of life propelled them forward. Following that family meltdown, Writer Gale began evaluating his family's challenges as he began formulation of the method for bringing about positive change and family harmony.

Filled with first person accounts, this easily readily work is filled with insight, cartoons dot the pages, explanations for how the author and his family set about to improve their own situation, and explanation for how using some or all of their learning just might help others.

One important fact begins to become visible early and continues through the work: Mutually understood boundaries, along with all important structure and understanding of roles of each member holds within the family structure are an absolute necessity lest chaos reign.

Chapter 10 wraps up the work with a copy of the Gale Family Constitution as well as a variety of work pages, templates and specifics for expected individual and family behaviors.

I enjoyed the read and found many notions with which I can applaud. One single facet I find often missing in the homes from which my students arrive is a clear leader of the family. Roles are often blurred with little persons demanding rights and while wanting to abrogate any responsibility including picking up their own toys or helping to set the table for evening meals. I can quickly find among my students those who have a parenting parental figure and those who have a befuddled not quite sure how to parent adult in the household. Those who have expectations, boundaries and structure in their homes are those children who listen to lessons, quickly move to get independent work done and smile. Those who have no clearly understandable expectations, boundaries or structure at home are the children who do not attend to lessons, whine as they move to the work site, do not get independent work finish, sob as they try to lay guilt on me for the fact that their parent will hit, restrict, take away, or whatever as the child carries home the independent work to be completed at home. And, sad to say these are children who often do not return finished work, parents do not sign the daily report and kids begin lagging behind from day one.

The importance of clarity, consistency and commitment, those factors which the author believes is needed for enabling his family, and perhaps other families too, enjoy mutually understood boundaries and much-needed structure cannot be overstated.

While individual parents may want to use some of Gale’s particular parental techniques and others may opt not to do so; a read through the book, formulation of a plan by the reader to develop his/her own workable plan, and improving family harmony is a good thing.

Writer Gale steers readers along the path toward creating their own personal Family Constitution, or whatever the plan may be called, along with sharing many entertaining and personal tales of parenting victory and breakdown. Sometimes just knowing others are also facing many of the problems we too face helps us see more clearly the light at the end of the tunnel whether we put the specific techniques into play or not.

I found “Your Family Constitution” offers positive, life improving notions and methods for achieving familial harmony that parents can apply without difficulty to make their own families more solid, more harmonious and more cohesive.

Happy to recommend Scott Gale – “Your Family Constitution: A Modern Approach to Family Values and Household Structure”