Rituals

Why Are Rituals Important?

Rituals are implemented since young and kids must understand there is something they could count on, no matter what. That is exactly where the importance of family Rituals comes in. A powerful foundation, belief system, and also pattern of behaviour give our youngsters a sense of permanence as well as protection Christmas parties, birthdays, weddings, annual holidays at the grandmother's house or Sunday lunch at Uncle's place are all Rituals that punctuate the existence of a family.

What are their functions?

Whether we love or hate it, we cannot live without it, or we try to escape at all costs, the family is the place where everyone's identity is built.

Accompany A Change Of Life

Successful baccalaureate, first job, leaving the house! At home, each new stage of life that concerned children were routinely the subject of a great meal with the whole family, recalls Géraldine, 2 brothers and a sister. These Rituals were a way for our parents to congratulate us, but also to reaffirm our family support, although it happens later.

The celebration of a diploma, a marriage or a birth, constitute Rituals of passage: their vocation is to symbolically accompany a member of the family who is experiencing a significant change of life.

Reassuring support for the family members, and also for the entourage of who will have to find a new family balance! What Géraldine confirms: When we were celebrating the departure of one of us, we knew that the daily lives of those who stayed at home would now be different.

The Rituals That Unite

Family Rituals are not just about celebrating a new departure from one of the tribe's members. They also punctuate the daily life (the evening story for children, meals), the weeks (Sunday lunch at the grandmother), and the years (Christmas Eve, summer vacation in the family house, and birthdays).

Transmitting Common Values

These union Rituals serve to strengthen family ties by sharing and transmitting values, traditions, and beliefs that forge the identity of a family and strengthen the sense of belonging to its members.

These Rituals are essential to make family alive always, says psychologist and psychotherapist Christine Brunet. For a child, they represent unique opportunities to meet cousins, uncles, and aunts, grandparents. By talking with each other, Rituals gradually reconstruct family history. But knowing where you come from lets, you know who you are.

Family Rituals, Instructions For Use

Family Rituals also have an important festive dimension for a child, says Christine Brunet. They reveal to the child that the family enjoys being together and that pleasure is a fundamental aspect of life.

It is wise to involve a child in the preparations for the party: bake a cake, choose a gift. The child, thus experiences, during these meetings, values such as sharing and generosity.

Lastly, you have to know how to evolve the children in family Rituals out there, but beware, Rituals are unifying only if they remain pleasant: it is necessary to know how to evolve if they become a chore.