Family Communication and Consequences

Family communication represents the way that parents and children exchange verbal and non-verbal information. Healthy family communication leads to healthy family dynamics and promotes the development of healthy children and adults. Poor communication can be responsible for a variety of developmental and social issues, from poor academic performance to emotional acting out in children and adults. An introduction discusses a general overview of family communication and its benefits for parents and children. The research also provides definitions related to family communication, including interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, masked and clear communication, direct and indirect communication, and instrumental and affective communication. Following the definitions, an in-depth literature review is provided for all phases of family lifecycle development, including infancy, early and middle childhood, adolescence and old age. A summary addresses the main findings for each phase of family development pertaining to healthy communication. A conclusion offers insights and understanding gained by the researcher from this literature review and recommendations for future research based on them.

The family is a dynamic unit. In contemporary society, sound family communication is even more critical in helping to build strong, healthy families, since many families are separated by divorce, distance, or b

dren often need to be prompted to disclose significant information to parents that cue them as to the goings on in their children's lives, as well as their emotions and feelings. Children during this age are often incapable of voicing such feelings or emotions unless it is in a relational manner. For example, the child may not have the intellect to voice his depression, but by asking him or her what kind of movie their day reminded them of such information can be revealed. This takes work and time from parents but develops real, honest and two-way communication that leads to healthy development or makes parents aware of unhealthy development. Parenting experts provide the following list of prompts for preschool to age 12 children to elicit such communication: What would you call a movie about your day? What questions did you and the other kids ask during class? Did you do anything for the first time today? Rank the three most boring things that happened today. What would win today's contest for "funniest thing at school?" Who sits in the front row? What are they like? What was the nicest thing someone said or did today? (You, 2005, p. 235) Children often experience a variety of fears in early and middle childhood. Pepper (20