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Family: Plan on How to

Make Members of the
Lesson 25 Family Firmer and Gentler

A relationship is essential in our lives as social beings. From the

previous module, you traced the relationship through a genogram that made
you realize the traits and health situation of your family. This module covers
the different relationships and responsibilities among members of the family
and a description of a healthy family relationship. The expected task in this
lesson is to create a plan on how to have firmer and gentler relationships
among members of the family.
You need to accomplish the following activities to help you reach the
objectives of this module.
What’s New
Learning the Skill: Describing the characteristics of the family.

Activity 1. Word Search

Find five (5) characteristics of a strong relationship in the family. Write a brief
description of each characteristic.

Example: Forgiving- letting go of the ill-feeling we have against each other.

1. _____________________ ____________________________________

2. _____________________ ____________________________________

3. _____________________ ____________________________________

4. _____________________ ____________________________________

5. _____________________ ____________________________________

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 What is It
Family Relationships
Family relationships are meaningful relationships in life and society. It is the
basic relationship people have in life since birth, especially of children born in a
biological family. They play a vital role in shaping and developing an individual’s
well-being throughout his/her life. Let us identify the types of family relationships
and their respective roles in the family.
Types of Family Relationships
1. Couple relationship –is an intimate connection between partners as husband
and wife or two people living together through the bond of marriage or by
cohabitation (live-in partner).
2. Parent-child relationship- the connection between parents to the child/children
either biological or adopted.
3. Sibling relationship- the connection between or among the brothers or sisters in
the family.
4. Extended family relationship – refers to the connection between the nuclear
family with other members of the family like aunts, uncles, grandparents,
cousins, and other relatives.

Family Members and Their Roles

In the chart are the different members and their respective roles in the family.

Family Members Roles

Couple To provide the needs of each other physically, emotionally,
financially, etc.
Parents The provider of the basic needs of the family such as food,
clothes, shelter, education, safety needs, love, acceptance, and
care
Children Must honor and obey their parents, respect each other, help
the household chores, study, etc.
Siblings Older siblings assist in taking care of the needs of the siblings,
while younger siblings should listen and learn from them

Extended members May extend support to the unmet needs of the family like
the grandparents taking care of grandchildren, giving advice
to the members of the family if necessary.

What are your roles to be played in your family? As a member of the family,
how could you promote firmer/stronger and gentler relationships in your family?
Let’s look at some ways for establishing healthier relationships in the family.

What is a firmer and gentler family relationship?

It is a relationship that makes the family stronger amid difficulties, and crises
they are experiencing. Struggles and difficult times brought them closer together,
as they learned to be respectful, patient, kind, and tender to each other, because
they are one as a family. It is like a strong tree that can always stand still in the
face of different storms passing through it.

Ways on How to Make Family Members Firmer and Gentler with Each
Other
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ACRONYM of FIRMER and GENTLER PLANS

Foster unity . There is unity in the family despite the differences

in personalities and characteristics of each member by doing its
specific roles in the family . Promote unity in the family by building
a bond among the members.

Involve each other . Every member of the family is important.

Include them in significant decision -making in family life.

Respect individuality. Give higher regard by appreciating the

uniqueness of every member of the family, knowing that everyone
has its identity, strengths, and weaknesses. Respect can be
earned without comparing one with another. An example is by
asking permission whenever one needs another member’s
belongings.

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Model the behavior . Everyone in the family could be a model for
each other. Modeling behavior is setting yourself as an example
that is worth following to other members of the family.

Explain expectations and consequences . Let every family

member understand what is expected of them as to their
responsibility. Along with this, consequences must be clarified, so
they will also know their accountability.

Reward good behavior . A reward is an excellent motivation for

any family member, so they can keep on doing what is good and
right. Always look at the positive behavior rather than focusing
and nagging on other family member’s failures.

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Give love and forgiveness. We all need love, but we also need to
give love. Love is the core of relationships to make it stronger and
better. When there is love, there is also forgiveness for they go
hand in hand together.

Express gratitude. Su pport one another through giving positive

words and expressing gratitude. Communicate with constructive
words and affirmation.

Nurture trust . A trusting relationship promotes dignity and

integrity in the relationship. When trust is present, it challenges
the person to do better because others are depending on him /her.

Take time together. Spending time together helps to know each

other better and promote authentic and stronger relationships.
Pray, play, eat, solve problems together, etc.

Listen attentively. Give your attention to the one who has

concerns. It enables you to understand the motives, feelings, and
ideas of others. The deeper the understanding between each
family member, the stronger the family is.

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 Ensure safety. It is within the family that members should feel
safe and secured. Be sure that no abuses and domestic violence
are happening among the members of the family. Do not put your
family in danger.

Remember God. Acknowledge God as the Source, great provider,

and the center of the relationship. The God of love, peace, and
justice is with us always. If God is the center of the relationships,
you will do everything that is pleasing both to God and others.

Pray always. Prayer is a necessary ingredient in relationships.

Seek strength and help from God in all circumstances. A family
that prays together stays stronger.

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Learn good communication . Good communication promotes
knowledge and understanding of the situation in the family. Good
communication uses “I” messages expressing one's concerns and
feelings, not blaming and condemning others.

Accept failures . Nobody is perfect; everyone makes mistakes.

Acceptance of one’s failure gives room for learning and
improvement in your relationship.

Nourish each other. To nourish is to provide the necessary things

needed in the family. Nourish the family with kindness and
gentleness. Stop being rude or harsh toward each other.

Serve one another . Serving one another is treating everyone as

important to you. When everyone is serving each other, the burden
of the family becomes lighter.

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 Why is it important to have a firmer and gentler relationship in the family?

A good family relationship creates a transformative society because whatever

happens in the family impacts the society. When the family has a firmer and gentler
relationship, it becomes easier to reach dreams and goals; it’s easier to have a healthy
and happy life. The family then becomes fruitful in any endeavor. With all these, the
God of love, peace, and justice is honored.
What’s More
Activity 1
Understanding the characteristics of relationships
Directions: Read and analyze the situation below. Answer the questions that follow.

Joel is the eldest child in the family. His family is having a hard life since his
father is a construction worker with no permanent job, and his mother works at home
to take care of them. Joel has five siblings of three sisters and two brothers. As the
eldest, he felt the burden of helping to meet the needs of his family. When he was in
Junior High School, he took a part-time job after class, in order to have an additional
income to support the needs of his family. He did it with permission from his parents
and started to work as balut vendor in the neighborhood, until he earned money to
finance his own studies. Through balut selling, he was able to provide some of their
needs including school allowances. Joel’s parents are proud and happy of his effort in
helping them, and they always encourage him to do his best in his studies. His other
siblings are helping in the household chores and also in the assignment of his younger
siblings for they are looking forward to a better future.

Questions:

1. What is the story all about?

2. What are the characteristics of the people involved in the story?

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 3. How did the story describe a firmer relationship among the family members.

Activity 2 Creating a Mind Map

Create a mind map showing how to have a firmer and gentler relationship in the
family. To help you in creating this mind map, you may refer to the rubrics found after the
additional activities.

Sample Mind Map:

Process Questions:
1. How did you find the activity?
2. What have you learned from doing the activity?
3. How did the activity help you realize your relationship in the family?

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 What I Have Learned Activity: Fill in the blanks with the correct answer. Use a
separate sheet for your answer.
1. ___________ are meaningful relationships in life and society.
2. ___________ a relationship that makes the family stronger in the midst of difficulties,
and crisis they are experiencing
3. ___________ the connection between parents to the child/children either biologically
or adoption.
4. ___________ the connection between or among the brothers or sisters in the
family.
5. ___________ must honor and obey their parents, respect with each other, help the
household chores, study, etc.
Give the ACRONYM of PLANS for firmer relationship
6. P
7. L
8. A
9. N
10. S

Complete the following Statement:

11. I realized that

12. I learned that

What I Can Do
Activity I
Directions: This activity shows a plan to have a firmer and gentler relationship
within the family. Make an activity plan using the ACRONYM of your name. (first
or last name)
Example: BECKA
Time and Activity Plan (ACRONYM)
Frequency:
Date Activities Persons involved How often
(Hourly, Daily, Weekly)

Bonding time with them Siblings/parents Weekly

Expressing gratitude Sibling/extended Daily

family/parents

Communicating Siblings/extended Daily

effectively for them family/parents

showing Kindness to them Siblings/extended Daily

family/parents

Acknowledging the Siblings/extended Daily

presence of God family/parents
Day 1
Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6
Day 7

Day 8

Process Questions
1. What have you observed from the activity?
2. What did you feel while doing the activity?
3. How could this activity help build a firm relationship with your family?

Assessment
Test I. Write Fact if the statement is true and write Bluff if the statement is false.
1. Love is one of the essential ingredients to have firmer/stronger and gentler
relationships.
2. It is important to work on communicating our feelings properly in relationships.
3. Judging one another makes the family relationships stronger.
4. Performing everyone’s role and responsibilities help the family relationship better.
5. The loving relationship of the couple promotes security and safety of the children.
6. A healthy family relationship destroys the stability of the society.
7. Envying each other builds the relationship stronger.

Test II.: Choose the best answer and write the letter of your answer in your paper.
8. What relationship is an intimate connection between partners as husband and wife
or two people living together through the bond of marriage or by cohabitation (live-in
partner)?
a. Couple
b. Parent-child
c. Sibling
d. Extended family
9. Which of the following destroys good family relationships?
a. Appreciating the efforts of the members
b. Comparing the siblings with the other
c. Giving reward to good behavior
d. Praying together
10. Which of the following shows that they have a firm family relationship?
a. Mother takes care of the children’s need
b. Father works to support their living
c. Children obey their parents
d. All of the above
11. Which of the following shows gentle relationships?
a. Brother are bullying each other
b. Mother yells to the children
c. Ana comforts her sister who was hurt by her peers
d. Father demands service from the wife
12. Which of the family shows a firmer relationship?
a. Janice’s family members are doing things in their own way.
b. Joshua’s family sets expectations and consequences for their actions
c. Alex’s family does not talk with each other.
d. Julie’s family fights over every little matter
13. How can we have a healthy, strong, and gentle relationship?
a. By having bonding time together with the family
b. By doing our roles and responsibilities
c. By accepting the mistakes and learning to forgive
d. All of the above

14. Why do we need to have a firmer and gentler relationship in the family?
1. To honor God and live harmoniously with each other
2. To bring good transformation in society
3. To become famous in the society
 a. Statement 1&3
b. Statement 1&2
c. Statement 1, 2,& 3
d. Statement 2&3

15. Karen was offended because her parents always compare her with her siblings that
they are better than her. What should Karen do?
a. She should talk to her mother about how she felt about it.
b. She should fight her siblings
c. She should keep silent and stay in her room
d. She should not eat so that she gets the attention of her parents
Additional Activities
Choose only 1 activity to answer.
Activity 1
Interview a friend (through video call, phone call, text, messenger chat)
about the qualities of a strong and gentle relationship they have in their
family. Write your learnings and realizations in your journal.

Weak Activities Persons Frequency Outcomes

Characteristics involved /Remarks
Ex. Not good ● Listen attentively to Parents, Everyday Understand
listeners my parents’ ideas Siblings, them better/
and advice and others no more
● Spend time to fights
listen to the
problems of
siblings

Activity 2

A. Identify the weak characteristics in your family.

B. Write on your paper the characteristics in which you wanted to improve in your
relationships within your family, and indicate the activities, persons involved,
frequency, and the outcomes.