K-State Research and Extension

Most of you rarely think about how you communicate with loved ones. However, family communication is important. It determines relationships with each other and sets the tone for family living. Family communication is not simple. Communication is more than what you say and do. Your messages depend on how you think the other person will react, so you may communicate differently with each member of the family. Each person has several different family communication patterns that develop over time, depending on who is being communicated with, the setting, the timing, and other factors.

• FamilyTALK Fact Sheet

Intimate relationships take hard work. They do not just happen — they require attention. This CoupleTALK program is designed to help you give more attention to your relationship. CoupleTALK emphasizes skill-building. It also stresses the process of growth and behavior change to help the relationship become stronger and more satisfying to both of you. The process is risky and it takes time. It requires partners to reveal more of themselves and accept what their mates are revealing.

• CoupleTALK Activity Cards
• CoupleTALK: Enhancing Your Relationship Fact Sheet

When you are employed full time and are also a spouse, parent, chauffeur, etc., it is easy to get caught in the trap of trying to do everything. It is difficult for working parents to finish everything that needs to be done. That is why goal setting is so important in managing work or time. When too many things are competing for your time, energy, talents and skills, it is necessary to set goals. They will help you know where you are going and how you will get there, and also indicate when you have accomplished what is important to you.

Finding reliable parenting information can be a challenge. There are many books, and articles - some good and some not so good. How do you know what to read - especially when you're busy and there's just so little time?

• The WonderWise Parent (online parenting courses)
• Step-families - Stepparents have a ready-made family from the very beginning. The new family members must learn to live together. The stepchildren and stepparents have to learn to get along although these processes take time and are not easy. The Extension resources in this section are designed for adults that are part of step-families in helping them build strong families.
• Managing Time, Work & Family - Getting Children to Help is a list of age-appropriate chores.

  Developmental Milestones -
  A Guide for Parents

  • The First Year
  • The Second Year
  • The Third Year
  • The Fourth Year
  • The Fifth Year

  Building Baby's Brain

  • The Basics
  • Prime Times for Learning
  • What Parents Can Do
  • What Child Care Can Do
  • Learning Language
  • The Role of Music
  • Is Breast Milk Best?
  • What to Eat When You're Expecting
  • Nurturing Positive Relationships
  • The Importance of Play
  • Creating Consistency
  • Buffering the Brain from Toxic Stress

  Resources

  • KSRE Families Website

• Stay Tuned for Future StoryWalk® Events
  StoryWalk®® is an innovative and delightful way for children — and adults! — to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time.   Laminated pages from a children's book are attached to stakes, which are installed along an outdoor path. As you stroll down the trail, you're directed to the next page in the story.

  

  StoryWalk® Books Available

   

  • Click Clack Boo
  • Feast for 10
  • Giraffes Can’t Dance
  • Handa’s Surprise
  • How Did That Get in My Lunchbox?  The Story of Food
  • Ice Cream Bear
  • If You Give a Cat a Cupcake
  • If You Give a Moose a Muffin
  • Let’s Eat
  • Milk Comes from a Cow
  • Seven Silly Eaters
  • The Enormous Potato
  • The Popcorn Book
  • Too Many Tamales
  • We’re Making Breakfast for Mother

          Financial Books

  • A Chair for My Mother
  • Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
  • Berenstain Bears & the Trouble with Money
  • Curious George Save His Pennies
  • If I Made a Million
  • Ox-Cart Man
  • Sheep in a Shop
  • The Penny Pot
  • Those Shoes

          Character Ed Books

  • A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue
  • Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully
  • Have You Filled a Bucket Today
  • My Mouth is a Volcano
  • Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun
  • The Berenstain Bears Kindness Counts

  Contact the Extension Office to request a StoryWalk®