The Importance of a Family Tree

For both children and adults, nothing else will create so much interest in their own family as a family tree. It is a fun activity and fascinating experience to research your own family’s past and discover when and how some family traditions began and where family legends came from. As you learn about the lives of your ancestors, you may well develop a new sense of pride in your family.

There are other important reasons to have and maintain a family tree. It is a wonderful teaching tool for children. They can help prepare it at whatever level is appropriate for their age. They can help with the research and writing. Younger children can help by just asking questions and listening to what a parent has discovered. Schools often want students to go back at least two or three generations and learn the skills to do a genealogy chart. Most of all, children will learn that family is more than just those who live in the same house with them.

Maintaining a family tree is especially valuable now. We live in a time of rapid change when many people are losing a sense of being connected to society. Churches, government institutions, universities and clubs all engender less interest and loyalty than they did a generation ago. A well-kept family history helps maintain a sense of connectedness to something larger than oneself.

Knowing your family’s medical history can be very important. Do members of your family tend to have congestive heart failure? Is diabetes a frequent problem? This knowledge can help you make needed lifestyle changes and be aware of the possibility that a particular ailment may strike you or your child. A family health history can provide much-needed information for your doctor in helping him know how to best treat your illness. A survey done by Porter Novelli in 2004 states that 96% of people understand the importance of having a health history, but only 33% have made any effort to prepare one.

Developing a family tree and your family’s history will be an especially enjoyable activity for those who love history. Many people say history was their favorite subject in school. Books that deal with historical subject matter are popular choices in bookstores. What kind of history could be more interesting than your own? Keeping a family tree will be a valuable experience.