8 Steps to Creating Your Own Family Quotes and Sayings

In our last post, we talked about the Family Sayings my family had when I was growing up. There were four, which we all memorized and recited after dinner every night. It’s fair to say they’re well-ingrained in each of us.

When you’re ready to create your own Family Sayings, don’t get hung up on the number. We had four – you might have three or five. The right number will vary by family, as will the sayings themselves. Here’s how to choose sayings that represent the heart of the way you want your family to interact in the world:

1. Take time to articulate the values and beliefs that are important to you and your partner.

2. Think about which values/ideals are most important for you to teach to your children.

3. Define your expectations about how family members will treat each other and interact.

4. Consider whether faith will be a component and, if so, what tenet you’d most like to incorporate into your family’s sayings.

5. The next step is crucial: Think about which things on your list are actionable. You want your family sayings to be things family members can actually DO, not just things they think about or believe.

6. With that in mind, review your initial list and choose 3-5 actionable family sayings from that list.

7. Print your Family Sayings and post them in your house. This can be as simple as a printout from the computer, it can be a family project, creating a poster, or you could even custom order a wooden sign – whatever works for you and your family.

8. Make a game out of committing them to memory and saying them aloud every day.

By identifying the Family Sayings that are unique to your family, you begin to consciously create a family culture, one that includes each member and says, “This is who we are and how we interact in the world.”

When your children see them, hear them, and say them daily, it reinforces that these Family Sayings are fundamental to what it means to be a part of your clan. They’re what set you apart and bind you together.

That doesn’t mean they’ll always apply them correctly, and that’s okay. When they have questions and make mistakes, it’s your opportunity to have a teachable moment. It’s your chance to explain, “This is what THIS Family Saying looks like in action.”

And while they may have to learn what the application of your Family Sayings looks like, they won’t be surprised by the ideas. They’ll know what you expect because they’ve seen, said, and heard your Family Sayings all their lives.