Family Life Merit Badge Prerequisites 

There are great websites to offer help and suggestions--

The Family Life booklet

http://www.odekirk.info/RESOURCE/FAM/PHAM.pdf

Family  Project ideas - some fun, some organizational 

http://www.womansday.com/home/organizing-cleaning/tips/a109/100-ways-to-get-organized/

http://bargainbabe.com/100-frugal-and-fun-activities-to-do-with-your-family/

http://hybridrastamama.com/50-family-friendly-community-service-project-ideas/

Family Meetings 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-fitness/201209/10-tips-holding-family-meeting

http://brucefeiler.com/pdfs/Happy-Families-Toolkit.pdf

http://brightfutures.org/mentalhealth/pdf/families/mc/family_meeting.pdf

https://www.positivediscipline.com/articles/family-meetings

Great meal ideas & family game night ideas

http://www.cozi.com/live-simply/food-and-meal-planning

There are prerequisites to complete this extensive merit badge.  

These must be completed upon your scout's arrival.

The prerequisites are as follows:  Family Life #3, 4, 5, and 6b

3. Prepare a list of your regular home duties or chores (at least five) and do them for 90 days. Keep a record of how often you do each of them. Discuss with your counselor the effect your chores had on your family.

(**Your scout may work on these and email me a photo of his 90 day record at a later date)

4. With the approval of your parents or guardians and your merit badge counselor, decide on and carry out a project that you would do around the home that would benefit your family. Submit a report to your merit badge counselor outlining how the project benefited your family.

(**Your scout may do something elaborate such as landscaping a flowerbed or garden; and your scout may do something more simplistic such as cleaning and organizing a playroom or garage and donating unwanted items to a charity organization like Goodwill --- the keywords are "a project that you would do around the home that would benefit your family")

5. Plan and carry out a project that involves the participation of your family. After completing the project, discuss the following with your merit badge counselor:

• The objective or goal of the project
• How individual members of your family participated
• The results of the project

(**Your scout and family may do something elaborate such as landscaping a flowerbed or garden; and your scout may do something more simplistic such as cleaning and organizing a playroom or garage and donating unwanted items to a charity organization like Goodwill --- the keywords are "a project that involves the participation of your family")

6. Do the following:

• Discuss with your merit badge counselor how to plan and carry out a family meeting.
• After this discussion, plan and carry out a family meeting to include the following subjects:
  1. Avoiding substance abuse, including tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, all of which negatively affect your health and well-being
  2. Understanding the growing-up process and how the body changes, and making responsible decisions dealing with sex*
     *This conversation may take place with only one or both of your parents or guardians.
  3. How your chores in requirement 3 contributed to your role in the family.
  4. Personal and family finances
  5. A crisis situation within your family
  6. The effect of technology on your family
  7. Good etiquette and manners
     Discussion of each of these subjects will very likely carry over to more than one family meeting