A child might not seem to care too much about family history, but those dating should. As adults, we tend to know more about everyone else's history, but our own. So when kissing cousins meet one another, have babies, and so on, family members want to act judgmental, ignorant, or downright rude? This could all be avoided if the elder relatives would open up their mouths and start sharing family history including health information. Tell the maiden names of the women in the family, talk about where the family originated from as far back as you remember, check out online information, and visit genealogy websites. Why should the younger generation walk around not knowing who their extended relatives are? Maybe they will never meet their elder aunts, uncles, and cousins, but it doesn't hurt to know at least their names and possible whereabouts.
Nicholl McGuire
Nicholl McGuire