5 Traits of a Healthy Family: Steps You Can Take to Grow Closer, Communicate Better, and Change the World Together

by Gary Chapman

Is your family all that it could be?

Many feel bombarded by images and experiences of broken families, but this is not how God intended families to be!

So often we examine the traits of unhealthy families, but Gary Chapman paints a biblical portrait of what a loving, stable family looks like. He details five timeless characteristics that create a healthy family

A heart for service Husbands and wives who relate intimately Parents who guide their children Children who obey and honor their parents Husbands who love and lead
In Dr. Chapman's own words, "What happens to your family does make a difference not only to you and your children, but to the thousands of young observers who are in search of a functional family."

This book is not merely for reading, but for living. Experience God's design for family.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Family

189 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2023

About the author

Gary Chapman, Ph.D.—author, speaker, and counselor—has a passion for people, and for helping them form lasting relationships.

Chapman is a well-known marriage counselor and director of marriage seminars. The 5 Love Languages® is one of Chapman’s most popular titles, topping various bestseller charts for years, selling over twenty million copies and has been on the New York Times bestsellers list since 2007. Chapman has been directly involved in real-life family counseling since the beginning of his ministry years, and his nationally syndicated radio programs air on Moody Radio Network and over 400 affiliate stations.

Reviews

[Susy C. *MotherLambReads* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of underwhelmed.
Nothing we haven’t heard before in all the other marriage and family books.

Was a continuation of sorts to his Five Love Languages.

[Olaia Urquidi Beals · Rating 3 out of 5]

Number 5 was hard to read

I loved the 5 love languages and this book the first 3 ideas were good, didn't love the fourth and the fifth was incredibly outdated. Yes I read all of it and that sums it up.

[Christian Voetberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic by Chapman. Great insights on family structure and thriving. He frames his 5 love languages into practical application in family structure.

[KrisTina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not read any other books of Gary Chapman but I'm fairly confident that this book is simply a cut and paste of a lot of other books into one book. That being said - I did like it and there were some definite takeaways. I have a tendency to tell my children "good job" when they do a task and then follow that up with ALLLLLL the ways they can improve it the next time they do it (It's not a great mothering moment when I do this and I really do do it ALLLL the time :(. When he talked about how to encourage and at the same time teach children it just helped me recognize how I do this and why I do this but most importantly gave me some tools on how I can stop doing it WHILE still teaching. I made my husband read this small section just because I told him - "I need help with this".

And now for a catty review moment - he said SOOOO many times how his daughter is a doctor (I get it - you are saying she is successful) and then said he was also equally proud of his son who loves to write. And then he would intersperse sections with bad poetry written by the son. Ugh. It was weird and honestly - I'm sorry his son's poetry was not great. But we all have on parenting goggles I guess. And now his son can say that he is published.

[Stephanie Cifuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a lot of good parenting and marriage tips, which I found very useful. It was good to read about the examples of other families or couples and see how they dealt with their situation. His advice were real and relatable.

I found the book a bit repetitive sometimes which made me lose interest.
Overall is a good book, I suggest it to any married couple.

[Huijessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5? But I'll round it up.

Honestly I found this book via the focus on family podcast. And I found the podcast episode more helpful than the book because it was more concise, practical and straight forward. I did really enjoy the whole portion for women though. Haha.

Otherwise, still some really good nuggets of wisdom. But I look forward to the free guides more than the book

[Fred La Plante III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Chapman did a great job by telling the story of what happened when they invite a stranger into their home and the dynamics that happened. He shares the lessons on how to be a healthy family. Very insightful book.

[Hasanah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book of Gary Chapman. Looking at the other titles by him, I suspect he may he using similar frameworks for different relationship contexts. Overall, it is mostly conforming views, especially if you're a traditional. A warm reminder to parents and spouses.

[Christopher Scoles · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 love languages guy writes another book about 5 things for people and stuff. I was expecting generic platitudes and feel good statements but there was actually a lot of wise insight into family dynamics. Worth a read for sure

[Ruthie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a good book for parents to read together. I plan to work through the accompanying Family Adventure Guide with my husband—seems to be a great resource.

[Christy Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would likely be a better read for someone with young children.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I;m saving this for when I have my own family

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful, easy to read book! Lots of great advice laid out in simple, practical steps. It is by no means an exhaustive study on the topic of a healthy family, but I do believe the points outlined in this book would transform any family who chooses to follow them.