A parent and family counselor - Kwabena Atta Badu tells Joy FM that a healthy family is one which is spiritually, physically and emotionally balanced. He said that parents and indeed all family members need to make a concerted effort to improve upon their family health by identifying what their families need from them, and resolving to execute a plan which will meet them. According to Mr. Kwabena Badu, the physical wellbeing of the individual is primary to achieving all the other essential objectives of the family health, and as such, family members should make the practice of keeping physically fit a priority. He said parents need to work together transparently and objectively on their family finances to ensure that they meet the needs of their families over the long periods of time. He said for parents with teenage children, there was the need to get to know what is happening in their adolescent children’s lives and the issues which confuse them. This he said can be achieved through spending more quality time with the children, with the objective of listening to them. Mr. Badu said by spending quality time with the children, parents impart essential life values to their children which guide them through life. He stressed that there was the need for families to adopt a “family orientation” which will enable each member of the family put the family first in every decision of life. He said the family orientation in homes will repose spiritual and moral values in children which will help them through life, long after they leave the home. Story by Sedem Ofori/Joy SMS