Carol has some truly valuable cautions in managing a family history project.

Nevertheless, children are very resilient and a family history project might
provide opportunities to step out of the immediate family troubles and see other
aspects of the family.  Every child has some interesting ancestor that allows him
or her to feel pride and personal contact with his or her own history.  They can
find out that they come from survivors who had misery and triumphs just like the
family they see and hear every day.  If they have a parent who is a poor model,
maybe they can find a grandparent who is a better one and change beliefs about
themselves.  If the other students tease about their family, maybe they can find
material that helps them to stand up to the criticism, especially if a family
history project helps them to actually talk to extended family, learn their stories
and find new allies.  They will probably be relieved to discover that they do have
someone to be proud of and that everyone else has "undesirable" relatives just like
they do.

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Margaret Downs Glendinning
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