The Family Compatibility Test: Fun Questions for Couples, Moms, Dads, and Kids to Answer Together

By Susan Adams

This book offers families an opportunity to deepen communication and understanding with amusing,yet thought-provoking discussion questions, helping families discover and appreciate their similarities and differences. The Family Compatibility Test contains hundreds of stimulating questions family members can ask each other, with topics ranging from snoring to in-laws to tots to teenagers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Sep 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781938803437

Susan Adams

Susan Adams is a communications consultant and lecturer, and former spokesperson for Mattel game and has taught communication skills to groups, organizations, and corporations across the country. She lives in Omaha with her husband Harold and daughters Alyson and Brianna.

Book preview

family

1    Maybe Baby

Who is that androgynous baby on the Gerber’s jar, and why is it staring at me? How testy we can get when we discover we can’t serve linguine to a three-week-old, we don’t care to puree all of Baby’s vegetables, and we recoil from touching slimy toddler hot dogs! Now is the time, probably pre-gestation, to measure your eagerness to explore the world of midnight feedings (other than your own).

If you decide to become parents, Rock Around the Clock will no longer simply be a golden oldie. It will be your song. You’ll be rockin’ ‘round the clock all right, not to mention diapering, feeding, and bottle washing.

And, by the way, can you say bye-bye? I hope so, because if you become parents, that’s what you can say to calling the shots. So many things you won’t be able to control—crying, wetting, spitting up—but your personal problems will have to wait. Baby’s desire to hang from your pierced earring or kiss Fido on the lips while shoving an aspirin up his nose will demand immediate attention.

As for receiving recognition as Wonder Parents, when friends and relatives thunder past the hospital room on their way to the nursery, take the hint. Baby, now and forever, is the main event. You were just the warm-up act. With that thought in mind, I offer a few questions for consideration when visions of your own blessed event start dancing in your head.

I want to have a baby

NOW.

within 2 years.

within 3-4 years.

within 5-7 years.

within our lifetime.

never.

During pregnancy, Mommy will probably put on

20 pounds or less.

20-35 pounds.

35-50 pounds.

who’s counting?

A mother-to-be should quit work

immediately after the doctor confirms pregnancy.

mid-pregnancy.

late pregnancy.

when she goes into labor.

True/False

Taking Lamaze classes is a prerequisite to giving birth.

True/False

Husbands belong in the delivery room.

I think I would feel as comfortable nursing, or watching my wife nurse, in public as I would

reading a book on the subway.

campaigning for my favorite politician.

dancing naked in church.

True/False

I’m sure our insurance policy has maternity benefits.

I’ve read of parents who name their child several days after his or her birth. I think this practice shows

the desire to make absolutely certain the name fits the child.

patience and flexibility.

procrastination and indecisiveness.

True/False

We’ll take turns diapering, feeding, and bathing the baby.

True/False

Spit up nauseates me.

For our newborn, every night we will need to get up

not at all.

once.

twice.

thrice.

If I put my newborn down to sleep at 7:00 P.M., I expect him or her to be asleep by

7:02 P.M.

7:30 P.M.

8:00 P.M.

sunrise.

True/False

To stay on schedule, I will wake a sleeping baby for a feeding.

Colic is

my hairdresser’s problem.

unreasonable, constant crying.

a male child’s name, British derivative, similar to Colin or Chad.

a part of the body associated with the process of elimination.

severe abdominal pain.

After a bottle, Baby needs to be burped

for as long as I have time.

for 2 minutes.

for 5 minutes.

until Baby burps.

The duration of an average nap is

30-60 minutes.

60-90 minutes.

different for each baby.

until I feel like getting up.

True/False

Every toddler needs a pet.

Baby’s clothes will be, for the most part,

designer.

discount.

homemade.

hand-me-downs.

doll outfits.

Weekly childcare will probably cost

under $25.

$25-$75.

$75-$150.

more than $150.

Potty training should begin

at 9-12 months.

at 12-18 months.

at 18-36 months.

when the child says, I think I need to go to the bathroom now.

I expect Baby to stop taking naps at age

1.

2.

3.

4.

8.

If my toddler starts climbing out of the crib every night after bedtime, my child probably needs

a later bedtime.

more of our attention.

reasoning with.

spanking.

new parents.

I expect to feel comfortable leaving my baby with a sitter when our child is

2 days old.

2 months old.

2 years old.

old enough to go pick up the sitter.

The bottle should be relinquished

at 6-9 months.

at 9-12 months.

at 12-18 months.

at 18-24 months.

when you find yourself drinking often and alone.

As a young mother, I loved Gerber’s Blueberry Buckle dessert; so did my little daughter Alyson. Sometimes, I actually gave her a couple of bites. However, she was not nearly as enamored of beets. Initially enticed by their festive look, she took a beet bite only once and deeply regretted it, as did I.

If you have a child, you’ll know when he or she doesn’t care for your latest culinary offering because you will be wearing it. If the food is