The Secret to a Happy Family? Outdoorsy, Nutty Duck Dynasty Just May Have It – Beards, Uncle Si & All!

“If you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family’s positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come.” 

– Bruce Felier, “The Stories That Bind Us," NYTimes.com

If I were a single lady, I’d be running, fast, in my Camouflage running sneaks and cute, little, ducky top, to Somewhere, Louisiana to go hang out with the hilarious, giant-bearded, loveable Robertson family...... And I’d hope to grab one of the fuzzy, family-member bachelors on the reality-TV-show-set and call him my own. 

Let the breeding begin!

If you don’t know these guys, you should. Go, quickly, to the A&E channel and flip, flip around until you find the burly, bushy group of guys with their hands in their beards and their hearts on their sleeves.

This is reality TV at it’s head scratching best (are they REALLY this funny?) about an outdoorsy family from the back-woods turned millionaires, all from the patent of a little, old duck-call.

After reading a recent NYTimes article about the common theme of happy, successful families and children, - thank you reader DS for sending it my way! - what stood out was that when parents defined a strong family narrative about the ups and downs of their family history with their kids, children had a stronger sense of control in their lives, higher self-esteem, and the more they felt their own family functioned well overall.

Which is what Duck Dynasty expresses so successfully. It’s all about the Ups and Downs of their family, with stories from founder Grandpa Phil about the first duck-call he ever made whilst living in near-poverty, to the ‘Nam stories from the most unbelievable star of the show Uncle Si, to the next generation of kids coming up the ladder, who eschew the usual Dyansty daily Camo uniform for designer jeans and fancy hair-cuts (ie: short.)

Their entire family history and daily highs and lows of life is being re-told on a reality-TV-show in a positive, heartwarming way. So at the end of each episode, when the Robertson family of all generations sits down for their mish-mosh family dinner and says grace, you forgive them their foibles of deer-hunting and beaver dam shooting and fishing illegally on Judge’s property then getting arrested, and you think: where can I get me one of those bearded guys for myself.

Namaste & Three Cheers, Everyone! -OM

For more info @ happy families: Bruce Felier's recently published book, "The Secrets of Happy Families: How to Improve Your Morning, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smart, Go Out and Play, and Much More."