Life can get extremely hectic as time moves forward. One moment, you’re a teenager with the weeks and months stretching ahead like a new page. Suddenly, you’re married with a family and ten years have scooted by in a blink. When you find yourself working forty hours a week while having a family at home, a house to look after and a social life to keep up with, the family bonds can really be strained. It’s not anyone’s direct fault, it’s just how life goes sometimes.
The happiest families have strong family bonds, and it’s up to parents to make sure that those bonds stay strong and unbreakable. You can create the foundation your family needs for a strong future as a unit, and with these suggestions, you can commit to that:
- Schedule the time: It doesn’t sound particularly fun to schedule in time with your family, but you need to do that sometimes to make it happen. If you don’t carve the time out to spend together you just won’t. One night a week should be reserved for dinner and games and you should reserve Sunday as your day as a family to get together and have fun! Add in a monthly weekend trip and find a good retreat center as a family to simply enjoy yourselves. Time away together can ensure your bond is strong.
- Eat together: Families to leave technology out of the kitchen and eat their evening meal together are families who understand each other. Talking together about your day and discussing issues over the table can help you laugh, joke and have fun.
- Have meetings: Meetings in the office are a totally different activity, but when you have a meeting at home it gives you all as a family to remind each other of the values you hold, the chores that need doing and any important updates. It gives you all an open forum to be together to discuss important events coming up in school or at home and it also allows the children to have a voice and feel like they matter in the home.
- Encourage each other: Families are successful when they believe in each other’s success. If you have competitive teenagers involved in sports, go and see their games and meets. Have your children involved in your own successes at work and let them tell you they are proud of you. Family support is very important and you need that to be able to continue as a united group.
- Socialise together: Hold a block party or invite the neighbours to you for days of fun. It’s always said that it takes a village to raise children and if you are close and tight knit with your neighbours, you can always be looked after together. It gives your whole family a sense of responsibility and can also in a way, show your family how strong you are together.
Family bonding is important and when you are all together, you can feel secure and close the way family should be.