Modern family life can be busy, especially when parents are working, and all the kids are attending school. With different schedules, social commitments, and interests, it can be difficult to get everyone in the same room spending quality time together. Now and again, it is important to make a conscious effort to reconnect, and to make time for family fun. If you are feeling disconnected from your children and are worried that you are spending most of your time on the practicalities of life, it is time to address the issue. This article highlights six ways to bring your family closer together and strengthen your bond.
1. Be affectionate
Young children tend to seek out physical affection, but as they creep into their teenage years they can start to pull away. Children, teenagers, and adults need affection at every stage of life. Whether it is a hug, a kiss goodnight, a pat on the back, or a high five, maintain a physical connection with all the members of your family. If you are not a naturally affectionate family, snuggling up on the couch for movie night is a fantastic excuse to get everyone together and feeling comfortable.
2. Show gratitude
Often, we do not tell the people we care about how much they mean to us and how thankful we are for our family. Aside from the festive season or birthdays, we tend to assume that other people know how we feel. Instead, why not make a point of expressing what you are thankful for more regularly?
3. Sit down to dinner together
In the morning, breakfast is often a rushed affair with everyone charging around trying to get out of the door on time. Lunch is spent at work or school, so most of the time dinner is the only meal a family will share. Make it an event where you sit down, turn off the TV, and ask each other about your day. If you don’t have a lot of time to make dinner and then spend quality time eating it, prepare food the night before or order a pizza using Papa Johns coupons.
4. Laugh together
Laughing has been found to have a positive impact on our mental wellbeing and laughing with others can be a bonding experience. Even the seemingly mundane days have humor in them if you can stop worrying or stressing long enough to see the funny side. Whether you start a pillow fight, tell jokes, watch a funny movie, or play with the dog, take every opportunity to laugh.
5. Exercise together
Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, so it makes sense to make it a regular part of your family life. There are lots of ways to stay active that do not require a gym membership or strenuous activity, such as walking the dog, cycling in the park, playing sports, dancing to music, or playing tag in the garden. Click here for ways to keep children active.
6. Look after the house
When kids are old enough, looking after the house and keeping on top of the chores should be a team effort. In fact, giving children a regular chore to perform each day or week helps them to develop a sense of responsibility and teaches them useful skills for the future. Try making cleaning fun by making it a game or a contest. When the house is kept tidy and clean, you will not have to spend evenings or weekends doing the housework and can devote this time to reconnecting with your kids.
What lovely, thoughtful ideas.
We always have some family time together each day, usually when it’s when we’re eating tea but on a weekend we do make an effort. Saturday morning we have a good clean of the house and it is always fun and on the evening we always watch TV. We have got into the habit of having an internet free morning on a Sunday. We play board games or watch a film x
Kim Carberry recently posted…Week 47 of #Project366 – A photo every day for a year!