For most people, the word family brings warm, fuzzy feelings in their heart and soul, yet family bonding goes even deeper than emotions. Fortunate children who are brought up in close-knit families where family bonding is a priority tend to carry that upbringing with them and can be kind, caring, and compassionate adults. This isn’t just important for their future family, but for society at large.
While there are plenty of books written about creating and strengthening family bonds, let’s give you six ways that you can effectively utilize immediately in this brief article.
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1. Ask Questions
Mobile phones make it difficult to get the attention of someone when they’re so enthralled with their devices, playing, or commenting on something online. While there are so many factors that play into why this happens, you might be able to lessen it by getting more involved with your kids and spouse.
Every day, you need to ask your family about their day, the good moments in it, the struggles of the day, and how you can help them find solutions. Avoid asking yes or no questions since they’re not very helpful answers. Leave your questions open-ended, without sounding like an inquisition, giving the other family member a chance to talk and express themselves. Showing that you truly care and are interested in their daily life is key to getting people to talk.
2. Be Spontaneous
A nice surprise is usually welcomed. You will always find opportunities to break away from daily routines and do something fun and out of the blue. Maybe instead of driving your kid to his friend’s house, you can take a detour and spend a day at the beach together instead. Or instead of all of you spending a quiet Sunday, each to their own, decide to go out for a family lunch.
Being spontaneous is not in everyone’s nature, so it needs some mindfulness to remember to do it every so often. When the opportunity arises, seize it because it will do wonders for all of you.
3. Play A Game
We know that your kid isn’t in need of any games to play. If anything, you might want them to play less, not more! Yet, there is no way around it; games are fun! The mission is to get the whole family involved in one game. For a start, let your kid or teen introduce you to their favorite game, and they can teach you the ropes a bit. Don’t take yourself too seriously and have a good laugh together on how badly you play! In turn, introduce your children to your favorite game and play a few rounds.
Get out a board game for the whole family to enjoy. If you’re into word games, don’t assume your kid won’t enjoy it too. There might be a word nerd in your child that neither of you knew existed. If your child is having some difficulties playing, there are online tools, like unscramblers, to help when playing games that depend on forming words. Don’t start with a game that is too difficult since the point is to have fun, not cause frustration. Enjoy this precious time and try out different board games and you’re bound to find the one that everyone loves.
4. Family Trips
This should be an obvious thing to do, but unfortunately, some families just don’t. When it comes to trips, it’s not just about going together and being in the same place together. It’s also about the planning stage.
Get your children involved from the very beginning of planning a trip. Be flexible and give them a few options of where they can go and have them make the final choice. Listen to what your children want to do during a vacation and make that happen for them.
5. Family Night
With six other nights to be independent, it’s not asking much for everyone to devote a night for each other. Family nights have so many options for what you can do in them. One time it could be a movie night, another time it could be dance night, and another could be karaoke. It could even just be a family drive around town.
6. Tell Family Stories
Instead of reading a fairy tale to young tots, why not share some family stories? Fill them in more about their grandparents, and other relatives. You will come up with many interesting characters and amusing anecdotes that will help your children bond more.
Living under the same roof isn’t enough to create a bond. It needs effort and just a few ideas. This is by no means an exhaustive list of ideas. The choices are many and you can try them all. This will add a variety of things to do so there is never a dull moment. The memories will be etched in everyone’s mind and heart.
If you are interested in even more lifestyle-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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