The reality of today’s family is that you are so busy to build a future for yourselves that you end up missing out on the present. Being a parent means juggling work, family, household chores and social life. Between all this madness it is natural to feel disconnected from your family and children. Family bonding activities are very important for an overall contentment in life. Strong family bonding comes with an investment of time, communication, teamwork and appreciation for each other. Here we list out 15 simple ways in which you can bond and connect with your family.
#1 Eat Together
Courtesy of almost all the films made in the recent times, a family get-together is always portrayed around a dinner table with a silly sibling fight over a salt shaker, a few meaningful conversations and of course lots of laughter. That’s how important eating together is. Eating meals together daily not only helps you to strengthen family bonding but also leads to healthier food choices, makes your kid feel emotionally safe and secure and also serves as a stress buster.
#2 Turn Chores into Fun Family Time
“Help me put the toys back on the rack”
Imagine telling this to your kids or your spouse for that matter. I am pretty sure that your children would flee from the arena and your spouse would have received an important call from his boss. This is when you have to outsmart them and think out of the box. Try to make the chores sound fun and alluring. Say, For example, divide into two teams, with each one of the parents in one team and divide the chores equally between both the teams. Whichever team completes the task first gets to choose the movie on your movie night or the place for your next picnic.
#3 Volunteer Together
Volunteering together as a family not only helps in building a strong family relationship but also provides you a chance to impart valuable lessons to your children. When your children see you give back to the society, they develop the habit of thinking beyond their own needs. These days, it’s even more important to inculcate these random acts of kindness in your children. Don’t you think so?
#4 Surprise Each Other
“People may forget what you did to them but not how you made them feel”
Well, we think this saying is 100% true. Come on, who doesn’t like surprises? Don’t you think that the rush of mixed emotions and a momentary breathlessness when getting surprised is definitely the best feeling in the world? Try sending a personalized birthday letter or just leave a love note to your spouse and kids on a random day. These tiny gestures from you would not only strengthen your bond but also give some amazing memories!
#5 Laugh Together
A family that laughs together stays together. Research says that when you laugh, feel-good, brain chemicals are released. The more you laugh together, be it over a fun movie or during a fun activity or just while having a family discussion, the more you feel good about each other. So the next time you find yourselves in the middle of a heated argument amongst your family members, just laugh it off because “A sense of humour… is a needed armour”
#6 Express Sincere Gratitude
Start the day by thanking God for the amazing life you have got (Or just thank the universe if you are an atheist) and see how life transforms with positivity. Make sure to appreciate the little things that your family does for you. Be present in all their important occasions and encourage them. Kids mimic their parents religiously. So once you put it into practice, your children would automatically learn from you.
#7 Read Together
Reading together is one of the greatest ways to initiate a meaningful conversation. But kids today are more interested in watching movies and may initially be reluctant to the idea of reading. So create some fun element by involving yourself in the story and share what you would have done if you were the main character.
#8 Cook/ Bake Together
Now stop freaking out! We know it is a little bit of an extra work (Ok, a lot!!), but the benefits are definitely worth the chaos. Kids tend to learn major skills such as planning, organization, problem-solving and time management. Also, children would know the effort it takes to bring food to the table and thus that creates in them a sense of appreciation. And most importantly, you are teaching a future generation that kitchen time is not just a ‘mom thing’.
#9 Get crafty
The world of children is totally different from ours. It is filled with innocence, mischief, creativity and lots of happiness. What if there is a way for you to enter their world? Art is the way to get closer to your children’s world. Children put their creativity and imagination to its maximum usage while drawing. So unleash your creative skills to create a masterpiece, together as a family.
#10 Do some Gardening
Get your hands dirty, start growing plants in your backyard. The immense joy you and your kids get when the plants you grow, and start producing vegetables is priceless. And don’t worry if you don’t have a garden. Try terrace gardening or put a few pots near the window sill. This is also one of the best ways to make your kid eat veggies. Double treat, right?
#11 Take a walk
Have you ever felt tired in spite of not doing much work? Well, your body is giving you signals that you need to start exercising. One of the best fun-filled ways to look after your health is to walk with your family. You not only get to spend quality time with your family but you also teach your kids to have a healthy lifestyle!
#12 Go for a road trip
Family bonding activities doesn’t just happen, it comes with great experiences. Be it across the country or to the next town, a road trip is the best way to have new experiences. Doing something different and exciting gives your kid a kick of adrenaline rush. Have sing-alongs, interactive games, and a few pit stops to explore the nature. Bet you would create some lifelong memories!
#13 Learn something new
Be it a common hobby, a new language or even yoga, learning something new that creates an opportunity for to bring interest to your conversations. It opens up new ways and ideas to communicate with your family. Talk to each other about what you learn and in case you face any difficulty, you know that your family members are there to help you out.
#14 Positive communication
The only way to know someone truly is through communication. Your family’s communication style has a great impact on the family members’ tone of communication with the rest of the society. Thus it is very important to have a positive communication. If you do not have the fear of being judged by your family, you tend to be more honest, which ultimately helps to resolve the problems that arise in the family (or outside).
#15 Have a monthly family day
This is one ritual you need to follow no matter what.Having dedicated time slots for family and sticking to it would make them realize that they are not taken for granted. Create a family bucket list where each one of you contributes different family bonding activities they like to do together. It may include anything from playing family games to going for a picnic, spending a night in your backyard/terrace or going to a new restaurant.
“If the family were a boat, it would be a canoe that makes no progress unless everyone paddles”. Everyone values their family. But it takes a lot of communication and commitment from all the members of the family to make a successful family. Follow these simple ways to bring in the whole of your family together and create experiences that you would cherish for life.
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