While holidays and family gatherings are intended to be a fun and special time, sometimes they can unfortunately be a stressful experience. Perhaps now is the time to change things up and try something new to make this holiday season the best one yet. For those who have lost a loved one, the holiday time can be especially tough, but that’s exactly why it’s more important than ever to support each other and be together. Here are some useful tips to make spending time with family something you’ll surely look forward to.
Why Spending Time with Family is Important
It’s easy to convince yourself that you should work more and more. But if you’ve ever thought to yourself that working and earning money is more valuable than spending time with family, you are very mistaken. Spending time with family is the most precious thing in the world, and here’s why.
Bonding Time
What family means has shifted over the years, but one thing that will always remain is the importance of family. Family time is the time when your children learn how to deal with all kinds of life situations, and where they learn innumerable lessons. Without this crucial time, your children can be left very lost. Family time is something that needs to be made and blocked into your schedules, as busy as they may be.
Why is Family Time Important?
If you are still doubting the importance of family time, here are some valuable points to consider.
1. Bonding with Family
Everyone needs to have a sense of belonging, feeling as though they have a safe place that they can trust. Children often join gangs to feel as though they are part of something similar to a family. By having a strong family bond, it’s likely to prevent them from getting involved in dangerous activities and looking for that connection elsewhere.
2. Talk and Listen
We also all need a place where we can talk openly and share our feelings, and that’s what a family is for. Talking to your kids or younger siblings can help prevent them from getting involved in dangerous activities and succumbing to peer pressure.
3. Teaching Your Kids Valuable Lessons
As a parent or older sibling, it’s your responsibility to teach your children and family right from wrong. And if they don’t learn this at home, they will learn it somewhere else, perhaps not in the way you would have liked them to.
4. Show Affection
Affection is shown differently by everyone. For some it means holding hands, others giving hugs, and sometimes it just means doing a nice gesture. Spending time with family gives everyone the chance to express their affection. It’s been found that teenagers who are shown affection are more likely to do better in school compared to those who don’t receive this type of family attention.
5. Family Traditions
Family values come from spending time with family. Children copy what they see at home. If a parent is not around, then that’s exactly what they will learn to do when they have their children. Spending time with family as much as possible can help develop positive family values.
6. Accept Each Other
Family time is crucial in order to learn how to accept each other’s differences, and appreciate each family member for their unique qualities.
7. Share Chores
Sharing chores between family members is a way for children to learn to fend for themselves in a healthy, safe way. It establishes the fact that you are a family, and that you share a common goal that you need to work together to reach.
8. Connect with Your Children
It’s been found that when parents get involved in their children’s studies, it helps them get better grades, and increases their chances of graduating, as well as their chances to attend higher education. Even a sibling or cousin helping if the parent isn’t around can also be highly beneficial. It’s also been found that parental involvement encourages children to have more positive attitudes towards learning. It can be as simple as reading a bedtime story, checking homework, or even asking your child how their day was.
9. Building Self-Esteem
Spending time with family helps children gain a greater sense of self-worth. Spending time with family doesn’t have to be costly, what’s most important is just being together.
10. Builds Positive Behaviors
Those who spend more time with their families are found to be less likely to engage in dangerous activities. Those who eat meals with their families tend to have better diets compared to those who don’t, and are also less likely to consume tobacco and alcohol.
11. Encourages Communication
Spending time with family fosters a healthy environment allowing for open communication. Your children need a place where they can feel safe and comfortable to talk about everything.
12. Kids Become Good Friends
Children learn from what they see, and if they are shown the importance of family time, then they are likely to take this example to other parts of their lives. Spending family time together can help make your child a better friend.
13. Create Memories
Spending time with family is a chance to build memories together, and to share their everyday ups and downs.
14. Family Bonding is Healthy
Being around your family members tends to encourage you to eat more nutritious meals, and overall take on a healthy lifestyle since you are sharing home-cooked meals together, rather than eating processed and prepared foods outside.
15. Connecting With Family Reduces Stress
Having the opportunity to express your feelings to your family can help reduce stress and find solutions to your problems.
