7 Tips to Sustaining Happy Families
At our Midwest summer camp (west of Chicago), we try to create a community that functions like a good family. The best families recognize that there should be intentionality to help make that happen. A recent article from Tesh.com underscores some strategies that work well to create loving and respectful households. Bullets below, with the whole article available at this link.
#1: Share your family’s story.
- Helps kids feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves.
- Knowing what the family has gone through and overcome, prepares kids to face challenges in their own lives.
- Kids who know their family history have higher self-esteem, are more resilient, and are better at handling stress.
#2: Hold weekly family meetings.
- Gives your family an opportunity to hash out what’s working—and what isn’t—to make changes before minor glitches turn into major problems.
#3: Eat meals together.
- Children who eat dinner with their parents do better in school, and are less likely to drink, smoke, do drugs, or develop eating disorders.
#4: Save difficult conversations for after dinner.
- A full belly and comfy clothes reduces stress, so those difficult conversations may not blow up into arguments.
#5: Use circles to facilitate open discussions.
- Set up your living room furniture in a circle if possible.
- Encourages conversation and literally brings your family closer.
- People are much friendlier when they’re seated in a circle because they can easily look at and talk to each other.
#6: Resolving hurtful behavior works best if kids have a say in what the resolution should be.
- Gives kids a sense of ownership over their own behavior.
- Kids will own up to what they did, and are more likely to change behavior’s with negative consequences.
#7: Maximize conflict resolution by copying body language.
- Mimicking body language puts you on the same physical level. And that instantly reduces feelings of tension, power imbalance and resentment.
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