So much emphasis these days is on kids’ achievements which of course are important. But family life should have its pleasures and fun loving times as well. Setting aside building your child’s future with ambition and challenges, how about considering a family that enjoys each other?
Ways to Have Fun Together to Build a Family with a Close Bond
1.Gather your kids together and ask them the different kinds of things they like to do. Plan different outings together that each child can take the initiative in planning.
2.Encourage each child to be their own person with their own interests. Spend one on one time doing what they enjoy. Let them know you respect their interests and will do what’s needed so they can feel you accept them as they are.
3.Share your interests with your kids. Don’t press them to do what you alone enjoy, but let them see you having fun at what moves you. Let them see you go out on your own with and without your partner taking pleasure in activities that inspire you.
4.Watch youtubes of people having fun for further inspiration. Learn by watching others to get new challenging ideas.
5.Laugh together. Make sure rushed lives don’t take over and there isn’t time to just hang out and develop a sense of humor.
6.In fact, use that sense of humor when even important things go awry. It’s valuable to know how to laugh at mistakes and learn from failures. A sense of humor goes a long way in tolerating unexpected outcomes.
7.Travel together to expand your horizons beyond your home environment. This needn’t be expensive or too far reaching. There may be places in a 25 mile radius from your home that are hiding there for your enjoyment.
8.Learn from other family members’ ideas for fun that you might not have thought of yourself. Kids often teach their parents how to have fun. Parents can gain a lot from how much their kids know about advancing technology.
9.Express gratitude to each other for having a good time together.
10. Respect the various interests that each family member enjoys. Avoid judging each other for what each person appreciates.
Ultimately, you create a happy family that finds security in the pleasures you offer each other. Sharing ideas and activities brings companionship and raises everyone’s self-esteem.
Laurie Hollman, Ph.D. is a psychoanalyst and author of Unlocking Parental Intelligence: Finding Meaning in Your Child’s Behavior found on Amazon and wherever books are sold. Visit her website at www.lauriehollmanphd.com.
Originally published at medium.com