3 Ideas to Help Nurture Your Family’s Growth
By Janet Plankenhorn, LMFT
We all want our children to grow and bloom, but how do we do this in an effective manner? Spending time together, paying attention to one another and helping our children learn something new are three ways that will help facilitate a happy, healthy growing family.
Play Together – All parents want their families to grow and flourish together. Pick an activity to do as a family and put it on the calendar so everyone is aware of this special date. This can be anything – a hike, a family picnic or miniature golf for example; any activity that requires members of your family to interact with each other.
These activities do not have to cost money, the important piece is the interaction of all family members. Everyone has different interests and likes, therefore agreeing on the same activity may not happen – don’t panic! Have your family take turns in picking the activity. This will help your children to learn about compromise and also how to respect other people’s choices.
Communication – We use technology for a great deal of our communication with others, many people have their heads down looking at their cell phones these days (including parents). Make a commitment to put all cell phones away and really pay attention to each other.
Being present with your kids will teach them that they are important and loved; listen to them with your heart, hear what they are saying, love them with everything you have. This alone will help your child’s spirit grow and flourish. The gift of time and fully being present with each other is priceless.
Doing Tasks Together – Have your child help you wash the family car, do laundry together or demonstrate a small home repair. All of these tasks require you to teach your child a skill that will help
them to learn something new while also spending one on one time with them. Make this a fun time, all cars get dirty – they need to be cleaned. If your child is young, helping with laundry can be as simple as sorting dark and light clothes, or folding washcloths. These small skills will be carried into their future lives, helping them to grow and thrive as future adults.
Show your children every day that they are important to you. Give them the gift of your time. This will help nurture their growth and your relationship. Parenting is hard and there is no perfect parent, we all forget how to be present in this busy world. Make the decision to make the time; you will forever be grateful that you did and so will your children.
