In today’s culture, it’s not uncommon to go days without having genuine times of connection with your children.
With Instagram, Tik-Tok, Youtube, and everything else in between taking up our family time- it can be hard to pause and bond in real time. But the truth is, there’s no app that can replace real face to face conversations. That’s why we wanted to help you with 3 tips to cultivate connection with your family!
1. CREATE A FAMILY MOTTO
A family motto is a short phrase that describes your family and creates a greater sense of belonging.
Having a family motto is a fun way to create a sense of belonging and solidarity among our kids. The main idea behind the family motto is to help your kids identify what is unique about being a part of your family, and what it means to belong to each other.
Several years ago, our family made a family motto together by using the acronym of our last name. We each wrote out a list of active verbs and descriptive words that described our family. Then, we circled the top five from each of our lists and compared which ones we had in common. Lastly, we voted on the words that described us best and went along with the letters of our last name (p.s. you don’t have to base yours off your last name, we just liked the idea of it!)
Our last name is Wilson, and our family motto is:
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Wilsons
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Inspire
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Love
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Sacrifice
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Overcome &
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Never Give up!
We loved ours so much, that we ended up framing it and hanging it up in our house. We often remind each other of who we are:
“We are the Wilsons. Wilsons inspire, love, sacrifice, overcome and never give up!”
There’ve been times when our kids were struggling and we encouraged them, “You can do this! You can overcome! We are Wilsons and it’s what we do- Wilsons Inspire Love Sacrifice OVERCOME and Never give up!”
Whether you just got married and don’t have kids yet or your kids are grown, it’s never too late to build a family motto. If you don’t already have one, we hope you are encouraged today to build one!
2. PRIORITIZE A REGULAR FAMILY TIME
How do kids spell love? Often it’s spelt t-i-m-e.
When we make time regularly to do something fun together as a family, we communicate to our kids that they are a priority. Too often, we let the urgent things take up precious time that should be given to the important people in our lives- our family.
One day, our children will be grown, and it’ll be us asking for time. So, let’s take advantage of the opportunities we have now to cultivate connection with our family! Schedule “family time” weekly and make it a priority on the calendar. When your week is packed with work and other commitments, adjust your family time accordingly.
Another way to create a sense of value for your kids is to ask them how they’d like to spend time together. Have them build a family time “wish list” at the start of each year that includes things that are free and things that may cost. Then you’ll have a list of ideas to pull from for the year that come directly from the hearts of your children.
Creating memories with your family is such a beautiful investment!
3. EAT MEAL TOGETHER REGULARLY
Did you know that children of families who regularly eat together are more likely to do well in school, be happier, and have overall better relationships?
With everyone’s busy schedules, families often don’t eat very many meals together. Yet studies show that the time and effort to sit down to eat a home cooked meal all together benefits everyone.
When families sit together, conversations provide open doors for understanding and relationship. When we put the phones up and dedicate at least 30 minutes or so to prioritize good conversation- it truly changes things. It seems so simple, but when it’s a consistent part of your family routine- you’re creating more pockets of connection throughout your week!
Sometimes it may feel tedious or inconvenient, but cultivating connection and love in your house is worth it!
Cultivating Connection
Mother Teresa said, “you want to change the world? Go home and love your family.”
This list is not exclusive, but we hope these tips help your creativity flow! We want to see healthy, whole families! When children are raised in a healthy family, they are more likely to have healthy relationships and create more healthy families. We can change the world, one family at a time! Let’s start with ours.
If you’re looking for more ways to connect with your children and find tools on how to navigate conversations around sexuality, check out our newest program designed just for YOU!
Parent Well: Raising Kids in A Hyper-Sexualized Culture
Our kids are growing up at a time in history when culture is inundated with messages about sexuality that are neither true nor healthy. Parenting isn’t an easy job on the best day, but with a moral crisis outside our front door, parenting our children in their sexuality can feel overwhelming at best. We want to equip parents with truth and tools that will help you develop a plan to win the hearts of your children, establish cultures of trust and safety, teach them about sexuality with confidence and respond well to the challenges they may face along the way!
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