Family Friday! The Family That Plays Together Stays Together

How to teach kids about the importance of family

by Gool Bugwadia

There's nothing more nourishing to one's soul than one's family. Family is the "root" of all that is good in our lives. It is the backbone of our successes in the adult years. The role families play today, are challenged by the changing family patterns in the twenty-first century. However, when parents create the right environment and right combination of simple basics, the family continues to exert a powerful lifelong impact on the children.

Parent's have the unique opportunity to teach their kids the importance and immense value of being an integral part of strong families. Parents can light up and inspire their family with passion, motivation and shared goals. They can cultivate and nurture their family like a garden with tender, loving care. The combination of time, effort and involvement can all go into teaching kids the importance of keeping the family fires glowing.

Here are some of the ways parents can follow to stress the importance of the family to their kids:-

* Setting good examples:

Parents by their own good example can demonstrate to their kids how important the family is to them by putting their family first in all aspects of their lives. They need to demonstrate acts of love and kindness; of thinking fairly and selflessly at all times. They need to respect each child's individuality and give their kids freedom to develop his/her potential to the fullest extent without any undue pressure or suffocating supervision. They need to build up their child's self-esteem with large doses of encouragement.

* Creating a sense of belonging:

Family is the child's first experience at being a member of a social group. It is vital for every member in the family to feel and believe he/she is valuable and respected. This helps to create a sense of belonging. Every child needs to believe that he/she is a contributing member in the family and that others in the family likewise contribute to his/her welfare. By being closely involved in kid's lives, parents can influence their kids to building and maintaining closer family ties.

* Loving unconditionally:

Love is the vital ingredient; the strong foundation on which a child's character can be built. By manifesting unconditional love and trust, parents can infuse feelings of personal worth. Starting a child's day with bouts of encouragement and love and ending it likewise, helps in building the child's self-esteem. Hugs can do a great amount of good, especially in younger children.

This sets a positive chain reaction benefiting the entire family while helping kids to bind closer to each other.

* Spending time together:

Family togetherness in all areas and at every stage of development is beneficial to all its members. Family activities teach life-long lessons. Doing things together, like bowling, biking, hiking; planning family picnics and vacations create some of the most cherished memories. Taking kids camping or a visit to the zoo, museums and theatres, teach children the joys of sharing and giving. Family times spent together eating, reading, singing, dancing, or helping each other in homework and chores around the house, teaches kids the lasting benefits of helping each other in the spirit of true comradeship. By participating in these family activities, children quickly learn all aspects of social inter-action which will have a tremendous impact on how the siblings will behave with each other as adults in later years.

* Communicating family values:

Parents can incorporate the essential values of life into the family lifestyle based on precepts and examples. Character is built by having a good moral compass. By combining faith, hope and love, parents can communicate family values to their kids and raise respectful kids. By setting high standards of behavior, parents can help kids to be meaningful members of the family and the society.

* Family Traditions:

Meaningful family traditions help kids to enjoy a sense of connectivity especially on special Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most families make it a tradition to enjoy doing the same special thing each year like a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Grandparents home or the entire family getting together for Christmas. The essence is in the celebration of family togetherness wherein a child learns the skill of developing a full range of unique individuality traits within the sanctity of the family unit. This is a good time to give opportunities to kids to relate to their extended family members like grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousinswhich helps kids to feel proud of their family traditions and cultural heritage.

* In closing

Active parenting is not a burden; it is a reward. What we teach our children is never wasted. Family, is where the diverse chapters of our children's lives, unfold. Ups and downs, crisis and jubilation, tears and laughter, success and failure, all go into the making of family history. The memories created, tie up together to create a lasting impression while teaching our kids the great importance of family.