Strong family relationships can increase how full and happy our lives are. Working to improve the quality of the time you are already spending together can enhance your life as well as the lives of your loved ones!
The complex dynamics of family relationships play a vital role in our lives. People are naturally attracted to kindness, good humor, and positive experiences. Quality time improves how families behave and react to each other. Keep reading for some helpful ways to strengthen your family bonds!
What Is Quality Time?
All of the time you spend with your loved ones has value. “Quality” is a subjective comparison that lacks a precise standard when it is applied to family time. Joy is a measurement of the interactions we have with people.
Our interactions are what connect us to each other and help define our relationships. The interactions that improve our relationships are the ones that are most meaningful. Spending time connecting, relaxing, and laughing with people you care about will only draw you closer together!
The leisurely interactions that we have with our families can also be considered “quality time” together..
1. Achieve Strong Family Bonds
The benefits of family dynamics are worth the effort to strengthen your relationships. Family is not more than just a biological term, as it presents an opportunity for loyal bonds that can last a lifetime. There are lots of reasons why these relationships are complex. Healthy family ties can provide unconditional love, support, and the simple joy of being understood.
Having a family means you never need to feel lonely. Family interactions are the most important social connections we have! An increased sense of belonging and inclusion that we experience from family is a direct result of the type of time we spend together.
Family activities encourage dependable cooperation that can build unity. Success can be shared by working together to accomplish our goals. Cultivating considerate behavior and reinforcing expectations for support can also benefit our extended family.
Relationships effortlessly flourish when people enjoy each other’s company. Family members who have fun around one another will naturally want to spend more time together.
2. Fundamental To A Child’s Development
The study of childhood development focuses on the first 19 years of a person’s life. Early childhood is a time that our intelligence can be enhanced. As an infant’s senses are stimulated, connections are rapidly being formed in their brain. A significant amount of the pathways that structure our brain are determined by our experiences before the age of three.
Children start acquiring the skills they need in life at birth. As they explore, respond to, and interact with their environment, they’re gaining knowledge. Everything they experience influences some aspect of their development. Family life is the foundation that determines how a child thinks, learns social skills, and develops their emotional intelligence. Playtime, for example, is an important component of their development that they need almost every day!
Children rely on the behavior they witness as a model to imitate. Individuals we admire can inspire us to shape our personal qualities, behaviors, or achievements after theirs, even without any direct interaction. “Role model” is a dated term, however, the importance of identifying positive characteristics to emulate is vital. Without a clear understanding of who to look up to, the risk of a child engaging in risky behavior increases.
The impact that family has on a child’s development may be the most important reason to prioritize how we spend time together. Achieving quality time can be as simple as playing a game during a video-call.
3. Building Common Ground
We live at a point in history when technology is exponentially expanding the way we interact with each other. For our youngest generation, looking at a screen while visiting someone is normal behavior. It can be disappointing when you’re looking forward to seeing someone and they’re distracted in this manner. You may even think that they don’t want to spend time with you.
The key to capturing their attention is an intentional shift of focus to a classic technique in relationship building: finding common ground. Turn those feelings of family obligation into an opportunity for bonding. One of the key cornerstones to family relationships is shared experiences!
We’ve all endured family activities inspired by another’s passion for cute animals or obsession to find the perfect board game. Plenty of families have even bonded and reminisced over horrible holiday meals that they dutifully consumed for the sake of a loved one. Being renowned for generations as a terrible cook is a small price to pay for leaving a legacy of common ground for the entire family!
The necessity of meals is often considered a great opportunity for quality time. Relaxing while experiencing good food together can easily be memorable because it involves so many of our senses. Involving family in the preparation of meals can inspire or enhance connections.
The pattern of family life has changed. Missing meals together doesn’t indicate how much quality time we spend with each other as much as it may have used to. Common ground is built by sharing experiences, and activities are a great way to explore things that you may have in common. Reading a story to a child is precious time spent and also a positive experience that enhances skills they may currently be developing.
4. Improving Communication
Spontaneous conversations imparting generations of wisdom don’t just magically happen when you decide to make game night a weekly occurrence. All families are complex and full of imperfect people with different personalities. Not everyone is interested in changing the status quo.
On the contrary, small but consistent changes can be more effective than grandiose declarations or large-scale events. Taking an active interest in people, listening to them, and engaging in a pleasant conversation together works just as well with family as it does with our friends. Using open-ended questions encourages conversation and shows people you’re interested in what they have to say.
Quality time together is an investment in future conversations. The experiences that you’re having are part of a collection of memories, all of which have the possibility to last a lifetime. A lot of family stories are only shared during times when families gather to visit. Campfires in the summer are fantastic with people you want to catch up with. The bugs and smoky air typically go unnoticed.
5. Greater Academic Success
Intellectual enrichment starts in early childhood development and has no expiration date. We have an entire lifetime to learn and improve ourselves, and it’s never too late to help the ones you love improve either.
Children with strong family bonds tend to do better in school. The same benefits to learning and development apply throughout a student’s education. The difference is that with strong family relationships, you’re able to help with practical matters such as studying and homework.
Being available to assist with homework is a huge task for busy parents. Even if you’re not comfortable with academics, a lot of students learn by talking through things and benefit from discussing what they’re learning. Helping with science projects, exploring ideas for extra credit, and offering to proofread are some of the many ways to help support a child’s success in school.
6. Increases Confidence
Our sense of humor is a simple example of a life skill we developed from interacting with others. As part of our language development, a sense of humor is learned. Understanding how to make people feel good and confident is a gift that you can pass on to your children. The affirmative support generated from quality time together helps children become more self-assured.
7. Knowledge AND Wisdom
The vast differences in the perspectives within a family are intriguing. The wealth of life experiences is something that can get overlooked when general information is so accessible nowadays. Passing down valuable life lessons is another benefit of positive family interactions.
Many elders value the young for their innocence and fresh approach to life. Children with close ties to their extended family have more opportunities for positive family experiences. Many grandparents want to be routinely involved in their children’s lives, so these experiences are beneficial for everyone!.
Planning regular activities, calls, or exploring together are all great ways to start building generational bridges. Extended family can provide valuable life lessons, ethics and family traditions.
8. Dependable Encouragement and Support
Quality family time is more than just fun and games. Living life together, sharing responsibilities, offering encouragement, and being accessible are all highly beneficial to each family member, especially the little ones..
During times of crisis, our family can be an enormous source of support. Having trusted relationships that children can identify is vital in these situations. Quality time is also essential so that children never feel isolated or lonely. Children may not even recognize that something is bothering them until they start talking about it with their loved ones.
Enjoy Instant Quality Time
Quality time doesn’t need to be complicated. Smile when you suggest an old-fashioned idea and work with whoever is willing to join in. Look for ways to have fun together, like reading and doing activities together in the Caribu app. Enjoy the time you have with your family and help each other grow in the process!
Sources:
Taking Advantage of Quality Family Time | Children’s Hospital Colorado