15 Simple Ways You Can Bond With Your Family

Ever heard of the saying, “Your children need your presence, more than your presents.”? How each of you connect with each other, share memories and stories makes a big difference in their development and the outlook that they’ll have in life as they grow older. But family bonding isn’t as easy peasy as it sounds, especially if you and your spouse are working, and everyone has different schedules. So, we’ve listed down some simple activities you can do with your family for some ultimate bonding time. Check them out below!

Baby and Breakfast: Parenthood 15 Simple Ways You Can Bond with Your Family

 

Eat dinner

One of the simplest things you can do together as a family is eat. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, having a designated time to just sit down, eat, and talk together is one simple way to encourage family conversations and bonding.

 

Read books

Turn off your phones (or at least put them on silent!), and make some time to read books together. Did you know that reading aloud to your kids is actually beneficial to them? And if you’re looking for some books to get you started, we’ve made a list for you here!

 

Go for a walk

If you live in a nice peaceful neighborhood, you can go for a twilight walk before dinner. A leisurely stroll around a park would work too. Besides talking about your day, you can also play games like I Spy, Finish this Sentence, etc.

 

Swap stories

Even if you don’t get the time to have a meal together, make some time to swap stories with each of the members of your family. You can encourage this by asking questions like, “What is something new that you learned today?” or “Does anyone have a funny story they’d like to share?” or even “How was you day?”

 

Send messages

If you’ve got older kids, you can send text messages to them. Or if you’re old school, stick a Post It note on their bags or lunchboxes. You can send jokes, photos, and sweet or goofy messages. The sky’s the limit!

 

Do chores

Working together usually brings people closer. So why not try doing chores together as a family? That way, not only do you put in some quality bonding time, but you also get the chores done too! And if you’re looking for ways to make chores fun for your kids, check this out!

 

Volunteer

Besides family bonding, volunteering for charities, helping out NGOs, and joining non-profit activities that help others, are great ways to teach your kids to be helpful, compassionate, and to think of others.

 

Plan

As parents, it’s so easy to take full control of family life. And if you like managing your household a certain way, it might be a bit difficult for you to let others (namely, your kids) take part in the planning, whether it’s a party, a vacation, or even a simple weekend activity. But hey, try it sometime, and it might make your plan even better!

 

Create family traditions

Try doing something completely new, and make the resolution as a family to keep doing it. Some examples of things you can make family traditions of are actually mentioned above! Like volunteering for instance, or going for a walk. Decide on what new family traditions you want, how often you’ll do them, and make everyone sign a ‘contract’–just so it feels like the real deal!

 

Have a family day/night

If your family rarely gets to spend time together, then having a family day or night is an absolute must! Designate one day or night in the week (most probably a weekend) that will be purely devoted to family time. You can do different things every time. Play board games, have a movie marathon, or even have an outing!

 

Fix things

Whether it’s a toy that got broken, a math problem that needs to be solved, or some personal issues, fixing things as a family can be one way to bring you closer together. Just make sure that your family’s willing to share their problems with everyone else. You don’t want to force them to share their problems.

 

Offer physical comfort

Hold hands when you go for a walk, cuddle when you read books, hug each other when you talk about problems–it’s easy to insert physical comfort when you’re with your family. And you just might be surprised with how much closer it brings you together.

 

Look through old photos

Ahhh, reminiscing about the good old times is great, isn’t it? Bring out your or your kids’ old photo albums, browse through your camera roll, or even go through your timeline on Facebook. Remembering stories about certain memories, or reliving moments together is one way to start conversations going.

 

Make family videos

You don’t need to be a professional to make videos. Just take out your phone and start recording! You can do it vlog style where you talk about what you guys are doing, or you can just record goofy moments that everyone will be sure to laugh at when they look back at them.

 

Attend family activities

Family reunions, birthday parties, maybe a baptism or two–family activities are a great way for your family to bond with your other relatives and friends. Sure, it may take some warming up on everyone’s end, but trust us, it’ll be worth it!

 

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