Features
Help Your Family Grow Stronger
Lucy Schrader, MA, Building Strong Families Program Coordinator, University of Missouri Extension
How can family members be strong as a family?
- Show each other caring and appreciation
- Spend time together
- Give each other encouragement
- Commit to one another
- Communicate with others
- Help each other cope with change
- Share spirituality
- Build community and family ties
- Define clear roles for everyone
What are some ideas of how you can do this?
- Write short notes to each other (a simple
hello, praise for a job well done, good luck for an
event).
- Tuck the notes under the person’s pillow or slip them into a backpack, lunch bag, dresser, gym bag, or purse. Write at least one note to each family member every week.
- Part of coping with change is learning to take
on new roles unexpectedly. Once a month, ask
family members to think of a chore or a job they
usually do that they would like to "give away" for a
day.
- Trade tasks with each other. For that day only, the person does that job. The next day, talk about how it felt to switch roles and how the family can prepare to fill in for each other in the future.
- Choose a good time for a discussion: at
the dinner table, in the car, in the evening while
relaxing. Eliminate distractions and allow enough
time for everyone to talk and share their views. Use
these fun ideas to start a conversation:
- One really good thing that happened to me today is...
- My biggest goof last year was....
- Our family is really good at...
- My favorite meal is...
- One thing I like about each person in my family is...
Plant vegetables or flowers with your children. Your
kids can learn about life from gardening, and you’ll
spend time together.
Strengthen ties you have with neighbors by finding ways
to be helpful. For example, split wood, watch a pet,
share a favorite dessert, shovel sidewalks, bring in the
newspaper, or shop for someone who is ill.
References:
University of Missouri Extension’s Building Strong Families Program from the Family Strengths topic (written by Lisa Wallace and Saralee Jamieson, University of Missouri Extension Specialists and edited by Brenda Procter and Lucy Schrader, University of Missouri Extension).
Last Updated 09/27/2007
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