Parent & Family Resources

the bond of family

QUALITY CATCH UP
Schedule a Quality Catch-Up with your family or loved ones!
The purpose of this activity is to take a break from technology and help your family connect with each other.

What to do:
Find a comfortable place in your home where you can have your family gather together.
Have everyone turn off all electronic devices.
Engage in a “Quality Catch-Up” with your family or loved ones by taking turns asking each other some of the questions below, or ask questions of your own!

Sample Questions for a Quality Catch-Up:
1. What was the best thing that happened to you today?
2. What was a challenging thing that happened to you today?
3. What is one thing you hope to do better tomorrow?
4. What’s a snapshot from today you want to remember?

HOW TO BUILD STRONG FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

1. Spend quality time
Set aside some time (maybe meal times) every day as family time, when you can talk about things and laugh together.
● Share family stories or ask simple everyday things to encourage conversation, such as “Hey, what did you do today in the school?”, “How are you enjoying your math class this year?”
● Set aside one-on-one chat time for everyone in the family to foster your bond. It can merely be 5 minutes before going to bed, but this can bring every member close to one another.

2. Maintain good communication with everyone in the family
When your children or spouse want to talk, respect their needs, and listen to them with attention. Give them enough time to express themselves adequately.
● Be approachable to talk about dicult things. Talking about feelings like anger or frustration or delicate issues should be welcomed instead of shunning them. Talking about them doesn’t mean you are encouraging them but are helping solve the problem. Also, be welcoming even for uncomfortable conversations.
● Be prepared to talk about matters of concern, especially with teenagers. Sometimes the most dicult conversations become the most productive.

3. Appreciate everyone in the family
Appreciate every member for performing their duties well. For example, praising and thanking a teenager for taking care of a younger sibling will make them feel important.

4. Acknowledge and celebrate each other’s talents, differences and strengths.
It is beneficial to embrace the uniqueness of each family member and acknowledge their abilities and strengths.

5. Stay focused on the current problem.
Do not bring up previous issues every time you have to address a problem. In that way, you can avoid unpleasantness and, instead, focus on the issue at hand.

6. Work like a team.
When your family works as a team, every member feels acknowledged for their contribution. Share household chores.

7. Establish clear family rules.
Make family rules that clearly mention how every member should behave and treat each other. For example, “We talk respectfully with everyone in our family,” or “In our family, we help each other no matter what.” Such small but clear rules can create a more peaceful environment at home.

8. Teach children to forgive and make amends.
Healthy families teach their members how to apologize and forgive others when someone makes a mistake. It teaches children to take responsibility for their actions. Try to have fun family rituals special to your family, to increase the sense of belongingness.