Whichever way you look at it, it all boils down to the same thing, and the key word here is “together”. Whatever activity you do together, it’s bound to strengthen the bond between each other.

Sometimes the parent, or parents are so immersed in their work, and the time they do spend at home with the family is often fraught with tension. Homework to be done, dinner to be cooked, kids to get ready for school the next day, household chores to perform, daily problems to solve and so the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, we sometimes hurriedly pack our kids into bed and then try and finish off bits and pieces before we, ourselves fall into bed, often feeling a bit guilty about not spending enough time ‘together’. Sound familiar?

For single parents, this is accentuated because you have to assume the role of both mother and father to your child. You will have to work even harder at keeping a good unity. Not easy when you have to work full time as well!

QUALITY TIME

“But I do spend quality time with my child”, is a saying that is flippantly thrown around a lot these days. The truth is that quality time needs to be combined with quantity time, because without quantity, the quality is compromised. To build a good foundation takes time, and quality cannot be developed in a few minutes together.

A happy family is one that spends lots of time together and does things together. Whether you are playing, attending religious service or eating meals together is not as important as doing it together.

The success of a family is dependent upon a committed investment which includes time and energy. Family first! Family members feed off each others welfare and happiness.

COMMUNICATE!

The art of communication takes lots of time and practice. Remember that communication does not always mean speaking about good things. Bad things need to be aired and discussed, and if a habit is made of this, then communication in the family will happen in an easier manner where issues are brought to the table before they become explosive. Try spending a lot of time in casual conversation. When you’re in the car, whilst cooking, in-between chores, find any opportunity to make casual conversation. It opens the channel to deeper – more meaningful discussions. When dealing with teenagers, one needs to tackle this a whole lot more frequently. Teenagers are prone to withdraw and withhold information, so make it your mission to intensify ‘casual’ talk.

SPIRITUAL WELLNESS

Take time to care about each other. Show compassion towards each other and express your understanding for the others concerns, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to you. If the other person is concerned about something, so should you be. Work on solutions together, without pushing your views.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS!

Your home should be a place of comfort where each member wants to come to re-charge their inner-self. It is very easy to drift away from the ‘comfort zone’, especially teenagers who have a need to go out and ‘explore’. But if they know that they can come home ‘with’ or ‘without’ problems, the journey may seem more enticing. Children (some more than others) of all ages like ‘sleeping out’. Make a ‘home-time’ after each ‘sleep out time’ to once again reinforce ‘togetherness’.

Parents need to place that investment into their families… The rewards will come!