5 Ways to Improve Your Family’s Relationship

Marriage, family, kids, yourself. Family life is always changing, everyone in the family is always going through something no matter the ages. A family’s relationship with one another is always work, just like marriage is something you must continuously work on. My husband and I have been together since 1999 (minus a few years for college) and we are best friends, we get along really well, and rarely have arguments, but they are still there. Now we are definitely not perfect, but I felt this was important to write out, so hopefully my post 5 ways to improve your family’s relationship will help you in some way.

We are always working with one another and our kids to build strong relationships. We both came from broken homes where our parents weren’t together, so we have always said we don’t want our kids to grow up without both parents together in a loving home. I just wanted to share 5 tips I have to improve your family’s relationships.

1. One on one time. It’s so very important to spend time with just one child and give them that attention. Our girls are 3 and 6, and our 6 year old is a Daddy’s girl and our 3 year old is a Mommy’s girl. We make a point to get the 3 year old to have one on one time with Daddy, and the 6 year old to have one on one time with Mommy. It really helps build that relationship with each kid. Whether it’s running to the store together, going out for frozen yogurt, or the park, it’s imperative to spend that time together and apart from the rest of the family.

2. Date night. Now this is tied into the one on one time, but with your significant other. One of the most important things about being together is having that time for your significant other. You need to make time for each other. We get so caught up in our careers, online friendships, social media, etc. that it’s easy to push your partner to the side. They need to be a priority before your careers (to an extent), online friendships, social media, etc. Make time each week for a date night. That doesn’t mean you need to get a babysitter and go out of the house, because not all of us can do that (I’m one of those). Just ordering take out and watching a movie after the kids go to bed can help you and your partner have that one on one time.

3. Family dinners. Growing up I always wanted to be that family who were all together at dinner. Sitting at the dining room table, eating dinner and talking about our day. I didn’t have that unfortunately, and I really think it’s so important. We make a point to have a family dinner every night, sitting at the same table with no distractions. Put away the cell phones, tablets, and turn the TV off. Pay attention to one another and communicate with each other. Ask questions, enjoy each others company.

4. Family time. Spend time together as a family. Whether it’s playing outside together in the sprinkler, going to the farmer’s market, going to an event, or the park. Spending time together as a family is important. One of our favorite’s is to have a family movie night every other week or so. We will have a take out dinner and then watch a family friendly movie together. During the summer you can ride bikes together, have a family game night, or play with chalk out on the driveway together. There’s so many things you can do with your family, together.

5. Vacation. Whether it’s just for the weekend or something more extravagant, take a vacation. I know not a lot of people can just plan something spontaneously and do it, but you can plan for it as well. (Check out The 52 Week Challenge) We usually plan a vacation a once a year, and take a couple spontaneous vacations too. You can plan a cruise (we went in Sept 2013 and it was $900 for our family of 4 for 4 days), head to somewhere you may have a place to stay to help save on costs (we flew to San Diego and stayed with my grandparents for 10 days in Nov 2014, $1400 for plane tickets & $300 for a rental car), or go somewhere entirely different. It’s important to have that time to unplug from all of your familiar surroundings and spend a few days together.

Again, my family isn’t perfect, and we are always working on our relationship with one another, but these are 5 ways to improve your family’s relationship that works for us. All 5 may not work for you, and that’s okay, but hopefully one of them will give you an idea of something that will! After all, family is your life, and you all deserve to be happy!

What are ways you and your family connect? Do you have any more tips?

I’d love to hear them!!!