Because of how important family bonding is to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, I’ve made it one of my top priorities and passion projects. Below are 10 tips for strengthening family bonds, as well as an extensive list of activities to help us all grow closer as a family.
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One of my top priorities, pursuits, and passions is growing closer as a family. Strong family bonds provide enormous benefits, including:
- Reinforcing a sense of unconditional love and belonging
- Improving emotional health
- Developing communication and relationship skills
- Building resilience and adaptability
- Providing a conduit for passing on important values
- And so much more!
Numerous studies have shown that strong family bonds improve kids’ emotional well-being, academic performance, and even physical health, while reducing stress and lowering the risk of problematic behavior, substance abuse, and depression/anxiety.
After reading various articles and books on the subject, I realized that one of the best ways to steward my children – physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually – is to nurture our family bonds.
How do I plan to do that? From my (extensive) reading, real-life mentors, and near-decade of experience, I’ve compiled a list of ways to grow closer as a family.
10 Tips for Strengthening Family Bonds
After learning how important family bonding is to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, I made it one of my top priorities and passion projects. Below are 10 tips for strengthening family bonds, as well as a list of activities to help us all grow closer as a family.
1. Develop a clear plan
The first step in any goal is to make a plan. As you develop your family bonding plan, consider the following steps:
- Set a vision for your family. What do you want your relationships to be like? What kind of an atmosphere do you want for your home? How would you describe your ideal family culture?
- Make a plan. What action steps can you take? What activities are you going to prioritize? Which ones are you going to let go? (Remember, every “yes” to one thing is a “no” to something else!)
- Commit and revisit. Life has a way of carrying us off in its currents if we’re not regularly course-correcting. Revisit your plan again and again to prevent undesirable drifting.
2. Schedule family time
Spending time together is absolutely necessary for strengthening family bonds. There is no shortcut. But life is busy and schedules fill up before we know it, which means we have to be intentional about making room for family time. Make it as non-negotiable as appointments, athletic events, and school attendance, and put it on your calendars!
3. Talk, talk, talk
In a recent conversation with a parent of three teenagers (whom I greatly admire), she told me that one of the secrets to their strong family bonds is that they “talk all the time — about everything!” And I’ve been taking that to heart. We’ve always talked a lot as a family, but I’ve become even more intentional about asking questions, keeping lines of communication open, and being a safe/comfortable place for my kids to share anything that’s on their hearts and minds.
Related post: 50 Family Conversation Starters
4. Foster a teamwork mindset
A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about team-building activities to strengthen sibling bonds, but I think the same can be applied to families, in general. Fostering a teamwork mindset brings us closer as a family. Therefore, I’ve been seeking out opportunities to establish common goals, share responsibilities, and work on collaborative projects.
5. Prioritize family meals
The research is clear and conclusive – one of the very best things we can do for family bonding (and our kids’ future success) is eat together as a family. There are many benefits of regular family meals, including lowering kids’ risk of depression and risky/problematic behavior, and raising self-esteem and resilience. And many of those benefits stem from the strong family bonds those meals help to build.
6. Appreciate your differences
It’s amazing how, even within one family, there can be such a wide range of personalities and interests. Those differences can often lead to conflict, but they also have the potential to complement. Which way it goes depends in large part on how well we understand and appreciate our differences.
An effective way to strengthen our family bonds, then, is by learning about each other – our unique strengths and weaknesses, our personalities, and our passions – and regularly affirming their contribution to the big picture of our families, as a whole.
7. Respect each other
Of course, all of these things require a mutual respect for each other. We can cultivate a family culture of respect by establishing and protecting clear boundaries around how everyone treats and speaks to each other. I have banned certain words and phrases from our home, and I often teach my kids the “3 Question Test” for speaking: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it helpful? (from Karen Ehman’s book Keep It Shut).
8. (Actively) love each other
Strengthening family bonds goes beyond merely what we don’t do, however – it also involves what we do do. Drawing closer as a family requires actively loving each other. And by loving, I mean more than just words or feelings. We need to show our love for each other through acts of service, kindness, and generosity.
9. Be each other’s cheerleaders
One way to actively love each other is by cheering each other on in our daily lives – as we pursue our goals, as we encounter new experiences, and as we struggle through challenges. Cultivating a family culture that affirms, encourages, and supports each other is a great way to strengthen family bonds.
10. Pray
Last, but certainly not least, we can bond as a family through prayer. Pray regularly for your family and as a family. Pray specifically over your family bonds – that you would grow in unity, grow in your relationships with each other, and grow in your family faith. Pray also for each family member’s heart, as well as your purpose as a family.
Related Post: 30 Scriptural Prayers For Your Family
25 Family Bonding Activities
As discussed above, one of the best ways to strengthen family bonds is by spending quality time together. Here are 25 activities that will help you grow closer as a family:
- Read books aloud together (Here are some of our favorite read-alouds!)
- Play family board games
- Go on walks or hikes
- Play a backyard activity (Here are some ideas for spring, summer, and winter)
- Cook a meal or bake a treat
- Go through family photo albums
- Talk about your childhood
- Ask questions about each other’s day
- Volunteer somewhere
- Work on a house/building project
- Watch a movie as a family
- Babysit another family’s kids
- Do household chores as a team
- Grow a garden (Check out these tips for gardening with kids!)
- Visit a u-pick farm
- Watch funny videos
- Read/study the Bible (You may find these posts helpful: How I Read the Bible to My Kids to Teach Biblical Literacy and How to Teach the Bible as One Continuous Story to Your Kids)
- Go camping
- Take a vacation or “family field trip”
- Create family traditions (Here are some Thanksgiving traditions, Christmas traditions, and back-to-school traditions)
- Go on a picnic
- Do a scavenger hunt (Here’s a super fun one for fall!)
- Work on an art or craft project
- Make a fort
- Tell stories (Try some of these creative writing prompts to get you started!)
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
- How to Make a Family Discipleship Plan
- 5 Ways to Maximize Your Family Time
- 7 Ways to Build a Loving Family
- 5 Family Resolutions to Make for the New Year
The way you all celebrate each other’s uniqueness while fostering a sense of unity is truly special. It’s clear that everyone in your family feels both cherished and supported.