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Any married person knows that even keeping their relationship with their other half balanced can be a challenge at times, however, when you are attempting to keep an entire family harmonious it can seem like an impossible task! Luckily, there are some tactics you can use to make this task a little easier. Read on to find out what they are.
Space and togetherness
One tactic that can help you achieve a more harmonious family life is carefully negotiating the balance between togetherness and personal space.
The thing here is that in each family unit it will be different because you will have various people with differing personalities and expectations. In fact, a family of introverts with teenagers may like to spend most of their time separately, or together but not interacting. Whereas in a family of introverts with a young baby this would obviously not be suitable, as the child will need contest supervision for their safety.
Additionally, you may have a mix of extroverted and introverted personality types that want a very different amount of social interaction within the family unit. This, of course, can become problematic and cause a lot of stress for the person that feels there need are not being met.
However, there is no one hard and fast rule that can be applied to solve such a problem here. In fact, it's more about providing ample space for alone time and family time, and then allowing your routines to develop naturally, with a little push here and there, if you think things are getting out of balance.
Schedules
It may sound pretty disciplined to have a strict schedule that everyone in the family needs to adhere to, but it can be incredibly useful, especially in larger families. This is because everyone will then know where they should be, and what they should be doing at a particular time, which makes conflicts less likely to occurs and easier to resolve when they do.
Of course, it's wise to grab a calendar that has enough space for every family member if you are going to go with a scheduling system. It can even be useful for kids, and more forgetful family members to have the basic schedule printed off and displayed around the home as well.
Listening to everyone's voice
Another critical aspect of maintaining the balance of a happy family is making use that everyone's voice is heard. This can be challenging in many family situations, especially if there are some more dominant characters or persons that are from different generations.
In fact, on occasion, it may not be a matter of all getting together and having a sit-down family meeting, but speaking to each person individually to see how they feel about something.
Of course, it will be impossible for everyone to get their way all of the time, but sometimes it's not about that as much as just being consulted and heard. Something that can ensure everyone feels as if their opinion is valid, and that they are essential to the family group.
Quality time together
Next, although we have discussed that it's essential to get a balance between family time and alone time, the way you do spend time together is also crucial to achieving a harmonious family.
What this means is that effort needs to be made concerning the activities you do together. Yes, a night in front of the TV watching movies is great but this can't be the only activity that you regularly do. Instead, you need to put some effort into organizing family trips locally to the movies, to eat, to bowl, or even to experience something more modern like an escape room.
Alternatively, many families find that having regular time where they sit and play board games once a week provides them with the perfect opportunity to do something as a group and strengthen those familial bonds.
Appropriate care
The family's function is not only to have fun but to ensure that each member is getting the care and nurturing they need to thrive in life. In fact, this is something that we mainly think of concerning the children we are raising, but it does apply to all the generation as well.
What this means is that it's essential to understand what sort of care each person requires and ensure they get this. This tends to be easier for families that only have children. However, within multigenerational households, caring for young children and aging parents can often become a heavy burden.
Of course on the most obvious way of dealing with this to speak to the older person and discuss the possibility of moving to a facility like the ones run by McKnight Place that specialize in assisted and nursing care. Something that means they would be able to get the medical care that they need, as well as reside in a pleasant environment with restaurant quality meal and plenty of opportunities to mix with friends.
Sharing the load
Another aspect of family life that can help keep things balanced and happy is to ensure that everyone has a role in chores and work that need to be completed. Sadly, the main brunt of the work can often land on the shoulders of the primary parents, with aged relatives and children taking a back seat.
Of course, any chores and jobs that are assigned must be suitable for that person and their abilities at the time, and neither a three-year-old or granny who can't stand for a long time should be expected to do things like making dinner!
Getting everyone to help with appropriate jobs is good for family harmony.
However, it is worth remembering that being involved, in however small a way can not only help lift the burden of keeping the family going from those on which it falls but can also help other members feel a sense of belonging as well.
To that end, teaching the kids to tidy up after they have been playing, or help hang out the washing can work well, as can asking older relatives for help in babysitting, mending clothes, and even going to ask them for financial and life advice. In fact, it small acts like these that benefit everyone that can keep to help the family unit balanced.
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