Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed with the amount of things that I have to accomplish. It is not that it is an overwhelming number of things, but rather that I seldom have an entire day that I spend at home. There is something to be said for having the chance to gather your children around you, and spending the entire day together as a family. It is easy to have your children become so involved with everything that is offered to them (sports, dance, and school activities), that we neglect to spend time together as a family creating the bonds that will last forever.
I have thought about the things that I can do in my own family to help build family unity, and also to stop the frazzled feeling as I rush my children here and there. Of course gathering together and having family prayer twice a day is a great way to help to connect you and your children. Family home evening once a week is another great tool to connect your family together. I think that eating meals together as often as possible is another great way to help your family to get to know each other.
Another thing that helps build family unity is having your family do chores. As your children see that they too have responsibility in the family, it will help bring them together and teach them to love and be kind to each other. You can have your children help clean the house, help with the yard work, and help to prepare the meals for the family.
I have a list of things to avoid, because they distract from family time. One is being over involved in outside activities. I think that it is best to have each member of your family choose just one or two activities that he or she will participate in and then leave it at that. It is also important to show support to family members in the activities. Brothers and sisters should come to recitals and games to cheer people on. Another distraction is having televisions in every part of your house. Often family members will disappear into their own rooms, and you will lose that connection with them.
Of course each of these decisions should be made in your own family. You know your family and you know what they need. As you make an effort to help your family connect, you will build lasting relationships which help to strengthen your family ties. What do you do to help strengthen family bonds?