Strengthening Family Ties In Times Of Crisis
In times of crisis, strengthening family ties becomes particularly important. It is in these moments, in fact, that many families suffer with ferocious virulence the agitation and restlessness that prevail over some members.
Despite this, it must be remembered that critical periods, if well understood, can become times of opportunity. As for family coexistence, different strategies can be taken into consideration to increase the time spent with family members and make it fun and quality.
We must not forget that nowadays during a crisis like the one experienced recently, many parents do not work or do it from home; for their part, the children have few lessons and stay at home all day.
For this reason, far from letting this turn into an adverse factor, we can take advantage of the situation to improve and broaden our knowledge, but also to optimize family relationships.
How to strengthen family bonds in critical moments
Regardless of the type of crisis that humanity is facing, these are in fact cyclical and sometimes little or nothing can be done to avoid them, it is important to consider them as opportunities to get in tune with the rest of the family, parents, children. and partner.
In order to be in tune with a family member, it is important to always maintain communication and enhance active listening. Let’s see in this article some tips that will help us in this situation.
Maintain routines and schedules
They are important, especially for the little ones. In a routine life with usual schedules, children feel safer and know what to expect at all times.
It will also be good for the rest of the family for the purpose of organizing meetings, chats, conversations, going to bed, etc. But you have to respect the various times, otherwise it is useless to fix them.
Promote individual autonomy to strengthen family ties
It might sound contradictory, but it’s not. This advice is especially aimed at adults with children. It is important to take advantage of these moments to guide the little ones so that they acquire autonomy. Use situations that occur at home to teach children to organize their bedroom, fold clothes, wash themselves, get dressed, etc.
In doing so, children become more autonomous and, at a time, more self-confident and confident in their abilities. This security will entice them to collaborate actively at home.
Know the strengths
We could say that this is a kind of familiar SWOT analysis. It serves to know the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for growth in different senses, both individually and as a family unit. What are your qualities together and apart? How can you improve to be more cohesive?
Avoid the fear of strengthening family bonds
In times of crisis, fear of the future and anxiety about what could happen in the short and medium term peek out in all families, especially if the children are young.
It is therefore important to prevent this defense mechanism from being activated, especially if you have children. Otherwise, we would convey our agitation and this would negatively affect them.
Either way, it’s worth being honest with them. This will cause less uncertainty and frustration than when we force them to be ignorant, while being aware of the changes, nervousness and anxiety.
We can explain the situation calmly, with words they can understand, through drawings, talking about emotions and feelings, etc.
Time for reflection and less connection
The quality of time spent with the family is crucial in these cases. It may be a good idea, therefore, to disconnect from your computer and smartphone and connect on an emotional level through reflection, conversation, free play, organizing activities that stimulate creativity, etc.
Moments of crisis are excellent opportunities to learn more about ourselves, our children and the people around us. They are fantastic opportunities to develop values such as empathy, cooperation and solidarity.
Keep these 5 steps in mind to strengthen family bonds in times of crisis and to unite the family unit during times when you need each other most.
