Every person needs to be part of a family, however it is constructed and whatever it consists of. A family may consist of all or any of the following: parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, adopted or fostered members, close friends, guardians/carers, pets, and more. Doing your bit to help keep the family happy is just one part of the bigger whole of having a family stay together fruitfully.
Steps
1Talk to your family members at the end of the day. It is very important that you let them know about your life so that they can understand you, congratulate or empathize with you and generally know what’s going on in your life. In turn, it is equally important that you know about their lives too, so that they feel understood, supported and can be reassured that they are not alone.X
2Spend time with your family members. Do fun activities with them, such as going for walks together, visiting museums and art shows, watching a movie, going for picnics, spending time together in a hobby, building something together, cleaning or renovating together, shopping, playing sports, and so forth.X
3Take interest in the interests of each of your family members. Learn what they love doing and ask questions about it. Ask them how their hobby, their interest or their work is going. Be an active listener when they tell you and learn what you can.
4Show genuine concern about your family members. Do not keep your feelings bottled up. If you love them, then tell them that you love them. If you care about them, tell them this. Go out of your way to remind each family member what glues you all together––love, care and support.XX
5Surprise your family members sometimes. You can do this caring and noticing the minute details and helping them out without them asking you. Make dinner for them, prepare a trip somewhere for them or do a chore they dislike doing.
6Be a good listener. Do not always shower your family members with advice; just hear them out at times. That is all they need.X
7Try small gestures to help. Even the smallest things count. With a simple text or a brief phone call, you can make someone’s day. Just make sure you leave a positive message that will leave them feeling happy. When you know that someone is going through a hard time, call text and be with them at their time of need like you would like them to do for you.X
