Key issues

• When children have strong, healthy relationships, they feel safe and loved.
• Good family relationships help family members solve problems, work together, and be happy with each other.
• Positive family relationships are built on quality time, communication, teamwork, and respect.

Good family relationships: why they matter
Strong, healthy family relationships are good – it feels good to be in a caring and loving family.

But good family relationships are also important in many ways. them:

• Help children feel safe, loved, and empowered to explore the world, try new things, and learn
• Make it easier for your family to solve problems, resolve conflicts, and respect differences of opinion
• Give children the skills they need to understand and build healthy, strong relationships.

That’s why it’s important to maintain and improve your relationships with your children and other family members.
There are many simple things you can do to foster healthy family relationships.

Quality time and family bonding
The best time for family is when you make an effort to spend time together as a family.

Here are some ways you can spend quality time with your family:

• Use your time together every day to talk and share laughter. For example, family meals and car rides are great times to fill the day.
• Sit together when your devices are turned off and out of sight. This will help you focus fully on what you are doing or talking about at that time.
• Talk to each family member individually to build personal relationships. Maybe just 5 minutes before each child goes to bed. If you have a partner, make time to spend time with your partner. You can explain to your child that spending time together is good for your relationship with your partner.
• Do fun activities together as a family on a regular basis. This could be a family soccer game on Saturday at the local park, or a family board game night every week.
• Eat together as a family regularly and assign everyone a chore. For example, one person sets the table, one person clears the table, and one person washes the dishes.

Good communication and family relationships
Powerful communication involves listening without judgment and expressing your thoughts and feelings openly and respectfully. This helps everyone understand, respect, and appreciate each other, which in turn strengthens your relationships.

Try these effective communication tips to strengthen your family relationships:

When your child or friend needs to talk, try to stop what you are doing and listen actively. Give people time to express their thoughts and feelings. Talk openly about difficult things—like mistakes—and about a variety of emotions, including anger, happiness, sadness, fear, and anxiety. However, it’s best to wait until you’ve calmed down from emotions like anger before talking.
Be prepared for unexpected conversations. For example, young children may enjoy talking about their feelings during bath time or bedtime.
Be prepared for difficult conversations, especially with teenagers. For example, sex, drugs, alcohol, academic problems, and money are difficult topics for family members to discuss. Before bringing up this topic, it is a good idea to think about your own feelings and values.
Praise your child with praise. For example, “Leo, it’s great when you take out the trash without anyone asking.”
Let everyone in the family know that you love and appreciate them. This can be as simple as saying “I love you” to your child every night before they go to sleep.

The power of nonverbal communication
Not all communication is done verbally, so it’s important to pay attention to the feelings your child and your partner are not expressing. For example, your teen may not want to talk to you, but sometimes they may seek comfort through a hug!

It’s also important to be aware of the nonverbal messages you send. For example, hugging, kissing, and eye contact send the message that you want to be close to your child. But when you’re working together, an angry or frustrated tone of voice sends the message that you don’t want to be there.