BUILDING A STRONG FAMILY RELATIONSHIP

You and I make up the society. Tradition, that is, the way of life, is a vital factor that influences the associations between the groups of people that make up the society. The family is the simplest circle that puts in a nutshell the way of life of a group of people. Every thriving society blossoms on strong families. Every villain or hero is an off shoot of the family. So, in ensuring that we have a great society that we crave for, we must give attention to valued family relationships. In this note, however, the intent will be introducing you to useful tips for building a strong family.

A family is the first circle that every individual is exposed to and should be a love clique. Being in a family filled with love will enable the members function with love when they eventually are exposed to the world. Members of a family should be taught to love one another exactly how they would love themselves. Life is never a bed of roses, but even through the difficult times, the family should provide support by displaying necessary love to make it through hard life spots.

Communication is imperative to ensuring that a family turns out strong. More than ever the world is giving access to technological and social platforms that are replacing the family. A father no longer spends time with his children and wife due to the overload from work but is always in contact via phone and emails. If the Parents are hip or hop, they probably have Skype or Black berry messenger that they use to communicate. A mother is stuck on African Magic channel on DSTv watching a Nollywood film at her spear time. This is probably the only time she will have to relax with her family. Her children obviously prefer to relax by watching, Keeping up with the Kardashians on E also on DSTv. A child prefers "texting" online via instant chat apps available on phones or laptop and will be quick to find an online friend that clearly understands the hard life spots. The child’s Parents would stay clueless and wonder why their child behaves strangely like they were strangers.

Learn to build genuine love through effective communication with family members. This will allow all members of the family feel heard and respected.
As much as investing time in speaking to members of your family, you must also invest in listening. The act of listening in some families is rare and the end result is always devastating. Often you would find a husband and wife arguing over the same issue for weeks. Parents argue with children, children argue with sibling and this would go on for long because the parties want to be heard at all cost. They both speak at the top of their voice and fail to notice that they have actually stopped listening to themselves. Parents would often be adversely commanding towards their children decision without even listening to how their children genuinely feel or how they came up with he thought process of an idea. Until each member of the family can hear each other, they can not build strong relationships.

All members of the family are encouraged to spend time together to give space to share their thoughts and feelings. No matter how small the member of the family is, he or she should be giving room to share opinions whether wrong or right. Children should be given the opportunity to have exclusive time with their parents. Conflicts are also an integral part of a family, among siblings and even parents but the issues should be resolved fairly by concentrating on the solution to the problem instead of playing the blame game.

Trust is also a virtue that must be cultivated to build a strong family. From giving praises, fulfilling promises, giving room to make amends, forgiving and apologizing to taking responsibility for good or bad outcomes, trust allows members of the family to feel loved even through their imperfections.

My friends, I am sure that God is already making your family the best for every individual member and if any crack has been made in your family; it would be mended through the miraculous power of God. Time, trust, love, good communication and listening skills should form the basics of your personal pledge to ensuring that your family relationships turn out strong. Let us carve our name on the foundations of a great society we envision by taking responsibility and ensuring that our roles in our families are incomparable.

Thank you.

Get Holy!

PARENTS DEALING WITH TODDLERS

I must agree with some parents that dealing with your young child could cause headaches. There is a transformation from normalcy to abnormality when dealing with our tots. At that stage of life, the children can seem to possess super-normal abilities and would crave to know everything. I agree that the actions of toddlers without the right grounding from parents can cause insanity.
Being a father of three now, I have acquired a great deal of experience I must tell you. Also, my association with friends and colleagues that have been recently blessed with kids and automatically have become parents has compelled me to give out useful advice on parenting your young child.
Toddlers are wonderful when it comes to tantrums and every parent must be inspired to make sure that their toddler does not have a frustrating experience. Tantrums from toddlers would rise because they are unable to move quickly and successfully communicate. Showing love, interest, admiration, support and adopting a platform for repetitive activity are ways I believe will work for parents dealing with toddlers.
Hugging, kissing, praising and giving attention to your child are some ways to show love. This will also allow the child to tag along rules that are set. However, parents should not adopt setting rules in every situation to get their toddlers to behave how they want. There must be room for the child to grow without restraints at every step. Parents must also understand that growing children will display certain personality traits that are hereditary or well-read. Respect your child’s growth and unique character, he or she can never be like any other child or even totally like you. Do not compare your child to another. Establish confidence in your child; do not concentrate on certain features that are unconstructive. Build your child’s strengths but also note weaknesses.
Safety is also crucial for your toddlers, as much as they would like to explore, ensure that rules set allow them to be conscious of their safety. Parents are also advised to get rid of any thing that may be tempting and that could result in unsafe situations for their toddlers. Parents should set a good example for their children. They should be positive examples by living even within the rules that they have set, remember that children also learn by watching. Introduce penalties when the rules are broken and I do not mean beating the child.
My friends, I am sure that God is already making your family the best and equipping you with the wisdom to deal with your toddler. Let us ensure that the foundation of the destinies of our children especially at this tot stage will not be defective. Our young children will grow to be great constructive individuals and models to generations. As a parent you will never know lack and your needs will be supplied accordingly.
Always kiss your children goodnight – even if they’re already asleep – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Thank you.