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What is your take on family traditions? What is the role of family traditions in our strength as a family?
The family, the basic unit of society, is the first and important source of our most basic necessities like food, shelter, etc. It is also our first experience with building relationships, receiving emotional support, providing us with a sense of stability and identity. Our families provide us with groundwork where we grow intellectually, mentally, and emotionally.
In a 2018 survey of American families, the quality time spent together by an average family in the US is 37 minutes on weekdays and 2 hours and 40 minutes on weekends. Families and their schedules have become increasingly hectic and busy. Time spent with family is taking the backseat among many other priorities.
The role of family traditions and routines
Studies about strengthening family units have described the roles of family traditions or rituals in promoting family health and wellbeing. Family traditions are activities that involve most or all family members and these activities are done periodically, have a special meaning to members and are seen as important to be carried on in the future.
Family traditions serve several purposes:
They allow members to express values and beliefs. They are a vehicle to transmit these values to the next generation. Examples of these traditions have religious or cultural meanings.The celebration of traditions establish the identity of the family; they express what is important to them.
They provide members with support especially in the presence of strong emotions. Studies have also shown that it is a source of healing at various stages of life.
Family traditions and family strength and connection
Family rituals also provide opportunities for members to create shared memories from their common experiences. Each experience is like glue that holds the relationship together and makes it strong.
Family traditions
- Holiday celebrations. Example, Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner
- Celebration of rites of passage. Example, birthdays, anniversaries
- Intimate bonding activities. Example, bedtime stories
Tips on building or strengthening family traditions
1. You can initiate your family traditions. Though having family traditions is beneficial in the strength of a family, you can still have a happy family life without them. However, if you want to start incorporating family rituals into your family, you definitely can! Simple activities once a week or once a month can bring together your family members.
2. Start small and simple. Coming from a family that is constantly busy, where finding time to spend hours together is challenging, remember that a family tradition can also be quick and simple! But when you and your members commit to it, you still build a strong connection.
Simple family traditions:
- Game night once a week
- Nature hike once a month
- Cooking together for special occasions
- Picnic at a nearby park
- Playing sports that the family enjoys
Focus on consistency and enjoyment, rather than frequency, so that they do not feel like a chore. You can even adjust the activities you do as you go along so that they fit your family’s needs and life stage.
Family traditions are not hollow habits, but they are important and meaningful marks that connect generations and keep families strong. Every family’s traditions may look different from each other, and one family’s traditions also grow and evolve as family members go through different stages of life.
However, when traditions are shared, these habits serve as a lighthouse that gives support, guidance, and a sense of security in an ever-changing world outside.
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