A good way to improve the wellbeing of your family is to improve your communication skills.
Modelling good communication skills with your children will help them express their feelings and build their social skills. The first people that children learn to communicate with are their family members, so it is important to practice healthy communication early in their lives.
Every family is unique. However, here are some tips that every family can try to help improve their communication skills and their relationship with one another.
Schedule time together as a family and discuss thoughts and feelings
Sounds kind of uncomfortable, right? It could be, but that’s okay. A difficult issue that families face is that sometimes not everyone feels they are being heard and this can make them feel less important. This can become a problem when one family member’s actions are consuming a majority of the parents’ time. The best way to ensure that everyone has their voice heard is to schedule family time. This doesn’t have to be a time for sad feelings or difficult conversations. It can be a time to share children’s accomplishments at school or difficult things they dealt with throughout their day. What is important is that the members of your family have an opportunity to be heard and express themselves. If you do not think this is not something that would work with your family, consider setting aside time to have on-on-one time with each member.
Speak for yourself, listen to yourself
You should never assume that you know what another family member is thinking or feeling. This can lead to misunderstandings. Instead, try to ask your family about their thoughts and feelings and let them express themselves.
With that being said, your thoughts and feelings are important too! You might want to neglect your needs and make your families needs and wants a priority but be honest with them about what you need to feel heard.
Focus on the truth
You’ll never have healthy and meaningful conversations with your family if you are trying to hide the truth from yourself or from family members. We all have things that we would rather not talk to our loved ones about such as mental health, conflict, death or illness, or divorce, but significant changes within the family need to have attention brought to them and discussed. If left unaddressed they can get worse or more traumatic. Make sure that these conversations happen in a safe and appropriate environment, especially if the news might be difficult to process or understand.
Attack the problem, never each other
When your family is facing a difficult problem or a life changing event you might not always agree with how to move forward. With differing ideas, thoughts, and feelings, it can come to personal attacks or negative thoughts and feelings towards one another. Think of your family as your team. It is your family taking on the problem, not individual members of your family against one another.
Be willing to brainstorm and be openminded. Depending on the problem that you’re facing, trying to navigate this on your own can be overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to reach out for professional support if you need it.
Respect
Healthy and meaningful communication is all about respect. Be sure to make the time and space for others to be heard and be an active listener. If you treat the members of your family with respect, they are more likely to give you respect in return.
Remember that time apart is equally as important as spending quality time together. Have respect for each others alone time and personal space. When a boundary is set, it is important that it is maintained. Breaking a boundary that has been clearly communicated to you is disrespectful.