When you think of family, what comes to mind? For many people, the word conjures up images of a happy home with parents and children who love each other. But what does it mean to be part of a family?
Family can be defined as "a group of people related by blood or marriage." This definition may seem straightforward enough at first glance, but it actually raises some important questions: What constitutes "blood" or "marriage"? Why should we care about these relationships anyway? And why do they matter so much in our lives today?

Establishing Family Goals
One of the best ways to build a strong family is by setting goals together. You can do this in a number of ways, but it's important that everyone feels like they have a say in what those goals are and how they will be achieved.
One great way to get started is by having each member of your family write down one thing they would like for their lives (and for your family) over the next year or two. Then, discuss these wishes as a group, looking for commonalities and areas where you might want different things from each other. Once you've done this, start planning activities that will help achieve those goals!

Creating a Strong Foundation
The first step in building a strong family is to create a foundation of trust and respect. This means practicing open communication, cultivating a sense of belonging and encouraging each member of your family to participate in activities that they enjoy.
Once you have created this foundation, you can begin to build upon setting goals as a unit--whether they're related to finances or health goals--and working together toward those objectives as a team.

Encouraging Positive Behaviors
Reward positive behaviors.
Model positive behaviors.
Limit negative behaviors.
Sharing Responsibilities

Divide responsibilities. When you share the responsibilities of running a household with your spouse, children and other family members, everyone has an opportunity to contribute and feel like they are part of the team.

Encourage family members to take ownership. Make sure that everyone knows what their job is and how it contributes to the overall health and well-being of your family unit. If possible, give each person some autonomy over their particular tasks so that they have some control over how they complete them or where they do them (within reason). This can help foster feelings of independence within kids who may otherwise resent having adult-like responsibilities thrust upon them before they're ready for them.*

Discuss consequences if expectations aren't met: If someone doesn't do their part around the house or schoolwork suffers because someone else hasn't completed theirs properly then there should be consequences -- but these shouldn't be punitive in nature; rather than punishing bad behavior by taking away privileges try rewarding good behavior with extra freedoms instead!

Building Family Traditions
One of the best ways to strengthen your family is to create traditions. These are activities that you do together on a regular basis, like going out for ice cream or playing games at home. Traditions can be anything from baking cookies together on Christmas Eve to having a picnic in the park every summer afternoon.
Creating traditions helps families bond because it gives everyone something to look forward to and helps them feel connected as a unit. It also creates memories that will last forever!

Developing Family Values
The first step to building stronger families is to create a family mission statement. A mission statement is a written description of what your family believes and stands for, as well as its purpose in life. It should be something that everyone can agree on, even if they don't always agree with each other.

Once you have your mission statement, talk about it with your children so they understand why certain rules exist in the household. For example: "We believe that we should treat others with respect and kindness" or "We strive to live by the Golden Rule." Discussing values helps kids understand why certain behaviors are important in our home--and gives them examples of how we expect them to behave when interacting with others outside of our immediate family circle (such as teachers).
Finally, practice what you preach! If there's one thing I've learned from raising three kids under five years old myself (and having been raised by parents who were also busy raising three kids), it's that actions speak louder than words...and sometimes even louder than actions themselves!

Finding Quality Time
Schedule family time.
Create a weekly family meeting.
Plan a vacation or other trip that you can take together as a family, even if it's just for one weekend.

Managing Conflict

Address disagreements respectfully. When you're in an argument with your partner or family member, it's easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment and say things that you don't mean. If this happens, apologize immediately and ask for forgiveness--even if you think your partner should be apologizing instead!

Practice active listening. When someone is talking to us, we tend to focus on what we want them to say instead of paying attention fully and truly hearing what they are saying right now. Active listening means paying attention not just with our ears but also with our eyes (looking at them), body language (leaning forward), facial expressions (smiling as well as words (asking questions). This will help create connection between two people who may otherwise feel disconnected from each other due their differences in opinion or perspective on an issue being discussed at hand between them both together as part of a larger group such as within family unit where everyone needs come together peacefully coexist peacefully despite having different opinions about certain topics which might cause conflict among each other

Conclusion

The most important thing to remember is that family is not defined by blood, but by love. If you have a strong foundation of love, trust and respect for one another, then you will be able to weather any storm that comes your way.

If you want to build a better family life together with your spouse or partner
Fitt Family Counseling Service will help you uncover the action steps you will need to take to strengthen relationships between parents and children at all stages of life. Schedule your appointment today.