Contest: Key Elements of Strong Family Relationships

Hey friends. Greetings to you all. This contest I'm taking part in is called key elements of strong family relationships.

Read on friends you'll learn intresting details on how to have a healthy and strong family 🤗

The Concept of Family
I would say, there is no basic way to define a family. Some would assume a family is made up of father, mother and children but I beg to disagree because the word “family” should not be placed on the presence of children. Family of course involves parents, immediate and extended family members, foster parents and all that. But in the context of this discussion, family is based on love, affection, having a set goal everyone hopes to achieve and just creating an environment where everyone feels safe, secured and all would love to return home immediately after the days work. That is family.
So, values are what make up a strong, united family and not members of the household.

What are the qualities of a strong and healthy family relationship?

A strong and healthy family is characterized by the following qualities

APPRECIATION AND COMMENDATION

Many people underestimate the importance of appreciating and commending a family member over a job well done. We tend to always look for areas to correct and discipline but when a partner or a child does something nicely, we tend to forget to thank or commend. If a family is to be strong and healthy, members must feel appreciated for what they have done. Sometimes it is best to just commend and leave excessive correction, even if it seems so necessary to correct, it would be wise to first commend before correcting and appreciate after correcting. This will help each member of the family to feel safe and secure.

GOOD COMMUNICATION

It is necessary to always make out time to talk. Be it parents to children or couples or extended family, talking out issues will help to foster peace. If a family member feels disrespected or annoyed over an action, keeping that feelings of resentment to oneself is not ideal. Talking and doing so in a calm and respectful way is the way to go. When one person talks the other should be quiet and listen carefully, while waiting for his or her own turn to speak. That is good communication

QUALITY TIME

The joy of spending time with a healthy family can never be replaced any vacation or trip. Quality time is yet another important aspect of achieving a healthy and strong family. Most times, due to the days work, we return home tired and just want to go to bed, so as to go to work early the next day and overtime we repeat the same process. The tired feeling can be understood but when a family is truly in peace and love, home becomes a place everyone looks forward to at the end of the day. It becomes a place where we all feel energized when we enter and not just a place to hurriedly lock oneself in the room and sleep so as to avoid any conversation. When a family member returns home tired, a welcoming smile or hug by other members, a nice and well prepared meal or some other nice conversation can show one cares and will strengthen the family bond

How can technology impact family dynamics and relationships?

Technology can be a good and bad thing when it comes to the family. It can separate or bring together. The usefulness lies in the reason each member decides to use technology. If a family is on the dining table and everyone is scrolling through their phones watching reels, TikTok or other videos, they are wasting the time that should be spent strengthening the bonds and in that case technology has a negative impact on the family through their wrong use of it. If a family is to be strong and healthy, members can use their phones to send a call across asking other members how their day is going?, What time they are returning or if they need help with anything. Family members can send a nice text, a soothing message, a funny video or something to spice up the day of fellow members. If a family member is away, video calls and voicemails can be used frequently to talk. In this way technology has a positive impact on the family bonds.

Why is communication important in maintaining good relationships?

Like I mentioned earlier, communication is a key factor if the bonds of a family is to be strengthened. Good communication will help all to know the welfare of fellow members, their likes and dislikes, when one has been wronged, what can be done to makeup and how to avoid future occurneces. Words like please, sorry and thank you will go a long way in making all feel cared for and loved. Good communication opens the way to really knowing a family member. Most times we find shocking details about a member, something we could have known since if we had talked. Thus, communication needs to be a regular factor so as to resolve issues and understand members better.