Positive relationships for families: how to build them

Positive relationships for families: why they’re important

Strong and positive family relationships are enjoyable for their own sake – it just feels good to be part of a warm and loving family.

But positive family relationships are important for lots of other reasons too. They:

• help children feel secure and loved, which gives them the confidence to explore their world, try new things, and learn
• make it easier for your family to solve problems, resolve conflict, and respect differences of opinion
• give children the skills they need to build healthy relationships of their own.

Quality time and family relationships

Quality family time is about making the most of the time you spend together as a family. Here are some ways you can make quality time happen in your family:

• Use the everyday time together to talk and share a laugh. For example, family meals and car travel can be great times to catch up on the day.
• Have time together when devices are turned off and out of sight. This helps to keep everyone focused on what you’re doing or talking about at the time.
• Have one-on-one chats with each family member to strengthen individual relationships. It can just be five minutes before each child goes to bed.
• Set aside time with your partner, if you have one. You could explain to your children that it’s good for your relationship with your partner to have this quality time alone together.

Positive communication and family relationships

Try these positive communication ideas to strengthen your family relationships:

• When your child or partner wants to talk, try to stop what you’re doing and listen with full attention. Give people time to express their points of view or feelings.
• Be open to talking about difficult things – like mistakes – and all kinds of feelings, including anger, joy, frustration, fear, and anxiety. But it’s best to wait until you’ve calmed down from strong emotions like anger before you talk about them.
• Be ready for spontaneous conversations. For example, younger children often like to talk through their feelings when they’re in the bath or as they’re getting into bed.

Positive non-verbal communication
Not all communication happens in words, so it’s important to pay attention to the feelings that your children and partner express non-verbally. For example, your teenage child might not want to talk to you but might still come looking for the comfort of cuddles sometimes!

It’s also important to be aware of the non-verbal messages you send. For example, hugs, kisses, and eye contact send the message that you want to be close to your child. But a grumpy tone of voice or a frown when you’re doing something together might send the message that you don’t want to be there.

Teamwork and family relationships

You can encourage teamwork in some of these ways:

• Share household chores. Even very young children can enjoy the feeling of belonging that comes from making a contribution.
• Include children in decisions about things like family activities and holidays. Give everyone – including young children – a chance to have their say before you make the final decision. Family meetings can be a good way to do this.
• Let children make some of their own decisions, depending on your children’s abilities and maturity. For example, you might let your 12-year-old child decide whether to walk or cycle home from school.

Appreciation for each other and family relationships

Valuing each other is at the heart of good family relationships. Here are some ways you might be able to do this:

• Take an interest in each other’s lives. For example, make time to go to each other’s sporting events, drama performances, art shows, and so on.
• Include everyone in conversation when you’re talking about the day’s events. For example, ‘What was the highlight for you today, Izzy?’
• Share family stories and memories. These can help children appreciate things that aren’t obvious, or that they’ve forgotten – for example, Mum’s sporting achievements when she was younger, or the way a big sister helped care for her little brother after he was born.