The advent of the industrial revolution brought in a lot of advancement in sciences and material prosperity to mankind. Along with it came the need to hold a 9-5 job. Until some decades ago, it was just the man who was considered the breadwinner of the family, while the woman was considered as the nurturer of the family.
Thanks to the feminist movement, we now have many a woman pursuing their careers. While work brings a great sense of fulfillment and financial parity, there is a lacuna that has been observed in rearing our children healthily and enjoying marital love. In other words, struggling to maintain a strong family bond. And, this is especially true, if one is unable to balance their home and career or has misplaced priorities in life. So, how can we ensure that we do justice to both our home and our career?
Eating the cake and having it too!
If you do a basic Google search, you can find research papers and articles arguing for and against the practice of multi-tasking. Some say multi-tasking decreases productivity, hinders problem solving and creativity. Contrarily, some claim multi-tasking actually expands our brain and makes it more functional. The truth, however, seems to hover somewhere in the middle. While it may be true, that it would be difficult to do justice to two different things pursued at the same time, there are some disciplines and habits which could help us achieve our goals and dreams.
How to strengthen the family bond?
Many a time, we think if we work hard and earn a lot of money, our spouse would be happy and our children satisfied. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If our loved ones do not feel the love, warmth and care for a long period or regularly, it would only become difficult to compensate for the lost opportunity. But, if we can offer our love and support, here and there, little by little, one day at a time, the bond only gets strengthened. Here are some pointers on how you can get started.
- First, be clear with your life goals and build your life, people and activities around them.
- If your family is also important to you then make sure it is really important. Not half-important.
- Develop habits like following a routine and skills like time management.
- Once you have set certain boundaries in life, make sure you do not compromise on your principles, come what may.
- For example, you can set a time every day to engage with your children and learn about their day and longings.
- You can also make it a tradition in your house, that every member of the family would huddle together (at the dining table, of course) for at least one meal a day.
- Let your children know the importance of kindness and respect by the way you (gently) treat your spouse.
- Have regular date nights (this could be informal and spontaneous) with your spouse and make efforts to connect with them not just at a surface level.
- Make it a point to accept your mistakes and apologise, when necessary. Real trust gets built only out of our vulnerability.
- Give more importance to “regular” learning moments rather than “infrequent” extravagant events.
The above list is in no way exhaustive on how to strengthen your family bond. It was just intended to help you get started in the right direction. Once we know our destination, we have the capability within us to make our journey memorable. After all, real love is not about gifts, toys and expensive holidays. It is all about being there for the other person when they really need us!