HOME SAFETY

MAKING OUR HOMES A SAFE HAVEN

RELATIONSHIPS – MARCH 2022

How can we make sure that our homes are safe from the inside out?

With the pressures and stressors of today, it is essential that we make sure our homes are safe havens for ourselves and our families. This is what truly makes a house, a home.

Set A Tone For The Home: Say I Love You

Whether we know it or not, our attitude significantly impacts those of our families. Though we may think that we do a good job of expressing our love…it still needs to be said. Many families, especially those with young children need to hear those words of reassurance.

It is proven that feeling loved, boosts self-esteem. Verbalizing our love to our children provides them with a sense of trust and fosters a more confident relationship. Expressing our love also ensures the children of our support and our wish for them to be happy in life.

Perhaps love is the ultimate force of our guidance and correction. When our children make mistakes, they will feel the reassurance of our love, patience, and forgiveness because they hear it so often.

Lastly, one of the countless benefits of saying ‘I love you’ is that it lasts. No matter the age of our children, they will always be able to look back and recall the many times we spoke of our love.

Apologize

In a rushed and hurried lifestyle, we often have the mentality that all of our decisions are the right decisions. Even when we realize that we make mistakes, we can sometimes be reluctant to apologize–especially to children.

Apologizing to our children encourages them to move forward in a stronger relationship. This establishes that we are trustworthy and approachable to our children. Therefore when future struggles arise, our children are more likely to approach us.

Apologizing is hard for everyone–parents and children alike. So when we normalize and model apologizing, it makes it easier for our children.

There is a myth that apologizing makes us weak, however, apologizing is just the opposite. It illustrates our humility and courage to right our wrongs.

Eat Meals Together

Maybe one of the most obvious ways to bring our families close together is by spending time with everyone. And nothing quite unites people like a delicious meal! Eating together as a family provides a host of benefits.

Studies show that eating together provides better nutrition and lowers the risk of eating disorders. Since family members won’t be going their separate ways and eating separate meals…the family will be sharing a meal full of protein and vegetables!

Believe it or not, eating together helps children do better in school. It allows our children to be more well-rounded and become well-versed in their communication skills. It also provides them with a greater sense of resilience. When in a welcoming setting, our children are more likely to speak to us about the problems they may be facing. And when surrounded by such a strong family unit, they are likely to be more confident in their abilities to resolve conflicts.

If the above benefits don’t offer enough encouragement, eating together lowers the risk of depression in our children.

Unplug

On average, American adults spend as much as 12 hours per day in front of a screen. That is no invitation to a welcoming environment! Whether it is a laptop, television, or iPhone–there is a lot of time spent looking at screens.

Of course, technology enhances our lives…but certainly not at the risk of an unhealthy or unhappy family. Not only do these devices take away precious time with family, but they also put us at risk for health issues.

Since we spend so much time in front of a screen, we are becoming drastically more inactive than we should be. What’s more, the longer we go without exercising, the more difficult it is to get back into an active lifestyle.

Too much screen time can also disrupt your sleep cycle causing you to become restless, irritable, and exhausted.

Perhaps the most daunting of all, it affects our ability to express empathy and love to others. Who would have thought that looking at our screens would affect our capability of expressing love to our families?

But when we unplug, we allow ourselves to be open to the beauty of our surroundings. It decreases anxiety and allows us to relish the present moment.