What do you think are important to nurture a close family?

[TheMaskedHorror]

I have become a barking-orders mum whilst I keep the house clean and ensure the kids have good meals etc.

I came across an article that emphasised the importance of play to a child and even 10 mins of a silly game like who can take each others socks of first is so beneficial as bringing laughter and physical connections are important in having a happy and well connected family.

So, it got me thinking and I just want to know if you think you're in a close family and what did you do to aid that?

Have baths together.
Have the occasional family board meeting.
Lie in bed a lot together, especially at the weekends.
Watch telly together.
Encourage sibling to sibling affection.

That's it, really.

trying to be kind to each other and remembering everything comes to pass

Have breakfast in bed together.
Watch tv together.
Give lots of praise and attention to sibling affection.
Siblings share a room.

Most important of all:
Unlimited, unrestrained, frequent, unconditional hugs and cuddles. Don't be afraid to show positive emotions.

It sounds like lots of together down time is the key then.

I'm a shouty mum

But I also try and instil love in our family with kisses cuddles, lying in our bed, telling dc how amazing they are and how much I love them

There's more I can do but am almost 5 months pregnant and am exhausted

Oh and a biggie I think ...
Be kind to yourself.

No one is perfect we all make mistakes and we all need time out from family life.

My DS is only 21mo but what works for us:
-Lots of cuddles, physical contact, physical play
-Everyone's feelings are respected and listened to. DS can't always have his way, but his feelings are always acknowledged and given the same importance as those of an adult.
-We all eat together. No TV on while we are eating.

We eat together every day - 2 of the DC are older so it's our defined time to catch up.

We go away a lot, the excitement of packing, loading up the car, travelling, putting up tents, etc. takes a team effort and means that we're spending time together.

I have days out with each child individually a few times a year and each year I try to take a DC away for a weekend just the two of us.

We also talk a lot and I take an interest in what the DC are doing

Work patterns mean that we often only fat together occasionally. I would change that if I could.

Bathing together when they were small was good. The bath is too small for us now.

We spend a lot of time just around the house or playing in the garden. The children now have bikes so we have started to in for bike rides together (barely half a mile, but taking along a drink and a snack turns us into a secret gang!)

Cuddles in bed in the morning, with a cup if tea for us and milk for DC.

More cuddles at night- usually either me or DP listen to DC read in our bed, then we read them a story. I find it tempting to rush DC off to bed at the end of the day, but for us it works to give them this time for stories and chats.

I try to find time to listen to DC. For some reason they open up most when they are either in the bath, or the car. So I often sit with them while in the bath and chat, and keep the radio off in the car so we can chat.

We don't often eat together because of dhs working hrs but I do try on the weekends.

I feel a bit guilty because I'm rushing the older dcs to bed without reading to them at the moment because I've got a demanding 4 month old. I think thats the first thing I'm going to change.
More cuddles sounds good too as I'm by nature not a huggy-cuddly type of person. I'll have to make a conscious effort.

It is good when siblings share a room, they do tend to be closer. We've done that a lot.

Stickwithit we do the car chats too, mine are 11 & 13 so we chat on the way back from after school stuff, on the way to the orthodontist etc.

Also loads of hugs here, & eating together as much as we can (always weekends, some week nights, and I sit with DCs while they have their weekday meals if I'm eating with DH later).

Card games in the evening, baking with my DD, occasional 'naughty' late nights with takeaway pizza and a film.

And ridiculous dancing sessions to cheezy music