Building Blocks for a Support System with Family Members

When you are a member of the family, there are some unspoken ‘requirements’ that come along with it, and it can vary from time to time. Perhaps your family makes a big deal about birthdays or getting together for the holidays. Perhaps your family really likes to take care of each other and be supportive in all aspects of life. Perhaps you have an extended family that is quite distant, and everyone prefers it that way; all families are different. But having a support system in your family, from immediate family members to extended family members, can be something that is really helpful as we all go through life. 

There is a lot of research into this kind of thing, and that most family research does actually suggests that having healthy and supportive families, will consist of a few things. This post will delve into those things, to see if you can better improve the support system that you have in place with your family, whether that is immediate family or extended family.

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Share appreciation

It is so important to show members of your family that you care about them. Thinking a little closer to home, if one of your children does something great at school or a great homeschool project, then make sure you let them know. The same goes for a spouse or partner; they get a promotion at work, tell them how proud you are of them. Expressing appreciation is something that really helps to strengthen family relationships. 

Improve communication

Communication is something that a lot of families do actually find hard, especially with life being busy and pulling us all in different directions. This can be even more tricky with extended family, as a result, as there is physical distance. But supportive families tend to promote some safe and direct communication. Talk to your children, partner, and even parents and siblings about how much you love them and want to support them. Then when something comes up down the line, like health challenges, for example, you’ll all be more likely to share. Then you will all be more open about talking about the issues at hand, like deciphering the facts about hearing aids together or knowing what the best course is with a sick and aging parent. Keep communication open and honest and that could be all of the support that you will ever need to have.

Problem solving skills

When you are a parent, you will have the chance to show your children some ways of doing things and how to handle certain situations. Children do learn from their parents a variety of different things, but they definitely learn how to best interact with the world, as well as dealing with challenges. So model your behavior in a positive way, and then they can learn in a positive way what they should do. You may need to help occasionally, but generally, giving them the chance to solve their own issues will help them later in life.