The features of a happy family are security, trust, and tolerance; gratitude, pride and the enjoyment that comes from being playful with one another. This comes along with family bonding. Family bonding is defined as a strong connection between family members, where one will first communicate within the family, before sharing it with a friend. This is essential because experts have said that the bond between a parent and child determines the level of confidence, life choices and overall behavior since it fosters the physical, emotional and social development of a child. One of the government’s initiatives is to build a strong and resilient society and this comes along with happy families because families are the glue that build what society. Research has found that strong family bonds also encourage better behavior in children, improve academic performance, strengthen parent-child communication, and teach your child how to be a good friend, but also a family will achieve more goals together. Now that you have created and set once a week for quality time for your family where you always step in to each other’s world by listening, getting to know their interest and understanding them, what else can you do to keep the bond up? According to parenting.com, create a list of chores and have everyone sign up is a great way to create bonding as a family. Doing chores together fosters a sense of teamwork, especially if someone gets done early and is willing to help another family member complete their tasks. To make doing chores more rewarding, plan a small reward for when the work is done like getting ice cream together, watching a movie, or playing a board game and remind your child that doing chores together makes the job go much faster than doing them alone. “Kids feel competent when they do their chores. Whether they're making their bed or they're sweeping the floor, helping out around the house helps kids feel capable” Activities you can do together with your child include; emptying the dishwasher or washing dishes, mopping the floors, organising bookshelves, organising drawers, sweeping the kitchen and bathroom floors, washing windows, watering flowers and many more. The blog also noted that building relationships with other families is essential, as we are all part of a community and no one lives in a bubble. “Whether this is within your neighborhood, your school system, your church, or some other avenue, it is important that you spend time with other families as well.” According to Assumpta Murungi, a mother of three based in Kicukiro District, getting every member of the house involved in decision making will create a sense of belonging. “When planning for something for the family, share the idea and know what everybody thinks. This will make members feel important, capable and worthy and connect more as a family” she says Murungi adds that also creating family rules and being clear on them will create a sense of discipline and help everyone get along better. She concludes that, sending appreciation and respect to your family and showing up to events that a member is involved in and offering support both good and bad time will create a sense of bond and improve trust and connectivity in the family. As lots of individuals only believe that a parent-child bonding start when a woman is pregnant and that lays the foundation for the child’s personality and impacts all his/her future relationships, Christella Ishimwe, a clinical psychologist and family therapist says that, it all depends on what you provide for your family, it is never too late for a family to bond. “Sometimes a stranger comes into your life and they constantly begin caring for you without giving up and, however much you don’t give that stranger much of your time, you end up trusting them because they are always there for you and show up right away. If one can trust such a person, how about a parent or sibling who has done the same?” she wonders. Ishimwe adds when someone is committed, nothing is impossible because for people to trust you, they will measure your consistency about how often you check on them at school, your tone as you speak to them, how you respect their friends, how you are concerned about their worries, the list goes on.
