You may hear a collective groan when you tell your kids that it’s time for a group discussion, but it’s still important to have communication as a pillar of the family framework. And one of the more important topics to bring up on a regular basis is quite simple – the idea of habits.
And five habits in particular that are of a specific importance to mention frequently are going to include alcohol use, cleanliness, screen time, privacy and respect, and even something as general as thoughts about the future. Bring all these things up regularly and casually in a group family setting, and watch some of the tension ease out of your household.
Alcohol Use
If everyone in the family knows the basic signs of alcohol use, then it will be easy to talk about up and down the generational lines. Is it becoming a problem for anyone in terms of health, cost, or legality? Is everyone making sure they aren’t drinking and driving? Is anyone worried about alcoholism, or depression? These are serious topics, but if talked about frequently enough as a casual conversation in a group setting, many problems can be either avoided or quickly addressed.
Cleanliness Habits
Cleanliness and basic household hygiene are always going to bring certain types of tension to the surface in a family, especially if different people have different styles of habituation. Some people clean the dishes right away. Others might leave them until a sink is full. The point of talking about these habits is so that everyone can discuss the best middle ground so that everyone gets along, while also doing a fair share of the whole workload.
Screen Time
Especially now through the generation gaps, having rules about screen time is more important than ever. People get caught in bad habits of staring at phones or computers too long, and miss out on important interactions in daily life. Having discussions about screen time is the first step in order to make sure that everyone in a household is both happy and engaged in their situations.
Privacy and Respect
Does everyone in your home follow through on good habits with regard to privacy and respect? This can mean things like not going in someone’s room when the door is shut, or not listening in on private conversations, or not looking through someone’s browser history. It’s important to have this types of discussion in advance of problematic situations, as opposed to in reaction to them later.
Thoughts About the Future
Do you habitually think about the future? What about your partner? Your kids? Do you have common threads of interest or intent? Bringing up that kind of a discussion can be extremely enlightening in terms of seeing each other as real individual people rather than just constructs of relationships from a family unit perspective.