| One of the best ways to strengthen family love is | | | | Keep Your Family Relationship Growing Strong |
| through friendship. And, one of the best ways to build | | | | 1. Make it a "no scoreboard zone." -- I'm sure there are |
| friendship is through good old-fashioned play. | | | | myriad permutations and computations that a family |
| Now, of course, this may require some cozy | | | | could come up with so they could pursue a hobby or |
| conversation over the dinner table to remember what | | | | sport together. And it doesn't matter whether you're |
| good old-fashioned fun was really like. But well worth | | | | good at it or not. The objective of playing together is |
| the effort, according to a recent study that showed a | | | | to just have fun. |
| strong correlation between love and play. | | | | 2. Create an evening where you make a game out of |
| Families who bonded through shared recreational | | | | talking to your spouse about some of your favorite |
| activities rated their family relationship satisfaction | | | | childhood activities. Take turns describing how excited |
| significantly higher than families who did not make the | | | | you felt every time you had a chance to play. Now |
| time to keep their feelings of being "best friends" alive. | | | | see if you can come up with a family version that |
| Furthermore, the study also revealed that this bond of | | | | expresses similar qualities. If nothing strikes you, let |
| friendship helped families weather both everyday | | | | loose and play "let's pretend" and make up an activity |
| stresses as well as unexpected life changing events | | | | of your own. |
| with greater resiliency and less conflict. | | | | 3. Create an exciting atmosphere. |
| How to Turn Your Family -- Even Fighting Brothers | | | | RC is our thing because I enjoy watching the |
| & Sisters -- into Best Friends | | | | excitement on the faces of both my husband and my |
| Looking back, I now realize that one of the smartest | | | | children. It's endearing to see "the child" in the person |
| things my husband ever did was getting our children | | | | you love. And most importantly, RC let's me get closer |
| and myself involved in his hobbies. Fortunately, this | | | | to them. Being inside the same world together creates |
| occurred after he converted his love of drag racing | | | | a camaraderie that isn't possible when you just go out |
| into a safer expression of the sport - RC | | | | to the movies. |
| (radio-controlled nitro racing). | | | | Spending time with family is important. We often get |
| So now instead of squabbling over how much he's | | | | so wrapped up in the importance of money or other |
| spending on his hobby, I'm behind him 100 percent | | | | things in life that we sometimes forget about the most |
| because "racing" is no longer something he goes off | | | | important little things. |
| and does by himself. We do it together as a family! | | | | How many times can we as adults remember when |
| We. Race. We take excursions and explore new | | | | our parents or perhaps relatives were too busy to |
| places with our radio-controlled toys. There's nothing | | | | spend time with us? |
| like crunching through the leaves and fallen pine | | | | We always remember those times during our |
| needles on a trail you newly discovered. | | | | childhood. Perhaps it made you sad from time to time. |
| And although RC may not fit the bill for every family, | | | | What can we do about it? |
| it's a great example of how to reframe the experience | | | | We can make sure we don't make the same mistake |
| of a solo sport that otherwise would commonly cause | | | | with our own families. Follow my advice and you will |
| resentment in a family relationship. | | | | create a memorable lifetime bond with your spouse |
| 3 Top Tips to Reframing the Solo Sport Experience to | | | | and your children. |