Well, what else will positively sustain the human race?
The role of the family is to...
- Build a strong foundation of faith, hope, love, and peace.
- Prepare the next generation to love, lead, manage, and collaborate.
Bam, that's it.
How?
- Provide support: Don't try to prevent mistakes, failure, rejection, disappointment and other emotional injuries. Instead, comfort them with your presence of unconditional love, acceptance, and encouragement. They will grow and become stronger for future struggles.
- Have fun: Value laughter. Plan special family times. Clear schedules. Get food. Cook. Watch something together. Protect these times. This brings refreshment and balance.
- Be a moral compass: Model healthy (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, relational), helpful, responsible behavior. This includes work life balance; not letting the beast of productivity devour the soul.
- Prioritize work on growing healthy relationships: Regularly express unconditional love. This fosters security, significance, and self-worth. They will develop greater trust, purpose, and meaning throughout their lives. Consistently learn and work hard at the relationship with your spouse / the other parent. Kids need to see and learn what intimacy looks like; how else will they develop the confidence and passion for pursuing their lifelong soul mate? Teach, mentor, coach, and counsel them to work on their relationships with their siblings. You're likely the only person to teach them this.
- Be intentional about long term goals: James Hansberger (30+ years as a professional wealth manager and advisor) observed that most of those near the end of their lives valued most the 5 F's, [Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, Finances] in that order. Make sure you're doing something regularly to achieve these.
How are you doing in each of these?
What do you want to improve?