2020 has been a challenging time for families, but there are still plenty of ways to stay close to your loved ones. Whether people are living abroad, or you simply can’t visit them because of restrictions, there are ways to try and bring joy to one another and keep the family unit together.
Here are five ways to keep your family close in difficult times.
Help People With Their Communication
Families are often spread out across the country and even the world these days. It’s amazing that people have the opportunity to live where they want and pursue their dreams, but it does make it difficult to keep the kind of contact you might like with your family.
However, there’s lots of technology to help you keep in touch with loved ones who are far away, so take advantage of it. Help your loved ones get set up with the right technology and show them how they can use it to keep the family unit close.
Celebrate the Big Occasions
Just because your family member is on the other side of the world, or there are restrictions in place that don’t allow you to visit one another doesn’t mean you can’t still make a big deal of the occasion.
Bring everyone together, decorate your houses, bake a cake, find the perfect 90th birthday gifts for your grandma. Show everyone it’s still a big deal to you even if you can’t physically be with them.
Make Plans
You might be far away from your loved one, but you can always plan when you will see them. Book trips, discuss the amazing plans you have for when you’re with your family, and always have your next meet-up in the pipeline.
It’s hard being away from family, but when you have plans, you’ve always got something to look forward to. It costs nothing to put a simple plan together, and it’s great fun thinking up all the amazing things you’ll do when you’re reunited.
Be a Good Listener
You always have the ability to be a great listener and just be there for your family members.
It can be easy to feel cut off from your family if you can’t physically be with them, but if you’re willing to listen, and help people with their problems, then they will come to you. Distance can easily be overcome with technology, so use to it become an amazing listener and support your loved ones.
Live by Example
If you want to stay close to family members when they’re not physically with you, then you need to lead by example. It’s no use getting upset with someone because they don’t contact you if you never make the effort yourself.
It’s a two-way street, and sometimes if you want to keep people close then you’ve got to be proactive and take the lead. You don’t want to be pushy, but you can lead by example and help everyone communicate better.
