Maintaining good relationships with your children in the long term is not always easy. However, one small, simple action during their education can put you on the right track.
Staying close to your children, even once they are adults, is not always easy. Sometimes certain events experienced during childhood have long-term repercussions. There are then certain reflexes to adopt during their education which can help to subsequently maintain good relationships, even in the event of physical distance. Several experts give keys and among them is a very simple little gesture.
First of all, certain fundamental principles are essential to the sustainability of a good parent-child relationship. The American psychologist Jeffrey Bernstein, with Physiology Todayhighlights two essential notions: respect and communication. While this may seem obvious, several other small, more concrete habits can greatly contribute to long-term family cohesion.
A study conducted by the University of Macerata, Italy, reveals that children whose parents regularly used humor in their youth had a better view of their parents. They were generally more likely to say they had good relationships as adults. According to the study’s lead author, Benjamin Lévi, “humor somehow forces you to respond differently, which opens up new perspectives and opportunities. This type of connection can be very encouraging for the relationship between the ‘child and parent’. In addition to making people laugh, humor can lighten the atmosphere, dispel bad moods, create complicity… Obviously, you have to adapt your humor to the age of the child and the situation. The subject has to be suitable and it has to be the right time.
Communicate, show humor, but not only that… There is also a small gesture that only takes a few seconds, but which would prove essential to implement with your offspring. According to the Pew Research Centerparents increasingly tend to pay attention to their child’s personal space and private life, an attitude that helps strengthen bonds. This includes the simple act of knocking before entering your child’s room. Thus, parents give the child his space and he also learns to, in turn, respect that of others.
In adolescence, this habit of knocking before entering is even more essential because young people of this age have a strong need for autonomy and privacy. So, when you are in front of your child’s room, don’t succumb to impatience and take a few seconds to knock and wait for them to tell you that you can come in, it’s a small gesture that they won’t forget .