We’re a month into 2022. Many of us had made resolutions, broken resolutions, and begun again. Beyond getting healthier or learning a new skill, what about focusing on ways to strengthen your family? Through small, little things, 2022 could be the year your family becomes stronger and more connected than ever before!

6 Ways to Strengthen Your Family in 2022:

ONE: Make Family Dinners a Priority! 

With packed schedules, extra curricular activities, meetings, and more it can be really difficult to sit down together around the table. But it’s also worth the effort. The dinner table provides a space for family members to share their days, express concerns, offer advice, and just connect with one another. Food brings people together and can be a great way to strengthen your family bond.

TWO: Set Tech Free Times! 

Creating a schedule that allows for technology free moments can give the family a chance to interact with one another in person – looking the other in the eye and truly hearing what they have to say. Research shows that just having the phone in view serves to distract us from the person we’re with. So set those phones, tablets, laptops away – at least for an hour a day.

THREE: Plan a Weekly Family Tradition! 

This will look different for each family, but planning a weekly event can help members of the family to reconnect and really get to know one another. This could look like an all-family pizza making party, a Saturday afternoon hike, a competitive game of basketball or Monopoly, or even reading a book together. 

FOUR: Say a Family Rosary on Saturdays. 

To honor Our Lady and bring the family together in prayer, setting aside time every Saturday to pray the rosary together as a family can be a great tradition to begin in 2022. Plus, Mary is the Mother of Fairest Love, so she will certainly intercede for your family as you address your prayers to her intercession.

FIVE: Embark on a Family Project.

Similar to that weekly tradition, a family project that allows the participation of each member can be a great way to bring people together. You could plant a garden, build a swing set, learn a new skill, raise chickens, or any number of other things. The time together and shared experience helps create bonds and lasting memories. 

SIX: Serve Together.

We learn to love and expand our hearts when we serve those in need. Doing this together can help increase each family member’s awareness of the gifts he/she has and the value of the others in the family. Plus, it allows everyone to see we are happiest when serving others. Local soup kitchens, nursing homes, and homeless shelters can be a good place to start.