Raising a family is not easy, and neither is running a household. In fact, they are probably two of the most challenging and continual responsibilities that most people will ever face. However, located on the other side of that coin is the truth that these efforts are among the most rewarding and emotionally nourishing acts you can take part in. Any family should be able to see the truth of those words if they have their interpersonal priorities straight.
However, just like anything, running a household with a family comes with its challenges and we're often wondering how to take the best action. In order to raise a family in the best way possible, sometimes we need help, and looking for advice online can be a great help. After all, the art and science of raising a family doesn’t come with its own manual, even with great offerings like books written by those with expert experience. Sometimes, you just need to see how things play out, or sometimes you may prefer to read a post like this to give you ideas, read on further for some home-keeping ideas that may work for you.
Moving Home
While it might not be necessary right now, it could be that moving home over the course of your children’s childhood could be extremely worthwhile and the best decision you make, it may be that the area you live in doesn't offer them the best educational facilities around, but a move an hour, or a few hours away can do wonders. While being born and raised in an area gains a sense of identity, unfortunately where you live right now may not be an area you're proud of. You might not choose to move out of the country, only moving an hours drive away from your current residence, or you might decide to move further afield, so you'll need to find property for sale in 2018.
Moving home can help you bring various experiences to your family, to connect to a greater number of people, and perhaps help you find a grass-is-greener scenario. Sometimes, the grass actually is greener, despite the popularity of that cliche to discourage people from seeking better shores. Moving home once or twice in your family life can help separate the growth into ‘eras’ of your family life, or perhaps help you achieve more goals, such as helping your children feel more understanding of their ethnic routes.
That being said, often the willingness to sell over time can be extremely rewarding for most people, especially because pushing forward in the property market could potentially yield more expensive and valuable properties in the long term, helping you raise your standard of living, which is often a prized goal that any head of a family hopes for.
Dynamic Home Planning
It can be important for a family to switch up their home decorations over time, especially if they plan to enjoy one property for perhaps a decade or more, so I suggest that you avoid thinking of your home as a stagnant, fixed entity. Remember, renovations are perhaps much more than just an aesthetic difference. It can be that knocking through walls, switching up the decoration of a certain room, or perhaps switching up your household altogether after your children leave for university, it may only be a small change, but it can help your home continue to take that sense of freshness and vitality to proceedings.
It might be as simple as opening an exercise and yoga room for your teen, especially if they’re focused on being an athlete. It might be operating a small and unique room dedicated to the recording soundproofed interests of your son who is involved in a band, or perhaps even putting up a splitting dividing wall to potentially give two rooms to your children when another arrival is soon on the way.
Remember that your home should fit your family needs, not the other way around. If you have the capacity to do this, you might feel more supported and at-home in your personal efforts.
Proximity
When choosing a place to settle your household and potentially develop into the future, it’s important to know where to begin. You might make this decision thanks to several contributing factors. One of these factors will be the proximity to the focus you care about. This might mean finding a property with a great commuting time to your job, but remember that this is just one personal convenience for you.
There are many, many decisions you might choose to make here. From searching specific catchment areas to secure the best school for your child, practically giving them a right to education in certain areas, to potentially considering the extracurricular programs they might have access to, considering stability above all like this can be worthwhile. However, you might also choose somewhere rural yet still close to public transport links, so that your child can have a degree of autonomy in the future. What would the job prospects look like for your child as they begin to hit their mid to late teens? Might they be able to earn somewhat more of an allowance if they were careful?
It might also be important to consider just what the crime rate is of a certain area, and how the proximity to your home could put your family in harm or safeties way as a result. There is an old adage in the property market, known as ‘location, location, location!’ It’s for a good reason. Houses can be built and demolished, renovated and extended, but the location of a property will never change, and the structures of towns and cities are mostly semi-permanent. The social makeup of an environment can change quickly, but this will almost always be influenced by long-term, shifting considerations that have reached their tumult. This means that focusing on location is still a smart choice, and could potentially serve as the best new priority when searching for a new home.
Community Engagement
It can be tremendously healthy for a family to have some form of connection with their neighbours and community. Unfortunately, this community spirit does seem to be reducing in certain areas in the modern day, but perhaps you could be one of the sparks to bring it back.
Community engagement can mean plenty, from having a network of parents to ensure that your neighbourhood is watched over and suspicious activity is reported, to fundraisers and bake sales for good local causes - such as filling in the potholes of a certain road. It might even be, that you choose to run your own community activity such as a youth club. The benefit of community engagement is that you can tailor it to mean exactly what you’d like it to mean for you, and this can help you stay optimistic, feel supported, and always have someone to turn to if your family aren’t quite available.
Even if you only dip into this once a month, sometimes just knowing and waving to your neighbour can help you feel much more secure in an area, like you belong there. Of course, there will be neighbours that you meet perhaps once and never speak to again, but the simple act of a greeting can be enough to help positive subtle interaction between the two, or at least a respectful understanding. Perhaps the smartest, most convenient and present decision you can make is to greet your neighbours with goodwill. Then you’ll see just how connected you can feel if you try.
Pets
Of course, those families without pets, for whatever reason, are in no way inferior. However, if you have the capacities to, housing and caring for a pet can help bring the family together. Over time they will become a new addition to the family, not a simple belonging. From dogs to cats to smaller pets like fish or hamsters, it can be very rewarding and nurturing for your children to come into contact with these animals, and develop a very real relationship to them (the larger ones at least.)
Not only can a pet serve as a form of ‘love heater’ in the house, but they will often be a family member everyone can love, everyone can play with, and everyone can appreciate. In many cases, cats or dogs complete a family unit, and really raise the overall comfort of a home. Just be sure that you realize a pet is for life and not just for Christmas, so be sure to plan accordingly and consider the needs of every member of the household. If you find this is appropriate, bonding with these animals can be an incredibly worthwhile thing to do, and might only help your family flourish.
Responsibilities
It can be very important for families to share responsibilities, this isn’t to say you should train your ten-year-old to help you with your tax returns each year, but simple tidying and cleaning duties or chores shared communally can help your home stay maintained, and help everyone develop discipline and personal respect for the household they inhabit.
With these simple tips, exercising smart home-keeping is sure to be more than possible, and give your family the room it needs to flourish.
Until next time,
Jada x
Disclaimer: This post contains a sponsored link.
Until next time,
Jada x
Disclaimer: This post contains a sponsored link.
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