Every summer, my parents used to take me to a rinky-dink amusement park a couple of hours from our home. For us, it was the “big trip.” The family vacation. We didn’t have a lot of money, so there were no week-long trips to the beach or a weekend stay at Disneyland. As a child, I didn’t care about the expense or the extravagance. I cared about the special time we spent together having fun. This summer, I took my own kids to the rinky-dink park for the first time, and so the tradition lives on.
What Are Traditions
Family traditions come in all shapes and sizes, from the smallest repeated gestures to the grandest, spare-no-expense celebrations. Traditions are any activity that your family does ritualistically, and often these begin rather unintentionally as we just naturally fall into grooves of repeatedly doing things that we enjoy doing together.
Other traditions are set with intention either because they’ve been passed down through the generations or because the parents want to purposely create a sense of unity. Some traditions reflect family values, such as donating used toys around the Holiday season or volunteering regularly at the local shelter.
The Benefits
Family traditions hold a special place in our hearts. Some of our fondest childhood memories are borne out of the traditions our parents upheld, and our children’s memories are likewise being made with every book, board game, road trip, or celebration. Traditions give us a shared identity. They strengthen our bond as a family unit. They create structure, stability, a sense of familiarity and safety, all things that are important for children, particularly young children. Traditions help us to nourish one another.
There is even some suggestion that family traditions promote better emotional adjustment. Dr. Steven Wolin, a psychiatrist at the George Washington University, says, “If you grow up in a family with strong rituals, you're more likely to be resilient as an adult.”
Perhaps most importantly in our time, traditions bring us together and focus our attention on what truly matters in our whirlwind world – family.
Related Article: 10 Ways to Give Thanks This Season
The Culture of Busyness
Families are spread out. We’re working longer. We’re schooling longer. We’re glued to our devices. We’re ticking boxes, crossing off to-do’s, and accumulating more stuff that we don’t even have time to enjoy. Dr. William McKeith made a good point when he said, “When we adults are busy filling our days and nights with more and more work, where are the children?”
We need family traditions perhaps now more than ever.
Traditions provide order in the chaos. They bring us back to one another. As we gather around the table or the campfire, we are reminded that life is short and children don’t stay children for long. When we laugh through game night or cram together in a car for a road trip, we are face to face with the ones who matter most. We are connected.
Use the traditions you already have in place, and create more if you feel the need, as sacred family time; uninterrupted bonding time that the children can count on.
10 Family Traditions to Consider:
- Read aloud for 30 minutes every night before bed. Here’s a list of 25 read-aloud books for ages 5-12.
- Eat dinner together. By candlelight! Keep this key jar at the table for conversation starters.
- Turn chores from a weekly battle into a fun tradition by playing loud music and baking cookies to eat when everyone is finished.
- Once a month, throw up some streamers and blow up a few balloons. Ask each child to name something worth celebrating this month. Then celebrate it! Hey, any excuse for cake, right?
- Take a picture in the same place every year on the first day of school. Marvel at how much bigger they are than last year.
- Make birthday celebrations extra special. Try these ideas.
- Go on monthly Mommy/Daddy dates. These are a great way for children to get the one-on-one attention they crave. Check out these date night ideas.
- Create a time capsule every year, either on a child’s birthday or perhaps New Year’s Eve. I love the ideas listed here.
- Watch for meteors. One of the most magical nights this year was when all of us took our pillows and blankets to the trampoline, cozied up together, and watched falling stars. Google when the next meteor shower is and mark it on your calendar.
- Start a Christmas Eve Box tradition. There are a lot of ideas for what to put in the box at this site.
Related Article: Thanksgiving Traditions for Families
