The Secrets of Happy Families

With the exception of an occasional grocery store meltdown or magic marker all over the walls nightmare, my family is pretty happy. The four of us spend a lot of time together, we take the girls’ almost everywhere we go (except date night!), and we just enjoy one another’s company. I didn’t know there was a reason we are so happy, but apparently we know some major happy family secrets. New research shows that there is such thing as a happy family, and a not-so-happy family. Here are a few of the secrets happy families know.

Traditions

Every happy family has a tradition. Some have more than one. I didn’t realize we have traditions (other than the obvious holiday oriented traditions) until I read this, but we do. We make pancakes on the weekends and decorate them with chocolate chips. We all play a game of hide and seek before bed each night (our four-year-old is SUCH a cheater), and we always sing the “I love you” song to both girls before their bedtimes. Tradition makes families feel a sense of togetherness and happiness.

Play Time

Happy families play together. When you have fun together, you are creating a bond that is held together by memories that last a lifetime. Even at my age, I still love the moments we play hide and seek with our kids, and when we rent a giant bounce house and all jump in it together. The kids love stuff like this, and playing with them makes us all love each other more.

Laugh it Out

We have two choices as a family. We can get mad at one another for accidentally forgetting to turn on the oven on Thanksgiving Day, only to realize eight hours later that the turkey isn’t quite ready, or we can laugh about it. Sure, things get frustrating, but families who remember that things aren’t perfect and make jokes about it are far happier than those who choose to get mad. Besides, how much fun is it the next year to spend all day making jokes about the time you forgot to cook the turkey?