Make family bond tighter

Hi Professor Sadly a lot of families today cannot bond this way because many are forced due to economic hardships move away too far to be able to have the constant communication and gatherings. I so wished it was not so but unfortunately life at times throws us some bad curves. I for one was never raised by my parents and have not seen my own biological mother in many years. I do however have two kids I have raised alone and do spend a lot of time with them, breaking the chain of family separations. I do like your tips and though my children no longer live here we do see each other very often, as much as we can due to distance, but we speak almost daily on the telephone. Gather for all holidays and extra in between as well.

hi, you're definitely right that family bonding will make it more tighter,so we always had family bonding with my cousins and other relatives sometimes,but when the time came that my father was fooled by his brothers(my Uncles) we never bonding to them again vice versa,so if we had a bonding its just our family my mom,dad,and my sisters and brother only together with there child.

I think you are right about family separation. There are many times that people migrate to different areas for work and start families that barely see their base group. Great tips on familiarizing children with their extensions!

For me yes it is the way you have time your family so that they feel good to you and when they get old you child will be the one who can care in your old life.

With internet, interacting with relatives from all around the globe is already easy. Pictures could be seen , hence new members could be recognized through them. You could talk with each other thru Skype of YM. That way, the bond between the relatives even though they are distances apart is maintained.

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I have always done this and I even have pictures of my great gandpa and family

Hi Professor, I like your suggestion very much and think it would work well in all cultures. It has never been the custom here for families to live in one house but sometimes parents will live with one of their children, yet even this is uncommon today. When parents are no longer able to care for themselves, they usually move into a senior's home where family members are able to visit as often as they choose. My parents did not go to such a home. I was the youngest of their children and they lived with me and my family. My father passed away in 1974 and my mother in 1983. In today's society it seems practically impossible for elderly parents to remain with their family, especially if they are ill. Your advice to 'never tell anything bad to the kids, about the relatives' is excellent and should be followed to the letter by everyone, everywhere. Blessings.

hi professor those are great tips and here in the US where families a lot of times are spread all over the U S we have to usepictures to keep up with our cousins and aunts and uncles and neices and nephews. My mom always had a large family picture album and we spent many snowy nights just looking at all the pictures of relatives whom I had and had not ever met. my half brother's family their children were all close to my age and a lot of times I was invited to come to their home and stay over night. Lilly may was my age and her sister and brother were just a couple of years older. we all played together and they were like the brother and sisters I never had. we had a ball together,I was their Aunt if you please. I did meet my Uncle W ill and Uncle Walter and my Aunt Lulu when they came to southdakota to pick up my parents and me. I had a ball as all the Uncles and my one Aunt all wanted to baby me I think I was about 7 and we went t o the Worlds Fair in Chicago in the US that summer. all my uncles and my A unt and I and my parents. it was so good to know my dad's siblings. My Uncle will took me one day on a bu s trip all over C hicago then we went to Wriggly field to watch a ball g ame, it w as the world series too but I was too young to know that at the time, this was way back in 1934.T he o thers were a bit worried as my Uncle Will was sort of the black sheepof the faamily but he was so very kind to me and he took charge of me all that day. we saw all sorts of things in Chicagp amd I had my fill of ice cream and candy and cream soda and strawberry ppp too. He had after all raised his own children who were then in their late teens so he knew how to treat a child. I will never forget that day so many years ago as this elderly man was just so sweet to me. yes photos of relatives not living close by is an exc ellent way for a child to get to know his or her relatives.Then meeting them will be all the more exciting.

Hello Professor! I like this kind of discussion that you started. Through this, you are reminding us, especially the generation today that family is still the best possesion you could have. Their love and support are extraordinary despite the differences in opinion. You are also right that the new families today are not as close as before. Keeping of photographs and showing it from generation to generation is good. Its also good if the family members will also be updated for new family members. Just a simple picture to show that the kids are growing, or he/she got married, or we have a new baby is a good way to update the relatives. In connection with photograph, we are all aware of facebook account. Invite all family members and join them. For now, facebook is the most popular. There is also myspace, friendster, flicker and picasso --- other ways to share photos and memories. If possible, when invited in a family gathering like weddings, holidays or other family events/occasions, ALWAYS come. For me, I don't mind if my relatives didn't bring anything, as long as they join me in special moments of special occassions. If also possible, I agree with your family tree. When I was younger, I have a family tree of my relatives on my mother's side. Though I don't know them all personally, I enjoy listening to my mom, grandparents, uncle and aunts as they relate the other family members they could remember. I also enjoy knowing facts about them.

hello professor, as one grow older the parents should be their priority. everysibling should show how to care for them and communicate with them always. as each one sibling starts a family, they would want to grow independent. but being independent should not mean leaving the parents alone. a constant visit should be into the sibling's schedule. all grandchildren should get into the habit of loving their grandmom and dad.. no excuses. if not followed.. then some thing must be wrong with this grandchildren's parents. they are not good children to their parents. ann

dear dada, I always update our family photo and also keep in touch with long distance relatives/or those who lives far from us. In my father's side,we always help a yearly reunion and we took pictures and updates the family tree and also our clan is registered here in our locality for our relatives to trace their roots. That way,we can always check the whereabouts of our relatives and also avoid having mistaken identity or marrying a distant relative which is not really good. have a great day dada and blessings from you and maa

My parents are doing exactly the same and they are doing it so well that i'm very attached to my cousins and their parents in other state. Even though i'm busy most of the time, i make sure i take some time out to visit these people who my mother or father loved so much. Whatever bitterness my mother had towards some relatives she wouldn't let that dwell inside me, she would say whatever problem i had with them, they still love you and so you would behave in front of them. :p I respect everyone in the family tree rich to poor equally. Sometimes, i hate the fact that i'm so busy that i can't spend time with any of my family member and i start to hate my aim and then its harder to concentrate on what i want and my wishes, but its ok , might tuirn out good for me in the long run. Who knows!

I agree that nowadays most families are not complete anymore. This is because times are hard right now. I guess it's just really how often families communicate that will keep the family bond stronger.

You are right. Everything change after year by year. I agree with what you want to happen. Introduce other relatives to your children. After generation, we didn't know our relatives anymore. It is always good to keep our family together... God bless.

These are some amazing statistics I've learned lately about the United States: 40 years ago 67% of families lived on and near family farms. Today family farms account for under 10% of our farms. We have been in search of inexpensive communication with family members ever since. I have been lucky enough to inherit the family trees from both my mothers and fathers side. People a generation ago for some reason used their research and travel abilities to do an in depth study on both sides. I am lucky enough to live only an hour away from both original family farms and almost all my aunts, uncles and cousins. I am almost as close to my cousins as brothers and sisters. This was all do to communication between family members and family reunions. I feel honored to be given the tremendous responsibility of keeping the history safe and use it for a great opportunity to go visit my cousins and share with those that never got to see it!