Children with strong family connections are associated with a high likelihood of flourishing in life, a study found. “What is different about this study is that it shows that family connection is associated with thriving and not just surviving or avoiding harm,” said lead study author Dr. Robert Whitaker.

Researchers surveyed over 37,000 children in 26 countries. In the study, family connection was determined by a mean score of five categories: care, support, safety, respect, and participation. Flourishing was determined by a mean score of six categories: self-acceptance, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, environmental mastery and autonomy. The essence of family connection is children feeling that they are accepted and cared for at home, which allows them to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are in a safe environment as they are building their identity,Whitaker said.

Children with the greatest level of family connection were over 49% more likely to flourish compared with those with the lowest level of family connection, according to the study. The highest scores in both family connection and flourishing came from children who said they lived with both parents, had enough food or never had their family worrying about finances. Researchers then controlled the data for families’ poverty levels to remove the effect they might have had on the numbers. After controlling the data, the strength of family connection still impacted how much children flourished.

According to Whitaker, adults have a very powerful influence on the emotional climate in the home, so it’s important to create a space where children feel seen and heard. A great opportunity to strengthen family bonds is around the dinner table. Adults should create an environment where children feel comfortable speaking freely. While they are talking,grown-ups should show that they have a genuine interest in what their children are saying. Silence is also another powerful form of communication, Whitaker said. Children and parents spending time together in silence or even doing chores can create a connection.

Every family is a foundation of society. It is where one learns fundamental values and beliefs. It is the first place one goes when they need love and support. 【小题1】 A strong family provides a loving, supportive environment that helps you reach your full potential. Here are some key things to keep in mind if you're looking to strengthen your family bonds.

Nurture (培养) healthy communication. The key to any strong relationship is communication.   【小题2】 Family members need to feel comfortable communicating about both the good and the bad. Honest communication can help solve problems, set boundaries, and provide support. By nurturing healthy communication within the family, you can lay the foundation for solid relationships with others.

【小题3】 In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle (忙碌) and forget to slow down and enjoy life. One of the best ways to build a strong foundation for your family is to make time for quality bonding experiences. You can share meals, take a family vacation, or spend an evening playing video games together and celebrate every milestone together. 【小题4】

Facing life’s challenges together. No family is perfect, and every family will face challenges at some point in their lives. The key is to address those challenges together as a team. There will be times when family members will disagree on how to face a challenge. 【小题5】 Remember, the goal is to work together as a team and support one another through thick and thin. And by doing so. you can build a strong foundation for your family.

Building a solid foundation for your family takes time, effort, and patience. But it is well worth it when you see the lasting bonds.

In agrarian(农业的), pre-industrial Europe, “you’d want to wake up early, start working with the sunrise, have a break to have the largest meal, and then you’d go back to work,” says Ken Albala, a professor of history at the University of the Pacific. “Later, at 5 or 6, you’d have a smaller supper.”

This comfortable cycle, in which the rhythms of the day helped shape the rhythms of the meals, gave rise to the custom of the large midday meal, eaten with the extended family. “Meals are the foundation of the family,” says Carole Couniban, a professor at Millersville University in Pennsylvania, “so there was a very important interconnection between eating together and strengthening family ties.”

Since industrialization, maintaining such a slow cultural metabolism has been much harder, with the long midday meal shrinking to whatever could be stuffed into a lunch bucket or bought at a food stand. Certainly, there were benefits. Modern techniques for producing and shipping food led to greater variety and quantity, including a tremendous increase in the amount of animal protein and dairy products available, making us more energetic than our ancestors.

Yet plenty has been lost too, even in cultures that still live to eat. Take Italy. It’s no secret that the Mediterranean diet is healthy, but it was also a joy to prepare and eat. Italians, says Counihan, traditionally began the day with a small meal. The big meal came at around 1 p.m. In between the midday meal and a late, smaller dinner came a small snack. Today, when time zones have less and less meaning, there is little tolerance for offices’ closing for lunch, and worsening traffic in cities means workers can’t make it home and back fast enough anyway. So the formerly small supper after sundown becomes the big meal of the day, the only one at which the family has a chance to get together. “The evening meal carries the full burden that used to be spread over two meals,” says Counihan.