The people in your family are some of the most important people in your life. These are individuals who have known you in your good and bad times and have stuck with you through them all. As your constants, it is so important to build a good relationship with them.
When the pandemic struck, your relationships may have been tested. Having a variety of personalities under the same roof gets difficult, especially in stressful situations. You may have felt the need to go out of your way to improve your relationships with each other.
As parents and children grow older, maintaining close connections becomes harder. This is where team-building efforts come in. Team building as a family puts you in a situation in which you are made to work together and understand your family members much better.
Outdoor Activities for You and Your Family
You don’t have to be cooped up at home when you do your team building. Take the family out for a much-needed change of scenery.
1. Go on vacation and learn skiing.
As the months grow warmer, the discomfort the weather brings can make everyone hotheaded. Counter this by bringing everyone to a ski resort as a refreshing change.
Aside from the obvious activities you will do, make it a special family holiday by bringing presents for each other. Be even more thoughtful by getting them gifts that go with the “season.” It’s the perfect time to get that on-sale Obermeyer ski jacket your mom’s been eyeing!
Learning to ski together is a great activity, especially if you are all beginners. This puts you on level footing as beginners and allows you to help each other proactively.
2. Volunteer and do social work together.
Why not help each other by helping someone else? One of the things that being stuck together at home can do to a family is to forget about the diversity of people outside the four corners of the house. By doing social work, you are exposed to people of different backgrounds.
Volunteering together also helps you learn the important trait of empathy and understand the part you can play in making a difference in your community. When you feel empowered, you are more encouraged to do things that can lead to positive change.
3. Visit an escape room together.
Aside from being just an overall fun experience, an escape room puts you and other family members in a situation that forces you all to collaborate. Every member must keep their cool and control their emotions to solve puzzles and help everyone get out safely.
An escape room activity teaches you the value of teamwork and putting aside differences to accomplish your goals.
Activities to Do at Home
Going out isn’t always an option, especially when people’s schedules clash or when not everyone has been vaccinated yet. Good thing you can still do your team building at home.
1. Have a scavenger hunt.
If there are younger kids in the family, a scavenger hunt is a great way to engage them and see what gets them excited. It teaches kids how to follow directions through a map and follow instructions in the right order.
You can even have the younger kids partner with a sibling or a parent as a way to let them bond more. It will not only be educational for children, but it will also be a way to build trust among siblings or a parent and child.
2. Finish a puzzle together.
Patience is often a hard lesson to learn when dealing with family. Help yourselves and each other internalize this by learning to be patient together—build a puzzle together!
When finishing a puzzle, you delegate tasks and inevitably have to communicate to see if pieces go with the side that a family member is completing While the process of finishing a puzzle takes a lot of patience, it also comes with a gratifying feeling afterward. The feeling of having accomplished something together is something that you will find yourselves treasuring.
3. Do some good old karaoke.
Not every activity has to be a stressful one that involves so much thinking and problem-solving. Sometimes, the best way to build teamwork with your family is to enjoy an activity together.
Have a karaoke night, because who doesn’t enjoy karaoke, right? Team up or play as individuals. The goal is to understand that you can enjoy time together.
Whatever activities you and your family decide to do, do them with an open heart. You’ll find yourselves growing closer in no time.
