Six Ways to Improve Wellbeing as a Family

Is your family feeling the strain of the last year? Or are you just looking to improve the health and happiness of yourself and your loved ones? Physical and mental wellness is so important and is something we need to teach our kids to prioritise. Here are a few activities and tips for improving wellbeing as a family.

Eat meals together

Even if it’s not possible to eat every meal together at the dining table, make an effort to organise a few meals a week that can be enjoyed as a family. Ask kids to get involved in the kitchen with preparing meals and deciding what’s on the menu, helping them to establish healthy eating habits and important life skills. When you can, plan leisurely weekend brunches where everyone can catch up and spend some quality time together.

Family fun night

Regular family nights are great for bonding as a group, encouraging cooperative play and developing creative thinking. Try different board games (which can help with problem solving skills and learning how to deal with winning and losing), backyard camping, a talent show or working on puzzles. Encourage children to be involved in picking activities or create a lucky dip-style jar of activities so no one feels left out.

Craft with family photos

Working together to preserve family memories can improve emotional wellness and is an opportunity to share stories and bond. Consider scrapbooking, keeping up a (physical or digital) photo album or even creating a picture book featuring all your family’s special occasions, milestones and everyday moments.

Volunteer together

Instill healthy values of kindness, gratitude and selflessness in your little ones by volunteering as a family. Even if it’s just picking up litter when you’re out on a walk through the park, helping others or the environment can give kids a sense of purpose, belonging, pride and accomplishment. And it’s just a nice way to spend time with each other. 

Get outside and exercise

Foster a love of exercise and the outdoors while helping everyone in the family to manage day-to-day stress with daily evening walks, bike rides, or weekend games of footy at the park. Regular exercise can improve your mood and the quality of your sleep, and give you increased energy, while time in nature engages the senses and is great for your mental health. It also has the added benefit of reduced screen time!

Try a wellness challenge

Often, it’s not enough just to say, “let’s start exercising more” or “let’s eat better”. A family wellness challenge — with set goals, activities, beginning and ending dates, and rewards — can make a healthy lifestyle more fun, while increasing accountability and helping you stay motivated to reach your goals. You could set a daily step goal, switch off devices, go vegan for a month, take a 30-day Lego challenge, or learn yoga as a family.