How Family Home Evening Can Benefit Your Family

A Family Home Evening is a special time set apart for a family to spend together each week. During this time, family members may pray together, play games, or simply talk and enjoy an activity. Although started and supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the idea of a family home evening has now been advocated by many people and groups. A recent commercial on TV in the UK, by the Bisto gravy company, showed people pledging to spend one night a week at home with their families.

So how could a family home evening help to benefit your family?

In today's hectic world, it is easy for families to live together without really spending time together. My children are young now, and so I spend most of my time with them. However, I remember when I was a teenager. I had a class at 7:00 am, then my normal school classes. I worked in the afternoons. I was involved with different activities through school, church, and the community. My siblings were all busy with their own activities, ranging from competitive sports to music lessons, and my parents both worked, as well as being involved with charitable organisations. We were all incredibly busy. This scenario is common to many families.

All of these different activities can be good, and I am not suggesting that you should not be doing all of these things. However, in all of the rush, it is easy to neglect family time. Having a specific time to spend together as a family helps a family to stay together. Making it official means that it is easier for family members to schedule into their week. Pick a time that is best for your family. It could be a certain weeknight, or Sunday morning. Any time that everyone can be together, even if just for half an hour.

Having a family home evening helps a family to stay connected with each other. It can be a time for family members to stay involved in each others' lives. Each family member should feel important and involved. Get to know each other. Use it as a time to learn about each person's current interests, concerns, and accomplishments. I have a toddler who is constantly learning about the world around her, and it is a good chance to encourage her as she expands her vocabulary, etc. Also, it helps us to keep up with her new favourite things. This week, it is Tinkerbell. For awhile she was obsessed with Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego. Before that it was Finding Nemo, and therefore all fish and underwater things.

Having a family home evening helps to bring families closer together, strengthen their love for and understanding of each other, and to keep a family unified. It provides a structure which can help family members to feel secure and confident.

No matter what your situation is, give family home evening a try with your family. See if you can tell the benefits for yourself after a few weeks.