Maintaining Positive Relationships
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Getting on with your parents:
It is important to remember that your parents/guardians/adults that look after you are living their life as well as looking after you and sometimes they also feel stressed, frustrated and tired. Work may be super busy, they might be worried about their parents, and more than likely they’re concerned about you and your wellbeing.
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Getting on with your siblings:
It is super important that you work hard on maintaining positive relationships with your siblings. According to Raychelle Cassada Lohmann Ph.D. “healthy sibling relationships can significantly benefit us later in life. Those with positive sibling relationships report higher life satisfaction and lower rates of depression later in life. Also in times of illness and traumatic events, siblings provide emotional, social, and psychological support to each other. Research shows that this support is common regardless of whether they live next to or far away from each other.”
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Here are some TIPS on how to maintain relationships with your parents.
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1. Give them some space to be adults: Remember how you like your space? Well so do the adults in your life. If they are working through stuff, thinking about how they are managing life or just having a day. Try and make sure you give them the space to do what they need.
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2. When they ask you to do something… do it: We have all been asked to do something when we don’t want to, but when you are at home the little things start piling up. If you can’t do a job straight away, give them a time frame in which you will do it rather than just not doing it at all.
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3. Check in on them: Ask them how they are going occasionally (not every five minutes, that would get weird). Give them a hug, tell them they are doing a good job, share a silly meme to make them laugh. It all counts.
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What your parents to listen to you more? What to know what to do when they ge ton your nreves... Click the links below to find out more!
ACTIVITY
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Take that chore and…. Do it. Pick one of the things your parents do everyday that is a
chore for them. Maybe cook dinner, do the folding, clean the bathroom… something
and put it into your routine instead. This little gesture will not only make your parents
happy, but you too will bask in the glow of just being awesome.
Here are some TIPS to ensure you maintain a positive relationship with your siblings.
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1. Negotiate space: Have a conversation where you decide who gets what part of the house at what times of the days. There also needs to be areas that you just share i.e. the couch.
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2. Find a common interest: You probably know your sibling better than most other people, think about something they are into and research it, figure it out, listen to it… whatever you have to do and then share it with them.
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3. Laugh about it: Find something you can laugh about together, create some stupid dances together, make up a silly language, laughter can be a really powerful bonding agent for relationships.
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For more tips on how to get along with family, click below!
ACTIVITY
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Create something with your brother/sister/parent, make a movie together, or create a song. If you aren’t the creative type, why not create a sporting comp with each other. If all else fails, play a board game regularly with them, maybe not monopoly though.
Maintaining friendships at school
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Having good friends who love and support you for who you are is really important for your happiness. These friends are with you through all the ups and downs that life can throw at you and give you a shoulder to cry on in times of need. It is important to maintain positive relationships with these people as you see them almost every single day at school!
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Here are some TIPS to maintain lifelong friends.
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1. Be honest: There is no way to feel more connected to someone than to open yourself up to them. Plus, keeping an honest dialogue helps prevent you from building up cynicism and boiling over in a moment when you feel triggered.
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2. Show appreciation: Be sure to engage in acts of kindness and consideration that are focused on your friends. Do the things that they would perceive as caring. Consider their interests and passions when planning a way to say thank you.
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3. Don't assume: In any relationship, we can start to impose certain expectations on others that set us up to feel hurt or disappointed. Don’t be quick to pick apart your friends. Accept that they are human and that they will make mistakes
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For more tips on how to maintain frienships, click below!
ACTIVITY
Movie Marathon. This one's simple - just line up your friends' favourite flicks, make some salty popcorn, and get watching!