7 Daily Habits To Help Make Your Family More Connected

I’m the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

I love writing to-do lists and schedules but I’m quite terrible at actually sticking to them. My organizational skills are still very much a work-in-progress. As I go along though, especially the past couple months, I’ve been learning more about the concepts of using rituals and rhythms.

As Muslims, we already have this set into our day to an extent. If we look at the five daily prayers, they are spread out at different parts of the day and we (should) plan our day around our prayers. Also, if we look a little deeper, we also notice other examples of rhythm and ritual that we could incorporate into our days. An example would be resting between dhuhr and asr and ending your day after isha prayer.

With that said, I am in no way an expert on this stuff but I’m learning a lot and I’m finding it to be helpful. I’m also enjoying it, I feel like it’s much more peaceful and gentle than trying to set a schedule to stick to. So this year, as I’m focusing on a lot of much needed growth within myself and my family, I’ve been trying to focus on slowly building in little habits and rituals to help us grow stronger, healthier and more connected. These are 7 of those habits/rituals that I’ve found really help us in those goals:

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1. Pray at least one prayer together each day.
We are very rarely able to pray all five of our prayers together in a day unfortunately. Even on the weekends, sometimes one of us will not be home or one of us will be needing to do something to allow for the other person to pray peacefully and then switch…or whatever it might be. But we do our very best, and almost always succeed, to pray at least one prayer together every day.

When you make time as a family to worship Allah together, it is an amazing way to bond and connect. It is a way of growing spiritually. It is also a reminder that you all are on this journey together toward God and we are meant to be helpers to one another. It is worth the effort that it takes, even with small children – perhaps even especially with small children.

2. Eat at least one meal together. 
During the week, we eat dinner together. During the weekends, for the most part, thankfully, we are able to eat all of our meals together. Sharing food is a wonderful way of bonding and just enjoying the time we have to spend together. When we’re eating, we’re usually sitting down and we limit our focus. We can close off our electronics and really pay attention to what we are putting into our bodies and also take that time to reconnect with our families.

3. Go outside.
I love getting outside but I don’t always feel like getting covered and all of that. But with a little guy, he’s been a big motivation in getting outside pretty much everyday. We don’t always go out together as a family. Usually during the week, it’s mostly Asad and I going out together but Hubby bubs still makes an effort to get some outdoor time as well – whether eating lunch outside or riding his bike to work. But on the weekends is really our time to get out as a family and go for long walks, play in the creek or ride our bikes.

Going outside, whether we each are out on our own time or we go all together, is super fun and it’s important. You get some vitamin D, ideally you’re enjoying some movement and it releases your feel-good hormones that help you feel rejuvenated and in a better mood.

4. Stay hydrated.
Hubby bubs and I usually will compete with one another who drinks the most water by the end of the day. It is quite fun and it helps us to encourage one another to stay hydrated. We include our little one in this as well, of course not really racing with him but just helping to make sure he gets a good amount of water throughout the day – and hopefully setting a good example. 

When you are not well-hydrated, you tend to become sluggish and moody…which doesn’t make you a pleasant person to be around. You need plenty of water to keep your body going to the best of its ability. Of course you can’t force anyone but yourself to drink water…but it’s great to encourage your loved one’s to get on board with this habit.

5. Read.
I used to love catching the public bus to and from school – only because that was the perfect time to read. Nowadays, it is more difficult for me to make my way through books but I still love to read and I love to encourage my family to read some each day. Sometimes the majority of our reading comes from the 15 books that our little guy has us read and re-read. Other times, we read something a little more substantial.

I try to read the book(s) that I’m actually working through in the morning, before breakfast and I read out loud most of the time so that Asad knows I’m right there and doesn’t get fussy. Reading expands your knowledge and provides opportunities for growth. It helps your vocabulary and it allows you to gain new ideas and perspectives.

6. Check-in about our day.
Even on the days where we are all at home throughout the day, it has become our habit to check-in with one another about how our day has gone for us. Because our son is only 1, sometimes we do wait until after he’s sleeping to talk about our day but we also have days where we make sure he’s included (ie, present).

It’s not only about catching up on the things that happened or that we did throughout our day but also about letting them in on our thoughts and feelings. Our successes and where we could use some improvement. What’s making us feel loved and where we need a little more support. This is a habit that grows as your family grows and in my opinion, it never stops being important.

7. Discuss the plans for tomorrow.
Again, for the time being, this looks like my husband and I discussing our plans for the next day. Our son is obviously not able to really make his own plans yet so while he is an important part of our planning, he isn’t necessarily included in the process yet.

It is very helpful for families to be on the same page about what the next day is going to look like. You can’t plan for everything of course but knowing roughly what to expect allows you to plan ahead, make necessary arrangements and work together to make things happen as smoothly as possible.

As you can tell, although these are technically our daily habits as a family, we are still working on fine-tuning. So far though, planning these 7 things into our daily routine has been very helpful!

Question for the comments: What role do rhythms and routines play in your home?

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