The best things you can do to take care of your family
When it comes to looking after our families, we only want to do our best to make sure they are, and remain, happy and healthy.
Running a family takes an incredible amount of responsibility and at the best of times, it seems impossible.
But there are a few fundamental practices that are some of the best things you could do to take care of your family.
Share home responsibilities
First of all, it can’t all be on you. Taking care of a family takes a family and you should be sharing responsibilities where possible. Not only will it prevent you from being permanently stressed, but it will also teach the members of your family valuable life skills.
At some point, we all become responsible for our actions and choices and that’s something your children should learn as early as possible. Make your life easier and prepare them for their futures by delegating chores around the house and holding everyone accountable for those responsibilities.
And this shouldn’t be drilled as a punishment but nurtured as an attitude of service and independence.
Provide them with medical aid
If you truly want the best for your family, you would make sure that they have the best medical aid available to them. Children are exposed to a variety of germs at school and accidents happen all the time. For your family’s peace of mind, you need to look into medical aid schemes that can cover your family’s medical and health needs.
And it doesn’t have to be an expensive monthly payment. There are affordable medical aid schemes out there that offer comprehensive medical aid plans. It’s just a matter of setting time aside to compare medical aid schemes and their offerings until you’re comforted by what the medical plan provides your family as well as the small price you’ll be paying.
No one enjoys being ill and having to deal with doctor and specialist visits, only to be welcomed by a medical bill that forces you to dip into your savings. Save yourself from that financial stress and make sure your family’s health is a priority.
Enforce healthy habits for everyone
Following the health care of medical aid, it’s important to enforce healthy habits in the family anyway. Just because you have the medical aid plan doesn’t mean you should want to be using it regularly.
Drinking enough water, eating fruits and vegetables, healthy snacking, minimal high-sugar juices, regular exercise, skincare routines, using sunscreen in summer, taking vitamins and no smoking are a few healthy habits that should be implemented in your home for the health of your family. And the earlier you enforce these habits, the easier it will be for everyone to fall into the good habits without having to first cut out the bad habits.
Another healthy habit to enforce for the mental health of your family is practising gratefulness on a daily basis. They say that when you’re feeling down or over it, the act of coming up with just three things that you’re grateful for at that moment can change your mood around. Having a happy family means you’re looking after both their physical and mental wellbeing, which can easily be done through healthy habits.
Invest some money for their future
As much as you should be saving money in a “rainy day” fund, you should be investing some of your money as well. By choosing to invest your money, you’re actively saving up for your child’s education, setting yourself up for retirement and reaching your financial goals.
The impression that you need a lot of money to invest is wrong. You can easily invest with little money. And it would be recommended to start investing small while you get a better idea of the markets, the risks versus rewards and the potential of return on investment. The money you invest can be used to take care of your family in so many ways and it’s another peace of mind safety net to live under.
Take care of yourself
But the absolute best thing you can do to take care of your family is to take care of yourself first. If you’re the one with the most responsibility and stress, you need to make sure you are in the right mindset and position to take care of everyone else. And that starts by looking after you.
Don’t be afraid to say no, recognise when you need help or just take those five minutes of rest already. Taking care of your family shouldn’t be a chore and it shouldn’t all be on you (refer back to shared responsibilities). Don’t forget that you too are an important member of the family who needs to be taken care of.