Building Family Ties

Set time aside each week for your family to spend some fun time together, and move the family focus away from TBI. Try these ideas with your family:

• Have a family meeting. Explain that you plan to hold family time every week, and ask for ideas for when and what to do (if family members are old enough to participate). Family members could take turns choosing activities.
• Turn off the video, cell phone, game console, email, and other electronic devices during family time. Your goal is to interact and spend time with each other.
• Try activities that everyone in the family can enjoy. This might include doing things like playing board games, taking a walk or run, or baking cookies. Find activities where everyone in the family can play a role.
• In addition to family time, schedule some individual time with each family member. Children need to have time alone with parents. This helps them feel heard and appreciated. Plan an activity with each child — a shopping trip, movies, story time — and schedule it in on a regular basis.
• To build closer family ties, encourage the children to play simple games with their injured parent – like a memory or object recognition game. Such games may also help the injured parent practice skills to help in recovery.
• Think about your family rituals and keep them on the schedule – birthdays, anniversaries, and family outings. If you plan an annual family vacation or holiday celebrations, you may want to consider something on a "smaller scale," but you can still spend family time together.