Family Traditions: Why they are important to kids too..

Today (Sunday) is my youngest son’s birthday and he is 5.

There are some things we always do on our children’s birthdays and it starts with breakfast …we have pancakes and everyone has their favourite topping. There are the traditionalists with sugar and lemon, those with maple syrup and some who just couldn’t eat a pancake without chocolate spread.

Of course there are the normal things to do like school and work but sometime between 5-5.30 the grandparents come around (we are lucky and they live close by) and we have presents and cake. Everyone likes this so much it has now become a tradition for the grown up birthdays too!

We have other family traditions through the year:

• New Years Day walk at a local National Trust Place
• Whole family (with Daddy) go to school on the first day of a new academic year
• First day of the school holidays, we always start with a pancake breakfast
• We can never go and visit relatives in Sussex without looking over the bridge as we drive into town and everyone shouting in or out (depending where the tides is)!

Life can be fast paced and hectic these traditions help ground us.

Traditions help us all, but particularly children develop a sense of who they are and their place in the family. Some of the traditions are years old and also provide a sense of history.

These traditions will remain with our children when they become adults, they will be integral to conversations like

“Do you remember when?”

or

“We always did…. “

And some they may even share with their own families.

If you don’t have any family traditions what could you start? Or what are some of your family traditions? Do you remember any you had as a kid? Do come and share below – we might even adopt some!

This is our regular Tips for Parenting guest post by Beckie Whitehouse from Be Confident Coaching.

Photos courtesy of Microsoft Clipart.

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