一個健康家庭的簡單而強大的習慣

一個健康家庭的簡單而強大的習慣

Ever since Stephen Covey published his bestselling book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in 1989, the subject of habits has been in vogue. There’s no shortage of information if you’re looking to find useful habits to adopt for yourself. That said, many of the habits out there relate to business or personal success. But if your goal is a healthy family, you might want to take a page out of the expert “habit” books and apply them to your family life.

自從1989年史蒂芬·柯維出版了他的暢銷書《高效能人士的七個習慣》以來，習慣這個主題就一直很流行。如果你正在尋找有用的習慣來為自己所用，那么信息是不會短缺的。也就是說，很多習慣都與事業(yè)或個人成功有關。但是，如果你的目標是一個健康的家庭，你可能想從專家的“習慣”書中拿出一頁，把它們應用到你的家庭生活中。

In 1997, my quest for family health and habits were put into motion when I founded LifeWorks Wellness Center with my wife, Sue Minkoff. From its inception, we always sought out to create a healing center where people would not only get the best possible medical care but in an environment that made you feel like family, while also being passionate advocates for families looking to strengthen all facets of their household.

1997年，我和妻子蘇·明科夫一起創(chuàng)辦了LifeWorks健康中心，開始了對家庭健康和生活習慣的追求。從一開始，我們就一直致力于創(chuàng)建一個康復中心，在這里，人們不僅可以得到最好的醫(yī)療服務，還可以在一個讓你感覺像家人的環(huán)境中，同時也是家庭的熱情倡導者，希望加強家庭的各個方面。

As such, we have amassed simple but powerful habits of a healthy family over the past 2 decades:

因此，在過去的20年里，我們已經積累了簡單而強大的健康家庭習慣:

1. Eat Together

一起吃飯

When families sit down for a meal together, rather than eating in “shifts” or grabbing food on the go, they tend to eat healthier things. Vegetables, fruits, and whole foods are more often consumed, rather than processed and fatty foods.

當一家人坐在一起吃飯，而不是“輪班”吃或在忙碌中抓食物，他們傾向于吃更健康的東西。蔬菜、水果和天然食品比加工食品和高脂肪食品更常被食用。

In addition to the physical benefits that come with healthier meals, research shows that family time helps children get better grades and avoid smoking, alcohol, and drugs.

除了健康飲食帶來的身體上的好處，研究表明，與家人在一起的時間有助于孩子取得更好的成績，避免吸煙、酗酒和吸毒。

If your family doesn’t share many meals together now, it might not happen overnight. Perhaps start with a goal of two meals per week. Stick to that, build the frequency over time, and establish it as a habit.

如果你的家人現(xiàn)在不經常一起吃飯，這可能不會在一夜之間發(fā)生。也許可以從每周兩餐的目標開始。堅持下去，隨著時間的推移建立頻率，并把它作為一種習慣。

2. Cook Together

一起做飯

Similarly, cooking meals together is beneficial for a healthy family. Not only is homemade food generally healthier, but family members who cook together are spending time together and creating memories. The kitchen is often the hub of a home, so it’s a good place to come together.

同樣，一起做飯對一個健康的家庭是有益的。家庭自制的食物不僅更健康，而且家人一起做飯也能共度時光，創(chuàng)造回憶。廚房通常是一個家庭的中心，所以它是一個聚在一起的好地方。

Making meals together also allows family recipes to be passed down. Children who learn to cook are developing a valuable life skill, and the work involved is shared – Mom or Dad doesn’t need to feel as though meal prep is their burden alone.

一起做飯也可以讓家庭食譜流傳下來。學習做飯的孩子正在發(fā)展一種寶貴的生活技能，而且涉及的工作是共享的——媽媽或爸爸不需要覺得準備飯菜是他們獨自的負擔。

3. Plan Vacations Together

計劃假期在一起

How often do you go on a vacation with your family and encounter complaining children? Something’s too boring, or you’re too busy. Involving the whole family in vacation planning might help.

你多久會和你的家人去度假，遇到抱怨的孩子?有些事情太無聊了，或者你太忙了。讓全家人一起規(guī)劃假期可能會有幫助。

Giving children a voice in family plans allows them to communicate and stand up for the things that they want to do, as well as to consider others’ input and even learn to compromise. If you’ve gotten into the habit of the parents being authoritarian in planning activities, you can certainly try to get into the habit of getting everybody involved.

讓孩子們在家庭計劃中有自己的發(fā)言權，讓他們能夠溝通，支持自己想做的事情，考慮別人的意見，甚至學會妥協(xié)。如果你已經養(yǎng)成了父母在計劃活動時比較專制的習慣，你當然可以試著養(yǎng)成讓每個人都參與的習慣。

4. Respect Alone Time

尊重獨處時間

As great as it is to do things together as a family, it’s also inevitable that all members of a family will want some alone time — and that’s a healthy thing.

作為一個家庭，一起做事固然很好，但不可避免的是，所有的家庭成員都想要一些獨處的時間——這是一件健康的事情。

Spending time alone allows a person to reflect, unwind, problem-solve and more. Especially in this age of connectedness, when everyone seemingly has a mobile device tethered to them, it’s important to allow each other to disconnect when they feel the need. Healthy families make a habit of respecting each other’s alone time.

獨處可以讓人反思、放松、解決問題等等。特別是在這個相互聯(lián)系的時代，當每個人似乎都有一個移動設備連接在他們身上，當他們感到需要時，允許彼此斷開連接是很重要的。健康的家庭都有尊重彼此獨處時間的習慣。

5. Learn to Listen

學會傾聽

Parents are no strangers to talking to their kids. But productive conversation is a two-way street, which means talking with your kids is important — and talking with someone involves more than simply talking.

父母和孩子說話并不陌生。但是富有成效的談話是雙向的，這意味著和你的孩子交談是重要的——和某人交談不僅僅是簡單的說話。

True conversation involves listening, and healthy families make it a habit to listen to each other rather than just take turns speaking. What you tell your family members is no more important than what they have to say to you. Family members that make a habit of two-way discussions are more understanding of one another, and therefore closer.

真正的交談需要傾聽，健康的家庭習慣彼此傾聽，而不是輪流發(fā)言。你對家人說什么并不比他們對你說什么重要。習慣了雙向討論的家庭成員更能相互理解，因此也更親密。