Raising Happy Kids
Building Family Traditions
Small, sturdy traditions — a Friday pizza night, a Sunday walk — become the memories your children carry forever. Ideas to start your own.
3 min read
Ask any adult about their childhood and they will tell you about traditions before they tell you about vacations. It isn't the big, expensive moments that shape a family. It's the small, repeatable ones that a child can count on.
What makes a tradition stick
The best traditions are cheap, easy, and slightly silly. They should be simple enough to survive a tired Tuesday. If it requires a Pinterest board, it won't last.
Ideas to steal
- Friday pizza night, always the same night, always at home
- Saturday-morning pancakes with a rotating 'chef'
- A Sunday walk in the same park, in every season
- 'High-low' at dinner: one hard thing, one good thing from the day
- A birthday-eve interview: what was the best part of being five?
- A New Year's Day hike, no matter the weather
The point
Traditions tell a child: this is who we are, and you belong here. That message, delivered a thousand small times, is what home actually is.