Grow Together as a Family – 5 Simple, Real-Life Ways
5 Simple Ways to Grow Together as a Family
Families are sometimes weird. You have this group of people you love deeply… who can also get on your nerves. You want to spend time together, but sometimes that brings anxiety or stress, so everyone quietly drifts into their own lane.
Even in families with healthy relationships, it’s easy to be with each other without really growing together.
We live in the same house. We share meals. We run errands. We talk. But life moves along and we end up functioning more than growing. We’re managing what needs done instead of building something inside it, not because anything is wrong… it’s just because routine has a way of quietly pulling everyone in different directions. You might look around and wonder… how do we grow together as a family?
So, here are five simple ways we try to grow together as a family, nothing dramatic, nothing overwhelming. Just small things that keep us moving in the same direction.
1. Start One Ongoing Thing
Pick something that lasts longer than a single evening. Game and movie nights are great (especially when they’re weekly), but they don’t always require much growth. Try something that outlasts a day.
Plant a small garden, check it together, and rotate watering duties. Share responsibility for a pet. Hold each other accountable for a health goal. Build something slowly over time.
The point isn’t productivity. When something carries from day to day, it creates a shared thread in your home. There’s something to return to together.
In our home, ongoing family projects have been an ongoing thing for us. We’ve grown as individuals… and as a group, especially in the moments when tempers flared and we had to work through it.
2. Invite Everyone into Something You Care About
Growth deepens when people share interests, not just responsibilities. Hobbies and interests can feel personal, but even letting someone peek inside them builds connection.
Teach your kids something you enjoy. Let your spouse explain something they’re into. Ask your teen to show you what they’ve been watching or learning.
In our house, this has looked a little funny.
A few years ago, while teaching a class about eagles, I found an eagle cam. I became slightly obsessed. Eventually, the whole family started checking on the eagles. Even now, we’ll randomly turn it on and talk about what’s happening in the nest. It’s small and random, but we grew together caring about something outside ourselves.
One of my sons shared his favorite streamer on a trip once. As a family, we ended up watching together during downtime. Now we reference it in conversation and sometimes watch it together. It sounds silly, but it built shared ground.
When we invite each other into what matters to us, we expand each other’s worlds.
3. Create a “Skill Month”
Choose one practical skill and let everyone improve just a little. It can be something familiar or something totally new.
Maybe it’s cooking eggs properly. Budgeting basics. Sewing a button. Baking bread. Learning knife skills. Trying recipes from other countries.
You don’t need a formal lesson plan. Just decide… “This month, we’re all getting a little better at this.”
We’ve done this in different ways. One month we learned to crochet (my sons can crochet, they don’t love it, but they can do it). Another stretch of months, we cooked traditional meals from different countries once a week… Guatemala, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, and more.
It broadened our thinking, it improved kitchen skills and it gave us something shared to talk about.
Growth isn’t always emotional. Sometimes it’s simply learning together.
4. Solve One Problem Together
Every family has small friction points and instead of fixing it alone or just saying how it will be… working on them together is a great way to grow together.
- Mornings feel rushed.
- Shoes pile up.
- Homework turns tense.
Instead of fixing it alone or just announcing a rule, bring it up and work through it together. Ask everyone… “How could we make this better?”
Let everyone suggest one idea. Try something.
Will every idea work? Of course not. If your seven-year-old suggests going shoeless forever (and they will), that’s probably not the solution, but guided collaboration teaches problem-solving.
We’ve tried this in our home. Some solutions worked and some didn’t. Either way, we learned to think together.
When families solve small problems together, maturity grows.
5. Create a “Yes” Window
Pick a short, defined time, maybe an hour on a Saturday, where the default answer is yes (within reason).
If someone suggests…
- baking something random
- going for a quick walk
- rearranging a room
- playing music loud while cleaning
- making a late-night snack
The answer is yes. It’s not all the time and not every request.
It’s not all the time. Not every request. Just a window.
What this does is shift the energy in your house. It makes room for spontaneity. It lets someone take initiative without being shut down by logistics. Growth isn’t only about discipline and improvement. It’s also about expanding space, creativity, and small risks.
Some of our favorite bonding moments have come from these windows… a late-night snack turning into a weekly ritual, a quick walk turning into a long conversation.
Final Thoughts
Growing together as a family doesn’t require a big, dramatic changes. It’s usually much quieter than that. It’s choosing one shared effort or one shared project and then staying with it long enough to see what it becomes.
Some months will feel smooth and some will feel tense. Sometimes the growth shows up in new skills, while other times it shows up in patience, but when everyone is moving in the same direction… it changes the tone of a home.
You don’t need all five of these ideas. Pick one, try it for a while, and see what happens.
If you try any of these ideas meant to help families actually… grow together as a family, I’d love to hear about it. You can comment below or tag @bemandfam on Instagram or Facebook.
❤️
BEM and Fam 🙂
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