At Home With Lorraine Kelly 2017 - 269
FA M I L Y L I F E ▲ WORKING TOGETHER IS TWICE THE FUN... ...BOTH INDOORS AND OUT TACKLING THE ISSUE Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) conducted a study on 32 Californian a i ies to nd out how they anage the de ands o work and a i y i e. he a i ies were observed or our consecutive days to see how they spent every minute of those days. nterviews with each a i y e ber were conducted and their stress levels measured at various times throughout the day. Each had two working arents two or ore chi dren and a ortgage a ro e that ooks ike any househo ds. hen observed these a i ies e t ike was ooking in at y own i e says ead researcher a i re er- ad ik h director o research at s enter on the Everyday ives o a i ies. a working u with two chi dren and cou d identi y with the wo en we studied who re orted ee ing ressed or ti e trying to ba ance work and a i y de ands. hi e there were any stress u o ents researchers a so witnessed the key instances o war th and love that completes families. So, in order to reduce family stress, these are the secrets: ENJOY TIME TOGETHER ea - i e bonding is ade u o s a events. hese instances ight be the 10 minutes you spend plaiting your daughters hair or cheering on your son at his ootba ga e. re e ber one o ent when a daughter and u were o ding aundry and the daughter stuck her oot in a sock and cha enged her u to nd her oot a ong the aundry reca s a i. t was a oving o ent o aughing and aying around. e inda a os whose ocus in the study was re ationshi s noticed the sa e thing. heres this cu tura idea o wanting to carve out ua ity ti e she says. ut any a i ies over ooked the dai y stuff that kee s you connected. SHARE THE CHORES LORRAINE SAYS 'Although she is now living in Singapore, my daughter Rosie and I are on Facetime and Skype a lot, which is a wonderful way to get all her news.' For one part of the project, the researchers studied how the cou es division o housework was inked to their marital satisfaction. e ound that both s ouses were ha ier when each e t they were working towards the sa e goa regard ess o who did ore and wo en did ore across the board says a i. he wo en in ha y marriages told us their spouses seemed to have an understanding of what needed to be done. e observed husbands setting the tab e whi e their wi e was cooking or straightening u without being to d what to do. ust ta king about your oint mission for the family can eliminate a ot o the kee ing score conflict. a y cou es o en discussed their shared goa s or their a i y says a i. owever with the a i y s CHORES ARE LESS IRKSOME IF YOU DO THEM TOGETHER schedules to coordinate, many couples were on y co unicating about who needed to do what. t e t ike they were running a business says e ow researcher arby axbe. uee ing in itt e o ents o un with your artner ike stea ing a uick kiss akes a difference. n ho es where the wives ex ressed ore a reciation their husbands a so took on ore househo d tasks. BE YOUR KIDS' ROLE MODEL hen s ouses showed atience and su ort as o osed to being impatient, sarcastic, or critical, their chi dren were ore res ect u and the smoother the households ran says a i. 'Their mini goals throughout the day, such as getting dinner on the tab e or nishing ho ework ran ore s ooth y and ore easant y. he sa e was true or arents who set the ru es as o osed to those who et their chi dren ake the decisions. 'When parents delegated chores to their chi dren rather than asking which chores they wanted to do there were ewer tantru s and argu ents adds e inda. here was sti affection and hu our in ho es where arents were the bosses but never a uestion o who was in charge. EMBRACE DAILY RITUALS outine and continuity are what set the foundation for thriving family re ationshi s. hether it was a cou e sitting down at the end o the day with a cu o coffee or g ass o wine or arents reading a bedti e story to their children, these tiny moments ake a i y i e co orting and he to kee cou es c ose says researcher hu-wen ang. esearch revea ed how one u tucked her son into bed and gave www.athomemagazine.co.uk AUGUST 2017 | 269