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
http://www.athomemagazine.co.uk
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of At Home With Lorraine Kelly 2017
