一个健康家庭的简单而强大的习惯

一个健康家庭的简单而强大的习惯

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.

自从1989年史蒂芬·柯维出版了他的畅销书《高效能人士的七个习惯》以来，习惯这个主题就一直很流行。如果你正在寻找有用的习惯来为自己所用，那么信息是不会短缺的。也就是说，很多习惯都与事业或个人成功有关。但是，如果你的目标是一个健康的家庭，你可能想从专家的“习惯”书中拿出一页，把它们应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，我和妻子苏·明科夫一起创办了LifeWorks健康中心，开始了对家庭健康和生活习惯的追求。从一开始，我们就一直致力于创建一个康复中心，在这里，人们不仅可以得到最好的医疗服务，还可以在一个让你感觉像家人的环境中，同时也是家庭的热情倡导者，希望加强家庭的各个方面。

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

因此，在过去的20年里，我们已经积累了简单而强大的健康家庭习惯:

1. Eat Together

一起吃饭

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.

当一家人坐在一起吃饭，而不是“轮班”吃或在忙碌中抓食物，他们倾向于吃更健康的东西。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.

除了健康饮食带来的身体上的好处，研究表明，与家人在一起的时间有助于孩子取得更好的成绩，避免吸烟、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.

如果你的家人现在不经常一起吃饭，这可能不会在一夜之间发生。也许可以从每周两餐的目标开始。坚持下去，随着时间的推移建立频率，并把它作为一种习惯。

2. Cook Together

一起做饭

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.

同样，一起做饭对一个健康的家庭是有益的。家庭自制的食物不仅更健康，而且家人一起做饭也能共度时光，创造回忆。厨房通常是一个家庭的中心，所以它是一个聚在一起的好地方。

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.

一起做饭也可以让家庭食谱流传下来。学习做饭的孩子正在发展一种宝贵的生活技能，而且涉及的工作是共享的——妈妈或爸爸不需要觉得准备饭菜是他们独自的负担。

3. Plan Vacations Together

计划假期在一起

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.

你多久会和你的家人去度假，遇到抱怨的孩子?有些事情太无聊了，或者你太忙了。让全家人一起规划假期可能会有帮助。

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.

让孩子们在家庭计划中有自己的发言权，让他们能够沟通，支持自己想做的事情，考虑别人的意见，甚至学会妥协。如果你已经养成了父母在计划活动时比较专制的习惯，你当然可以试着养成让每个人都参与的习惯。

4. Respect Alone Time

尊重独处时间

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.

作为一个家庭，一起做事固然很好，但不可避免的是，所有的家庭成员都想要一些独处的时间——这是一件健康的事情。

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.

独处可以让人反思、放松、解决问题等等。特别是在这个相互联系的时代，当每个人似乎都有一个移动设备连接在他们身上，当他们感到需要时，允许彼此断开连接是很重要的。健康的家庭都有尊重彼此独处时间的习惯。

5. Learn to Listen

学会倾听

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.

父母和孩子说话并不陌生。但是富有成效的谈话是双向的，这意味着和你的孩子交谈是重要的——和某人交谈不仅仅是简单的说话。

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.

真正的交谈需要倾听，健康的家庭习惯彼此倾听，而不是轮流发言。你对家人说什么并不比他们对你说什么重要。习惯了双向讨论的家庭成员更能相互理解，因此也更亲密。