A couple of weeks ago, Lois posted about how we’ve seen from those around us and the broader culture how crucial it is as parents that we endeavor to make our house a “true home.”

Ann commented:

I am interested to hear how you develop this out in your family. I have a similar desire, and even came from a “true home” but I’m not sure how to practice this. Looking forward to hearing more.

Because Lois and I are just starting our family, relatively speaking, we haven’t exactly got lots of experience and anecdotes. For now, it’s mainly in principle. That said, here are a few things we try to do frequently:

• Get down on the floor. That’s right, especially with little ones, it’s so easy to sit in our chairs — whether otherwise occupied or not. And just watch the activity, until otherwise beckoned to help with something or referee a tussle. But getting down on the floor, whether lying down or crawling, seems to create wonderful opportunities not only for interacting with little ones, but also seeing the world from their perspective. Good stuff.
• Make the most of “extra time.” Lois and I are both “schedule” people. That is, we thrive on a sense of predictability and regularity in our schedules. We like to have the kids in bed at a fixed time, eat at regular hours, etc. And we’re all better for the sense of order that results. But every once in a while, when there’s no real need to be right on time, we find that some spontaneous time of just tickling or laughing or other such “no brain required” activity. It especially warms our hearts when one or more of the kids takes the opportunity during such times to give an unexpected hug or kiss and say, “I love you Daddy/Mommy” and we get to return the gesture.
• Read books to our children. Self-explanatory, and something I need to do more of. It’s obviously nice from an educational standpoint, but also a great excuse to just sit down and enjoy good stories together. I think particularly of value are Christian biographies as well as well-told fiction.
• Minimize the amount of family activities that aren’t really family activities. By this I simply mean things like watching a movie together, where we’re all in the same room, but we’re not interacting. But this could also be stuff like having friends over, wherein their children play with our children and the adults (only) interact with each other. I also like to make the most of those times not merely to supervise the children, but to interact with them meaningfully.
• Invite your children to help in age-appropriate ways. One of the things we’ve seen as particularly helpful is inviting your children to be “part of things.” For example, as Matthew has gotten older, we’ve let him little by little help around the house. From fixing things to helping cook simple meals, we find that the more he’s part of things, the more he wants to be a part of the family. Even two-year-old Emmaline is a great helper. I often take particular pains to ask her to help clean up this or that, and she loves to do so. Note: this is not about lightening our load or teaching responsibility, though those two things frequently happen. It’s about being a family serving one another, and serving the Lord together.

Well that seems like a good start. Now is a great chance for all your Musings of the Dings lurkers to jump in with ways in which you’ve sought to make your houses real homes for your families.