[CHAT] Families!

Families are a funny bunch.

But funnily enough, they also come in many shapes and sizes. Your parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, step- and half-relatives, friends, pets, co-workers, partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, massive, small, party of one…the list really does go on forever!

The idea of family can mean different things to different people, so it’s not the same for everyone. Family does not necessarily mean just your blood ties (people that you’re related to) There’s not just one kind of family or one ‘ideal’ or a ‘conventional’ view on what that may be.  Besides, what’s conventional anyway? 😛 So it’s important to acknowledge and respect that families span, far and wide.

Whether this is having people you are close to who care about you, and have your back during tough times, it’s also about recognising that you’d reciprocate that too.  Families have many ways in showing love and compassion for each other in whimsical ways. From buying family blocks of chocolate together, going out and spending time with each other, to signing up for an IKEA Family card or joking around, the joys of chilling out with the fambam is invaluable. However, even if you may consider some people as ‘family’, it doesn’t mean that they should be feel entitled to favours or respect when they’re being a d-bag about everything.

It does come to a point where there’s a fine line to draw when helping family out and blood ties are not necessarily the strongest kind of relationship. Helping someone out with a big move, lending money, doing errands, and tasks that may be seen as small things do build up in the end. For those in the know, you may have heard the tutt-tutts and the headshakes when you point out the double-standards or you decide to say ‘no’ to carrying out familial tasks.

You might have heard: 

Yes, truly and surely – it can be easy to shrug it off and initially feel reluctant to put your foot down. But this kind of behaviour can be problematic and it’s important for you and everyone to recognise that. It’s even more important to do some self-care in the process and set some boundaries too. So how do we avoid this, and moreso, how do we deal with it when it becomes worse?

Chat to someone like a counsellor, psychologist, or a social worker, a trusted person outside of the family sphere, or a friend for advice and see how to go about it. Family isn’t exempt from bad behaviour blues and avoiding responsibilities!

But despite this, it doesn’t mean that this can’t improve either! Being a part of a family offers support unlike any other group of people that you may have encountered. Even if it is eating family blocks of chocolate together 😛

***Whether you have an awesome or not-so-awesome family,  looking for advice to help out a friend dealing with their fam, or reluctant to tell your rellies that they’ve gone too far - we want to hear from you! Join us to chat about helping out your friends on Monday 11 May at 8pm, AEST! We'll be talking about how families come in all shapes and sizes!****