NOW the rush up to Christmas is over, the gifts have been shared and the food devoured we move into a more reflective part of the year.

With all families over the festive period this year there will be some precious memories made and maybe some that are best forgotten. This is quite normal and typical of a time of year which is full of excitement and high expectation.

Don’t be hard on yourself or your family if the Christmas you planned fell short of the one you experienced; this is not unusual. Christmas is definitely one of the most high-risk times for families!

The time between Christmas and New Year is a good time to take stock as a family, to celebrate all the brilliant aspects that each of you bring to family life, as well as working on behaviours that need to change in order to maintain the harmony in the home.

If there have been difficulties within family life take time to talk to each other and ‘unpack’ what went wrong. Communication is key to moving things on and repairing any damage that has been done to relationships.

As a starting point invite all family members to recall the best moments for them – celebrate these together.

Move on to discussing what could be improved for other Christmases. Keep all contributions as neutral as possible and avoid pinpointing one family member’s behaviour. Focus more on changes to make as opposed to dwelling on negative points.

Wishing you a happy and harmonious family life in 2018.

See www.parentandbabycoach.co.uk

Next week: Making positive changes for the year ahead