Working together makes each member of your family feel good, notes the Students Against Destructive Decisions. Teamwork increases good feelings for both the helper and the person being helped. Knowing that you have your family to back you up in times of trouble can make bad times less stressful and give you the support you need to get through them. Family teamwork also builds trust, opens lines of communication and helps each person be accountable to other members of the family.

Because each person in a family has different talents, defining your roles can make working as a team easier. The University of Illinois Extension suggests getting together as a family and having each person write or draw the strengths of the other family members. For example, mom might be good at doing laundry and easing the fear of bad dreams in the middle of the night, while an older child might be valuable for assisting younger kids with homework and washing dishes. Chances are you'll see some trends among the answers, which can get you started on assigning certain tasks to certain family members so that teamwork comes together seamlessly.

If teamwork is something that your family is working on, activities that foster this skill can help. Activities that scout troops and similar organizations use can help your family gain a sense of teamwork in a fun way. For example, stand in a large, safe area and blindfold each member of the family. Without being able to see anything, put yourselves in order of height or birthday. Or without blindfolds, stand in a circle and have each person put his or her hands in the middle and grasp the hands of two different people. Working together, untangle the knot without letting go of each others' hands.

Teamwork isn't something that happens overnight, and it requires effort from each family member. Keep the lines of communication open. This means that family members listen to each other and work to help one another if they're having trouble completing their tasks. Hold a weekly family meeting that allows each person to talk about what's working and what isn't so you can all make changes accordingly. As teamwork becomes more of a habit for each of you, you might not need to have family meetings as often and may need to gather everyone together only if a problem arises or roles need to be rearranged.