I found this straightforward advice, yet profound article over at CIGNA.

Belonging

Through contact with others, we know that we are loved and respected and that we belong. Use the following suggestions to help your child feel he or she belongs within your family.

• Show your love. Let your child know you love him or her for who he or she is, not for what he or she does. Make it a habit to show your love for your child in at least two ways each day.
• Let your child know that he or she is special. List at least three of your child's good qualities and post them on your refrigerator. Add to these qualities from time to time. Celebrate your child's good qualities often.
• Praise your child. Make positive comments about your child's behavior at least twice as often as you make negative comments (and try for four times as often). Notice your child's strengths, even when he or she is misbehaving. When you focus on what you like, your child's behavior will improve.
• Listen to your child. When your child shares something with you, give him or her your undivided attention and listen carefully. Don't give advice unless asked for it or you feel your child's safety is involved. Don't ridicule or shame your child.
• Have family times. Have regular times for the family to have fun together, such as playing board or card games. Try to have as many family meals together as possible. Don't discuss problems or concerns during these times unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Encourage positive peer experiences. Look for activities with peers where your child can feel success and acceptance, such as participating in a sport or joining a club.

The 2D representation of the #ubuntu IRC channel on irc.freenode.net.

The distance between nodes represents relationship strength and the thickness of the line also represents this. Temporal decay was set to 0.01 so that old relationships fade away.

The frames were generated using PieSpy.

Approximately 1 second of video represents 8 minutes of realtime.

Found some interesting analysis of belonging, relationships and aging over here.

Studies of relational benefits have focused on three types for social support:

* instrumental support- tangible benefits such as money, physical resources
* informational support- sharing knowledge, information
* emotional support- sense of belonging, value from perceiving others as caring and willing to give of themselves for you. Emotional support promotes resiliency and positive ways of thinking about oneself and the situation....

Definitions of Social Support vary.

* One identifies social support as access to and the use of individuals and formal & informal groups to assist with the challenges of life.
* Another definition includes access to resources in the form of relationships which can be depended upon as needed.
* Yet another describes social support as the positive interactions in a person's social environment. The enduring pattern of social ties that assists in maintaining psychological and/or physical integrity over time.

Six categories of relational components of social support have been identified:

* attachment: emotional closeness and sense of security
* social integration: a sense of companionship, shared interests and activities
* opportunity for : being valued for what one does for one's partner
* reassurance of worth: feedback that one's personal attributes are valued
* a sense of reliable alliance: others, particularly family, are available to help in time of need
* provision of guidance: information and advice offered by others.
(Weiss, 1974)

Hansson, R.O. and Carpenter, B. N. (1994). Relationships in Old Age: coping with the challenge of transition. Guilford Press, New York, NY.

Hooyman, N.A. and Kiyak, H. A., (2002). Social Gerontology, Allyn & Bacon, Boston.

Weiss, R. S. (1974). The provisions of social relationships. In Z. Rubin (Ed.), Doing unto others (pp.17-26. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall