Quality time with your kids is an important and fun part of life. In today’s busy world, work, household chores, and social activities all put a strain on your time with your child. It’s so important in the middle of all that to spend time together. It helps strengthen the bond between you and your child, and lets them know you can be trusted and counted on.
Benefits of quality time
Children who spend quality time with their parents often do better in school, and excel in extracurricular activities, hobbies or sports. Schedule quality time but also look for opportunities along the way. Some of our favorite memories have come from unplanned and unexpected adventures.
But you’re asking yourself, “Where am I going to find the time? My schedule’s crazy enough as it is!” Well, for something as important as your child, you need to start digging around in that crazy schedule and find the time. Prioritizing is the key.
Here’s some helpful suggestions on how to make the most of your time and find quality time where you least expect it.
Prioritize
Look at your household chore list and decide which ones can be left undone or be done imperfectly in order to make more family time. Also finding things kids can help with can be a great way to spend time together. Doing chores together can be fun for younger kids, especially if you give them their own (age appropriate) cleaning supplies. You might discover things that can wait or weren’t as important as you thought.
Create fun within your routine
Turn some of your everyday routines into something fun. Sing some favorite silly songs in the car or make that drive to and from school a great opportunity to discuss what’s happening in your child’s life.
If you have more than one child, realize that each of them needs your individual attention. You may really have to juggle things around to make this happen. And no matter what, don’t skip those individual times with each child. By doing so you show them they’re lower down on the priority list than the dry cleaning or the grocery shopping.
Children thrive on stability and routines, so plan your quality times so that they can take place regularly. Maybe you can walk the dog together on weekend morning, take a shopping excursion together, or take a trip to the park.
