Making the most of your family time

There’s no doubt about it, everybody is busy these days. And when life gets busy it can seem just too hard to set aside enough time for family fun. We all know that the family bond is one of the most important foundations we can build for our kids. However, when you’re short on time, it can be hard to make room for the things you want to do as a family.

So, the best thing you can do is make the most of the time you do have with your family. It’s all about changing the way you approach the activities you already do with your family. With a little preparation and some thinking outside the box, you might be surprised at all the ways you can fit more quality family time into your day.

Everyday activities with the family

Even if you don’t have a lot of extra time to spend with your family, there are many ways you can create opportunities for bonding. After all, it’s not just about the amount of time you spend with your family, but the quality of the interactions you have. Here are some simple ways that could help you make the most of that precious time with your family:

1. For many parents, the biggest window of time they have to spend with their children centres around the family dinner. You can maximise this time by turning off distractions such as the computer, TV or radio. Take turns around the table to talk about each person’s day. Ensure you as a parent also talk about your day – kids are interested in what their parents do each day while they are at school or day-care.
2. Get everyone to join in an everyday family activity such as cooking a meal together. Not only are you teaching a valuable life skill, you are also letting your children take pride in helping to put food on the table.
3. If you drive your children to school or other activities, you can also make good use of the time you have in the car. Turn the radio up and have a sing along to their favourite songs, ask them about their day or play classic car games for kids like ‘I Spy’ to keep them engaged and interested.
4. Bedtime is another chance to create some special one on one time together. Ensure you take the time to tuck them into bed, read them a short story or have a little conversation about what they did during their day. As all the hectic chaos of the bedtime routine is out of the way, this is a great time to sit back and really enjoy getting closer to your little ones without worrying about the rest of your to-do list.
5. To spend time together getting active, try walking short distances instead of driving, or get the kids involved in household chores so you can spend time together while folding clothes or gardening.

Once you get used to grasping these little opportunities in your everyday routine, you might find yourself falling into a pattern of more regular family time and with that, more hands-on parenting.