Why you should book time and spend it with the ones you love

Spending time with our loved one is something that we can take for granted.

Often we are caught up in the speed of modern life while chasing our next monthly salary.  Right from waking up in the morning we struggle to find time to spend with our families.  A peck on the cheek or ruffling the kid’s hair as you fly out the house to beat traffic are the closest we come to an interaction with our loved ones at the start of the day.

Sometimes it is important to step back and re-evaluate our family time. How often does it happen?  Is it quality time?

 

How to improve family time

There are a number of ways to improve family time.  Let’s look at a few ideas.

1. What are your priorities?

What do you consider to be the most important priorities in your life?  Your family should be at the top of that list.

Look at the various schedules that affect you and your family.  Is there something that you or your children are involved in that could be family time instead?  This takes a lot of honesty and can be painful but if it leads to an increase in time spent together as a family, the pain is worth it.  Sometimes it requires a change in mindset from selfish to selfless on the part of a parent and sacrificing some of your activities.

Remember to evaluate your children’s schedules as well.  They might be signed up for many extra mural activities which also could reduce chances of quality family time.

 

2. Make use of time that the families already are together

Dinner time is a great example of this.  Sit the family down at a table, eat together and discuss each family members day.  Make this a daily ritual.  Another example of time that can be utilised as family time is the ride to or from school.  Sing along to the radio, tell jokes, and discuss the day ahead or the day just passed.

3. Involve your kids in activities

Quality family time doesn’t need to be something out of the ordinary.  You could even involve your kids while you cook, clean, do gardening, cut the lawn, wash the car or walk the dog.

4. Utilize bedtime

This is an often overlooked period that can be utilised as a brilliant bonding time with your children.  Read a bed time story, brush their hair, cuddle with them and most importantly tell them how much you love them.

 

5. Plan family time

 

Make a day each week where you plan family time.  Take a Saturday for example.  Take your family and go hiking, walk on the beach, visit a zoo or go for a swim. A picnic is actually a perfect way to do this, not only can you picnic at different areas each week but you can invite your extended family to join you as well.