Thank you to our partners for providing this post.
Quality time as a family seems to be few and far between in modern times. School schedules are jam-packed, extracurricular activities are plentiful, work piles up, and before you know it, weeks have passed in a blur.
Even with the best of intentions, things seem to creep into the weekly calendar and take up all of the most precious time. Check out our top suggestions on what you can do to make sure you get those extra hours in of family time no matter what!
Eat Together
When the whole week is packed with things that have to be done, try to make sure that you eat together as often as you can. It’s tough to do sometimes with teenagers who like to hang out with their friends as much as possible, endless books of homework, and little ones who have an earlier bedtime. Eating together whenever you can gives everyone a pause for a few hours, and that time can be precious
Walking
Everyone is rushing to get somewhere and return home quickly, so the car is used often. If you live somewhere with safe enough streets and the weather is forgiving, see who wants to join you on a stroll a few times a week. Walking is great for everyone, not just because of the physical health factor but because it gives us time to let our minds switch off for a while too. For those with no time in the evenings, then fitting in a walk on a Sunday morning can be just as great!
Block Time
The calendar is blocked with all of the other activities that you have to do, so why not block time out at least once a month? Blocking time on the same weekend of the month means that everyone can plan accordingly. You can take it in turns to choose where you go or what you do. Blocking the time out and treating it like something you have to do might make it feel a little less spontaneous, but it means that you have a plan – and something for everyone to look forward to.
Talk
One of the most common complaints for parents of teenagers is that their teens don’t communicate with them. The thing is that as they grow up and are finding their way, they often believe they know more about life than they do – and are even afraid to ask. While it is healthy for teens to have some parts of their life that belong to them only, it is also a must for parents to talk to them. Teens have a world that, most often, you aren’t privy to, so it might mean you have to work extra hard to connect with them. If you’re tech-savvy, you can even send them some memes or TikToks – since millions of people communicate this way, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary!
Hobbies
Hobbies can be an amazing way to connect with your family – because, often, hobbies are things that can be shared. Although if your teens or younger children are into skateboarding, you might want to try and find something else (and save your knees!). Painting, reading, walking, and making things are all hobbies that will take time, and that time can be well spent together.
Here are some great hobbies to start with kids:
- Chess – work your brains out and see who is the most fearsome foe.
- Photography – you don’t need more than your smartphone and some time.
- Cooking – a valuable skill, but a delicious hobby to have, too!
- Astronomy – a little space, a basic telescope, and a good astronomy book can get you started.
- Collecting – find something you both/all think is cool and start collecting!
Movie Night
A Friday night can be one of the most restful nights of the week. The busy work and school week are done; what could be more enjoyable than grabbing a bucket of popcorn and putting on a movie? One of the most time-consuming parts of movie night can be picking the movie itself! Skip the stress and choose from one of these family movies to watch. You can make the movie night even more fun by selecting snacks that go with the movie! Themes movie nights, like blue or sea-salt snacks for the Little Mermaid movie, or delicious antipasti and pasta for Bruno! For most modern families, screens get in the way of communication and spending time. And, often, every family member is guilty of it! So, it can be very important to put a limit on screen time for everyone.
Whatever you decide to do, you can’t go wrong when you are spending time with your family!
Leave a Reply