Question:
Our family life is frenetic with working, carpooling, attending meetings,
shopping and all the children’s activities. I just don’t think we spend
enough quality time with our children who are in elementary and middle
school. I keep reading about how having family time together plays into our
children’s success in school, and even in later life. How can we find more
quality family time?
Answer:
All the mental health experts will agree with you that quality family time
is important. Besides increasing the bond between parents and children, it
also makes for wonderful memories and leads to more positive behavior by
children, as well as success in school.
More and more parents, like you, are seeking ways to increase family time.
It does take effort; there is no question about that. One of the best ways
to begin is by making time for a family dinner. Parents might need to go to
work earlier, and children may need to cut down the time spent on an
activity. While it might not be possible for everyone to eat together every
night, it should be possible to do so a few nights a week. Additionally,
the family dinner needs to be a pleasant time where members share
experiences. There should be rules such as no television or phones, and no
discussions of disciplinary issues.
Another way to increase quality time with your children is for both parents
to initiate dates with individual children. Shared chores with parents and
children working together present another opportunity for quality family
time. A particularly sweet family time opportunity is to initiate bedtime
chats with your children, especially younger ones.
