How To Spend Quality Time With Your Kid

Families are busy these days. After work, school, extra-curricular activities, meetings, housework and the other inevitable realities of life, there isn’t a lot of time leftover for quality time to spend with your children.

Multiple studies reveal that children are much more likely to develop emotional and behavioral disorders when they receive inadequate or, poor parenting and each study uses the foundation of spending quality time with children as the first vital step to successful parenting.

Activities that will promote happy and healthy children are innumerable and don’t have to be expensive or,  difficult to access. The key is to give the child your full attention and vice versa.

As for parents, looking for a way to spend time with the kids, there are many creative ways in which it can be done. First of all, write down your schedule and see if there is any way to make modifications to it. If there is, try to set aside the same times every single week in order to create a routine with the family. This is a great way to make sure no one else in the family schedules other activities during these times. If one of the children’s friends asks, “want to come over Friday after school?” Your child can let them know they can’t because it is family night (our family has Set aside Sunday Afternoons to late evening aside).

There are many ways in which a parent can spend time with their kids. All it takes is a few modifications and some great ideas.

By spending quality time with your kids, they receive many benefits. Here are a few of them, why they are important, and how to make quality time.

1. Feeling Loved and Important : This is important for any person at any age. Feeling loved, valued and important builds self-esteem and self-worth, which is necessary for a fulfilling life.

2. Model Good Behavior: Children often mirror their behavior after that of the people they spend the most time with. If they aren’t spending time with you and learning good behavior, habits and morals from you, who are they learning it from?

3. Learn Children’s Strengths: When you spend quality time with your children, you can start to identify their strengths, as well as begin to identify areas for improvement. Through this, you can help them grow as a person by building on their strengths and helping them reach their full potential.

4. Voice Thoughts and Feelings: Think back on the time when you were growing up. There are many things that happen throughout your child’s and teenager’s lives that they need to talk about. By spending quality time with your children, you are giving them the comfort level and time to share these things with you.

5. Develop Stronger Relationship: One of the best, and most obvious things about spending quality time with your children is developing stronger relationships with them. Be sure that both parents are spending individual time with each child. This will help not only build memories, but also build trust.

All of these weave together and are an integral part of having a healthy family dynamic and happy children. The benefits are endless, so set aside one-on-one, quality time with your kids.

Here are some suggestions to get started.

1. Family meal time.This could become a family event from the selection of the menu, preparing the food and table, serving, eating together, and cleaning up. During the meal, children and adolescents can be encouraged to talk about what is interesting to them, and not necessarily the usual topics like school and work.

2. Homework. If parents can spend positive time with their children without conflict, this can be a good bonding experience where the school work itself is just a means to the end.

3. Sports. Whether it is playing catch in the yard, going to the gym, or watching the child play or perform, active and positive involvement is rewarding.

4. Hobbies such as drawing, crafts, collecting are great fodder for conversation.

5. Board games and cards allow for the family to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

6. Religious activities.

7. Shopping with the family can make a simple chore an event.

8. Attend a concert or show together.

9. Go to the theater, watch television, or rent movies. By watching some shows your child enjoys, you will learn more about him/her and can use the topics brought up for more interesting discussions.

10. Outdoor activities such as hiking, walks, bicycling, picnics, or camping.

11. Attend school events together.

12. For younger children, get in the habit of reading to them. For the adolescent, ask what book they are reading and then read it yourself. In both cases, engage the child in a discussion about the book.

13. Make a craft or start a project together.

In summary, family time should be a fun and enjoyable way to raise healthy and happy children that love and feel loved.

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