When school starts, I feel like life just starts running and I’m just chasing after everything. Between coaching, teaching, and regular life, getting to spend quality time with my family together can be hard to find.
Some studies have found that the average family spends less than 40 minutes together on weekdays. I imagine that those 40 minutes or less might not even be spending time together – more like a check-in: homework, how was your day?, anything that needs to be signed, get ready for bed, good night! However, they usually try to catch up on weekends when family time expands to about 3 hours.
Other studies show that even a few minutes of togetherness sprinkled throughout the day can strengthen family ties. Small gestures make a big difference – family dance parties, sitting together to eat, even watching tv together are small ways to get time together.
Below are several ways on how to spend quality time with your family and how to build in that time, and also make the most of it!
How to Spend Quality Time with Your Children
When I look at my priorities, my kids are number one for spending quality time together, especially since both of my kids are fairly young. Right now, they understand the concept of work, but not fully. My daughter literally says “when you go to work, I’ll miss you.” Gah – just stab me in the heart why don’t you! However, I also know that spending quality time together now will provide stronger relationships with them in the future and they are more likely to be successful in the long term.
Strategies for Quality Time With the Kids:
- Pay attention. Boost your child’s self-esteem and social skills by giving them your undivided attention. Turn the TV off. Put the phone down – this one is hard for me! Listen closely to what they have to say and show interest!
- Dine together. Enjoy family dinners at the table together. Our family does this nearly every night. Plus we also make it a point to be screen-free by putting our phones on the chargers. Not only does this help us spend quality time together as a family, but we also are seeing that standard of no phones while eating together.
- Play and dance. Too many structured activities can crowd out time for independent play. So bring in the spontaneous dance parties! Say yes when you’d usually say no. Leave room in your schedule for laughter and silliness.
- Have deep conversations. Earn your child’s trust. They’ll be more likely to confide in you when they’re struggling. You can also use news stories and movies as prompts to discuss important issues. I’ve always found that opening up first helps with the vulnerability and having deep conversations while driving helps encourage everyone to open up!
- Go on vacation. Use your personal leave time. Take the half day. Family adventures create lasting memories, and you may feel more relaxed away from home.
How To Spend Quality Time with Your Partner
Does your partner seem more like your roommate sometimes? It’s natural for the honeymoon phase to pass and for kids to cause big changes to relationships. There are times that you feel like roommates (I like reframing it as teammates) more than a couple. However, spending quality time together can help lessen that feeling.
Try these techniques:
- Schedule date nights. Aim for at least one date night a month when you can focus on being a couple – not teammates, not roommates, not parents. Just two people in love <3
- Find a joint project. Shared interests draw you closer together too. Team up on a home project or find a class you can do together!
- Support each other. Ordinary kindness can be as romantic as love letters and flowers. Bring your spouse a cup of coffee while they’re getting ready for work. Sneak a cute note into their lunch. Send them a text when you think of them during the day.
How To Spend Quality Time with Yourself
Your relationship with yourself counts too. When you take care of yourself, you’re able to time and energy into others.
Keep these tips in mind:
- Work out. Being active has so many benefits to you from helping with weight management to relieving stress. You’ll also be serving as a positive role model for your family. Even better – do family walks! Quality time with family AND taking care of yourself! Win-win 🙂
- Eat healthy. Prepare nutritious meals and snacks for your family and yourself. Don’t be afraid to get your kids involved in the kitchen. They love to help and will develop cooking skills too!
- Sleep well. I know, I know. As a mom of a 3 and 1 year old, my sleep is interrupted every night. But as long as I get 7 to 8 hours of sleep over the night, I find that I feel rested enough to tackle the day!
With enough planning and effort, you can share more quality time with the ones you love, which benefits everyone.
