Don’t Forget Your Jacket-Family Together Time
Don’t Forget Your Jacket-Family Together Time
Oh! and I love you.
Thanks for taking out the trash, did you get your laundry in?
Have you ever found yourself yelling to your child, as they run off to school or out of the house something you want them to remember, only to think to yourself, you have been doing a litany of “Did you” and “Don’t forget to” since they woke up? So you really quick, without even changing the tone of your voice, attach to the “yell you were making” an “I love you.”
Think about the typical day, from the waking and preparing for the day to the winding down and going to sleep. How many of those interactions that you have had with other family members were quality time?
According to the NY Post, “American Families Barely Spend Quality Time Together” the average family in the United States spends 37 minutes a day together of quality time.
Why is quality time together important? Children who feel valued in their family have:
*higher self esteem
*more compassion
*better outside relationships
*are able to handle stress better
37 minutes, this is not very long. A meal is longer than 37 minutes. Many studies have been done about meal time and family time. The importance of eating together, the pleasure and creativity of preparing it together, the sharing and talking that occurs during the meal and many of these studies have slight variances. What they all share is less than half of the families in the United States eat together at least three meals a week.
If we take the “easy” sharing of quality time “off the table” so to speak and sharing a family meal is simply not something that can happen in your house, or it is not a priority, what other ways can you spend quality time together? There are some really simple ways to have a connection with your child, while still fulfilling some of the demands of your busy life.
If you drive your child to and from school, you have a captive audience, take advantage of it!
Turn off the music, tell your child how happy you are to see them, while looking into their eyes, ask them what the best thing about that day was. This is not a yes, no, “it was good” kind of question. Then when they are done, ask them a question about something they mentioned the previous day. Try to remember the other children they are naming. If you hear all about Sally for a couple of weeks, then Sally disappears from conversation, ask about her. You are showing you care about your child’s world, you listen and their issues are important enough for you to remember.
If you do not carpool, have a place set aside at home that you can create and name it. We have the “Cuddle Chair”, which comes in handy not just for conversation, but also for those moments when someone wants to meet on the “Cuddle Chair” for some special nurturing.
If you are interested in ways to bring kindness and quality time to your family activities, download the month long family calendar.
“Today’s special moments are tomorrow’s memories.” ~ Genie “The Return of Jafar”