The day is about to end, and you are about to watch your favorite show but you are too exhausted and you decide to sleep anyway. Carpools, lunch bags, after-school activities, dinner, homework, bathtime, bedtime. All on top of your own job and the other realities of adulthood.
Your life seems like an endless loop of tasks and you find yourself in the cycle of just having left with energy to drag yourself to bed and sleep so that you can wake up in time to start the same day again. Each day with young kids feels like a week, each week like a month. Yet as every birthday passes, the years seem to be streaking by at warp speed.
You have to realize that time flies very fast and you can’t control it. Instead of worrying about how you can add more minutes to your life, focus on making all the moments more memorable with your little ones. There is always a loophole with parents when they decide to spend quality time with their children. Assigning 2 hours of the day might seem like a proper way to do it – at the playground, an afternoon at the movies, dinner at a restaurant. But the truth is that quality time may occur when you least expect it—yes, at the nature preserve, but also in your drawing room while just about to have dinner.
- To Strengthen the Bond
- To Inculcate Values
- To Show Kids That They Matte
- To Teach and Learn New Things
- To Pass on Traditions
- To Learn to Deal with Highs and Lows Together
- To Understand One Another
A walk after dinner will be a walk to remember
Something as simple as going for a walk after dinner and enjoying the peaceful weather and silence of the night. It is anyway advised to not go to bed immediately after having dinner. So why not make it into something that your family can enjoy and also have a conversation about how the day went. It is a beautiful way to end the day on a good and memorable note.
A walk after dinner will be a walk to remember
Something as simple as going for a walk after dinner and enjoying the peaceful weather and silence of the night. It is anyway advised to not go to bed immediately after having dinner. So why not make it into something that your family can enjoy and also have a conversation about how the day went. It is a beautiful way to end the day on a good and memorable note.
A healthy family is a happy family
In your busy schedule you somehow manage to take the time out for a workout, so why not make it a collective family workout and keep everyone happy and healthy. You can join a gym together provided it is kid-friendly, you can simply work out at home as well. You can go to parks where there is gym equipment where your children can even play along. Start teaching simple exercises to your kids; once they get a knack for it, they will look forward to exercising schedules and spending time with you.
Read together, bond together
Reading is always a very good habit to inculcate in your little ones. It is a great way to expand knowledge and creativity. It also enables discussions at home and this way you can spend time with your kid and help them learn a new story as well. It is also nice to help build your child’s views from the very start.
Baby’s day out - once a month
Everyday plans might seem a little difficult to follow and keep a track of but one thing that can be done is planning a trip or a picnic once a month. If resources allow you should also plan a trip to somewhere you have never been before. Traveling together is the best way to bond, create memories for a lifetime and witness beautiful locations together.
Work life balance
During the pandemic, our office has come to our home and hence took the extra time we would have had with our family. But we can make sure to set boundaries. We can make sure to not sure our phones past our work hours especially when we are around our children. This might also be beneficial for your children to understand work-life balance.
Cooking together
Cooking is a great activity and doing this together as a family is a great way to spend family time. You can cook a new dish each time, or stick to an old tradition and cook a particular dish that is an old recipe passed on through generations. This will also make your child learn basic survival skills irrespective of the requirement. It’s good to have them get involved from the very initial stages of life.
Cleanliness is a win-win activity
Cleaning the house might sound too tedious but it can be made into something fun if done together. You can move around the furniture every now and then, clean out the clutter. This will help your little ones understand the importance of cleanliness. It is something productive and also let’s you spend time together and in a healthy way.
A good deed goes a long way
Spreading smiles is always a good way to appreciate life and understand gratitude. Many a times in our busy lives we often forget the real condition of the world. We should make an effort to do for others as much as we can. Soemthings all they want is a company. So you can encourage your little ones to go to an NGO, old age home or orphanage. Doing a good deed for people will not only make them happy but you as well.
Spending time with your family is not a chore, it is a privilege. To have people in your life who love you immensely is a blessing. Do not take your loved ones for granted. You might regret not spending time with your little one’s once they are old enough. This is the best time to make wonderful memories and live your life to the fullest.