The struggle to balance family time with outside commitments and activities is one of the most challenging aspects of parenting, especially as your kids get older. You want to spend time as a family so that you can establish secure relationships, but sometimes trying to carve out family time is harder than expected with all your work commitments and your kids' activities.
1.Establish Regular Family Time
Whether you set aside one afternoon or evening a week, establishing set family time can create memories that last a lifetime. Whether it's movie night, take-out night, game night, or even a weekly family bike ride, the key is that at least once a week you have time designated for togetherness.
Spend the time relaxing and talking with each other. You might be surprised by the things you learn about your kids on your special night or how you connect as a family.
2.Determine Your Child's Interest
If your kid says an activity "might" be fun, avoid committing to a full season or year. Not only could it present a problem for your child if they don't like it, but it will infringe on the other kids participating in the activity.
3.Consider Time Commitments
Saying yes to too many extras can eat into valuable family time. Whether you are involved in multiple volunteer projects or your child is participating in a competitive sport or playing an instrument, additional practices and time requirements may be necessary.
You have to decide if these time commitments are worth it. Time-pressed families might prefer to sign kids up for a recreation league instead of a select season, or they might consider saying no to volunteer requests that stretch them too thin.
4.Share Household Chores
If everyone in the family participates in extracurricular activities or has outside commitments, then general household chores may be harder to complete. Have a family meeting and explain how everyone will pitch in to complete family chores. It's unfair that all household responsibilities should fall on one person. Plus, it makes it harder to prioritize family time.
5.Encourage Mutual Support
When schedules allow, encourage your kids to come and cheer on their siblings every chance they get. Whether they play sports, participate in the arts, or are involved on a tech team, it's important that the entire family support one another. Of course, this support should not come at the expense of their own activities or commitments, but it should be a regular occurrence when their schedules allow.
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