Sometimes, hectic schedules and the demanding nature of your jobs can get the best of you and cause you to slowly feel disconnected from your family members. Most especially since screens, gadgets, technology, and the Internet have taken up most of your time, it’s now challenging to make time to bond with your family, especially your children. However, if there’s one thing you must not sacrifice for the sake of your job, it’s your time and moments with your children.
Spending enough time around your children can significantly affect their growth and development. Not only will it help cultivate a healthy and profound parent-child relationship, but it’ll also help your kids feel like they have a support system, making them feel more confident, independent individuals. So, do you still remember the last time you had a fun family bonding together? If not, this may be a sign that it’s time to reconnect with your family and create amazing memories together.
Despite being busy parents, make sure you make family time a frequent occurrence by keeping a list of these five family bonding ideas and try them out one at a time:
Despite having hectic schedules, it’s natural for parents to make time for kitchen chores and cook meals for the family. So, why not utilize this time not only for cooking, but as well as family bonding? Together, you can decide on what meal or dish you should work on for the day’s meal. Make sure you keep your kids involved through the whole process by letting them do the mixing, stirring, or slicing, if they’re capable.
For younger kids, you can also focus on creating baked goods, like cupcakes, cookies, or mini-cakes. Your kids would be happy to participate in mixing the eggs, rolling the flour, making the icing, and decorating the baked goods with their favorite colors.
Your kitchen can be the best place for your family to bond, get creative, and make great memories together. Check out parenting sites, like The Parenting Daily, for more at-home activities that would encourage your child’s creativity and participation.
2. Schedule A Movie Night
If weekdays are for work, then make sure your weekend nights are scheduled for movie nights! Movie nights are a perfect time to bond with your family in the living room and snuggle with each other as you watch a movie. To make it more interesting, let every family member decide which movie the family should watch for the night by taking turns each week.
If your child wants to watch a cartoon movie for the night, then do so. The point is you let your child feel involved with the planning. You can have your movie night at home or move your TV outdoors under the stars, or you can also do this in a movie theater.
3. Sit Down For Meals Together
Gone are the days when it’s always a family tradition to sit down and eat meals together, regardless if you’re running late for work or your kids are off to school. Nowadays, it has slowly become a norm for some families to eat individually, anytime they want. To bond with your family even during your busy days, make it a routine to eat meals unitedly as a family as often as you can. You can put down your paperwork for a bit, tell the kids to pause their screen time, and, together, you can sit down at the table and catch up.
If not, you can, at least, schedule two to three days a week, wherein a family dinner is a must. This way, you can bond together during this time and be able to catch up with each other’s happenings and the latest events of the week.
4. Have A Treat Night
As you and your spouse are working long hours at work every day, it may be hard for you to catch up some time with your kids or even bond together as a family. As a way of making it up to them, while at the same time finding a way of bonding with your family, designate one night every week for a treat night. It can be a Friday or a Saturday night.
For this treat night, make it a habit to bring some delicious treats for you and your kids to enjoy. This way, your kids will surely look forward to this treat night every week, as not only will this be a night for them to enjoy delicious treats, but because they also get to spend time with their parents and bond as a family.
5. Go Backyard Camping
Perhaps, as busy parents, you may not have enough time to plan elaborated travels or faraway family road trips, or arrange overnight camping out in the woods or the mountains with your family. However, that doesn’t mean you can never go camping ever. Why not make use of your lawn and have backyard camping?
You can go backyard camping together as a family and still do camping activities as if you’re camping in the real woods. You can build a campfire, teach your kids to toss marshmallows on the fire, tell them stories, stargaze, and sleep out for the night with your tent. This will surely be one of the evenings your kids will never forget.
Let these ideas inspire you to take some time off work, bond with your family, and create unforgettable memories together. Remember, a time well spent with your family is never a wasted time.
