What is quality time? Do you want to know how to enjoy this quality time with your partner and children? We are going to give you some tips to spend quality time with the family.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Families spend less and less time together, less time interacting with each other. The result is that many children are receiving less attention from their parents. You are losing the habit of enjoying quality family time.
A recent demographic study in the United States, for example, reported that parents today spend approximately 40% less time with their children than parents a generation ago. Spending more time with the family and making this time quality is very important.
Quality family time brings great benefits to family relationships and children, and their emotions and development. Sharing quality time improves family communication and emotional ties and relationships.
What is quality time?
Let’s stop for a moment to define what is considered ‘quality time’. Once the definition is established, we can see how it is possible to spend more quality time with the family, with our children and our partner.
Quality is in communication and sharing. The child must also be conscious with an active role in the activity or situation that is being shared. It is important that you feel cared for, close and understand that it is a time to be together.
5 tips to spend quality time with the family
1) Create a family time calendar
Since many parents have very busy schedules, spending time with children can often become a low priority. We must prevent this from happening in a family. For this, we can make a family time calendar.
To carry it out, we will put a calendar on the fridge and parents and children write in pencil special events for each day. It’s about thinking of creative activities, moments to play or days out together, without more. It is important that we commit ourselves to respect this schedule.
2) Eat together as a family
Many of today’s children don’t know what a family dinner really is. The communication and unity that is created in this environment are essential to achieve a healthy family life. Sharing a meal together gives us the opportunity to talk about each other’s life and day.
Table sharing is a perfect time for parents to listen to their children and give advice and encouragement when they need it. Attentive listening conveys the message that one person is interested in another. All of this helps trust build up among family members.
3) Reading together often
Several studies claiming that the reading in children develops an interest in knowledge and stimulates the development of language. In addition, it increases their attention span and helps them to be more curious.
To spend more quality family time together we can choose reading. Set a reading time in the afternoon some day of the weekend or summer, or on working days, if we have that time.
It is important to find books that interest the child. Then we can ask you questions about what you are reading and open an informal discussion that will encourage communication.
After reading for a while together, we will talk about each other’s book , about the most interesting thing we have read, what we like or don’t like about that book… This will create moments of attention among the very beneficial family members.
4) Play together
The new technologies have made the use of video games is something increasingly common in homes. We can play video games with children and make this become quality time, chatting as we play and having fun with them.
But we must not forget the board games. This will give us additional time and it is easier to talk while playing a good board game than with most video games.
5) Plan and enjoy family outings
It is very important to leave home together. We can simply get in the family car and go for a walk stopping for a drink somewhere the child likes. But this should not be the only thing we do together as a family.
It is important to plan family outings, do things like riding a bike together, taking a walk in the country or going to a museum together. Children are excited about planning these outings, waiting for them to come, and really enjoy them when they are happening.
All of these things will lead to many talks together; not only in the preparation, but also during the development of the activity.
In closing, we must insist that what is important for children is the quality of time that adults spend with them, never the quantity. It is necessary to create a time in which they enjoy the company of the elderly, their affection and their attention.