Finding Time Together

Families are getting busier and busier. We are taken out of the home more than we have in the past. It is more common for both parents to be working, we are working longer, and technology allows us to work when we are home. Children are busy with school, sports, and other activities.

When we are home, we are on our computers, tablets, and cell phones. We are surfing the web, playing games online, checking social networks, checking emails, and posting comments. We are not truly together even when we are physically together.

Our families are important. They provide great happiness in our lives. The stress of my day can melt away when I enter the doors of my home, and my son races towards me with a grin which spreads from ear to ear. "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!" he excitedly proclaims until we collide and his small arms wrap around me. These are the times which matter in our lives.

Finding time for our families isn't easy. We have many responsibilities and expectations in our lives, but we can spend time with our families as we make it a priority in our lives. Here are a few things we have done to make time for our family.

Family Home Evening

One night a week we gather together as a family for activities and a lesson. As parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children. This evening is a time set aside where we can formally teach our children values such as prayer, telling the truth, sharing, respect, forgiveness, work, and God. We also focus on the needs of our family.

It isn't just about the lessons though. We visit places in our community, we play games, and we have fun together. It allows us to be together and grow together.

Mail Time

We each have mundane tasks we have to do, and collecting the mail is one in my life. It is a daily activity which needs to be done.

I decided early I would change this mundane task into family time. I put my son's shoes on, and we collect the mail together. It gives my wife a break when I return home from work, and it is one on one time I have with my son.

We end up running up and down and up and down a small hill more times than I can count, pick up every small rock, climb over every large one, gaze at the cars which drive by, and pretend to drive our own cars. It takes much longer to get the mail than if it was just me, but I have found joy in the casual time we have together.

Family Dinner

Dinner time together is more than a time to feed our bellies. It is a time to listen to each other, talk about our day, and encourage each other.

As parents, we have created a family rule to encourage discussion; the whole family waits until mom and dad are done eating before running off.

This isn't always easy. As parents we are working to remember to include our child in conversations, or he becomes bored and restless. Our son usually wants to dash away after taking two bites, but we have been learned more about each other as we spend this time together.

No Tech Time

We have learned technology can quickly distract not just our children, but us as parents as well. Our children are also watching us and following our examples.

As parents, we used to play games on our cell phones and tablet while our son happily played. The problem was he quickly began to associate the technology with games. He wanted to always play on our phones or tablet whenever we pulled them out for anything.

Together we decided to have a no tech time from dinner to bedtime. We are still working on this as we slip up from time to time, but we find ourselves doing more activities together.

These are just some ideas. Each family is different with different routines, rules, and traditions. Find what works for your family, so you can find the time to grow together.

David Stoddard