Parenting Pointers: Five Ways to Bring Your Family Together

Life is crazy. With all of the running around that happens during your average day ñ work, school, extracurricular activities, taking care of the house, and so on ñ it can be difficult to find the time to sit down and enjoy quality time with your family. When the dust of the day does finally settle, everyone is so exhausted or is too busy catching up on their own interests to even spend five minutes talking to each other.

While spending time as a family might be difficult, it is extremely important that you make the effort to do so. These are the people that you live for; your foundation; your heart, and soul. Not to mention spending time together builds morals, values, and trust in children.



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If more quality time is something that your family needs, try incorporating these simple, yet awesome tactics†into your daily routine. These activities will promote togetherness, good laughs, and build a great sense of family.

Unplug

With all of todayís modern gadgets, it is not uncommon to see a family gathered together in the living room, but not interacting with one another. Mom is looking at the tablet, brother is playing video games, sister is text messaging, and dad is watching TV. While you may all be in each otherís presence, this isnít exactly spending time together. Devote at least one half hour to each other, unplugged from technology, everyday.

Talk

What should you do with yourselves when you arenít plugged in? There are tons of things! Like talking, for example. Strike up a conversation with your family. Ask how their days went or if anything new is happening.

Play Games

Talking may not be something that comes naturally to your family - especially if you have teenagers. Get the words flowing, as well as the laughter, by playing some games with each other. Pull out some board games and have a good, old fashioned family game night.

Have a Dance Party

Turn up the music and start dancing and singing your heart out. Your kids may look at you a little weird at first, but when they see how much fun you are having, theyílll likely be inclined to join in. Plus, youíll get the chance to introduce them to your music, and vice versa.

Go on an Adventure

Of course, you can plan a family vacation, but a big trip isnít always necessary for an adventure. Go on a hike in a nearby park, bike together, explore the nature that surrounds you, or just spend the day doing something nearby, like a fair, a festival, or a day at the beach.

Read Together

Reading is such a powerful tool. Grab a book and have family reading time. Reading helps promote language development, builds imagination, and when you read together as a family, itís an experience that builds trust.

This reading time doesnít have to stop when your kids grow older. Pick out a chapter book and read at least one chapter a night together. You can read one night, your spouse can read the next, and the kids can also take their turns reading. Donít forget to discuss whatís going on in the book to extend comprehension and bonding.



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Your family is who you live for and they are the most important part of your world. Make the time to spend†quality time†together so that you can fully enjoy and appreciate one another.

Naomi Shaw is a freelance writer in Southern California. She loves spending time with her family, and she and her husband especially enjoy doing fun activities outdoors with their kids. She contributes content to the Candy Concepts Inc. blog.