Making Time for Your Child

In this fast pace world, we have what feels like a million things to do each day. We are so busy that some days, we barely have time to eat. Between work, daily errands and various other appointments, making time for family sounds like an impossible task.

However, as a parent, this is one thing that you cannot forget about. How is your busy life affecting your children? Do you only see them for a few minutes in the morning before the school bus arrives? In the evenings, do you spend time together as a family or is everyone in different rooms doing his or her own thing?

These are questions to stop and ask your self. The goal is not to feel guilty about the answers, but to take the time to make some small changes to your schedule.

For example, try to plan a few hours every week to spend some private time with each child. Make it a fun time, whether it is baking cookies with your daughter or going for a walk around the block with your son. If possible, you could maybe even plan a family day (or evening) together once in awhile. Use this time to just be together, doing something that everyone enjoys. It could be something as big as a visit to the zoo, or as simple as a night of family board games.

According to Penny Warner, author of Quality Time Anytime, there are several things you can do to spend time with your child. Even the little things are important. A few of these ideas include things such as:Bath time- Bath time can be both a fun and even educational experience. "Give your child a toy boat to float in the bath tub and ask her to guess how many pennies (or paper clips) she has to put in the boat to sink it. Then, ask her to test her guess." (Strategies to Make Anytime With Your Child Quality Time-online)Bed time- Everyone knows bed time can be a good time to spend those last moments of the day with your child. But even this can be a learning experience as well. "Read a story to your child, and have her try to guess the ending before you finish the book to build creativity and imagination."Car time- Driving your child around and doing errands does not have to be a task. Use this as a time for closeness. "Play rhyming games, make up rap songs, and play the alphabet game, by spotting letters A through Z on passing signs."Dinner-making time- When you are doing the routine task of dinner, use this as a learning time and make it a fun time. "As you prepare dinner in the evening, let your child help you cook or create a kitchen concoction while you cook. For example, fill a bowl with soapy water and let her beat with an eggbeater. Then add food coloring and have her continue to beat. See what happens! Meal time: While the family is gathered, play word games, such as I'm thinking of a word in the kitchen that begins with "J," or tell jokes and share funny stories to emphasize the importance of family 'togetherness.'"Shopping time- This is one of the worst things to do on a daily basis. But to make it fun, "Have your child play "find the food" to become more aware of what the family eats or "check the change" to become more aware of how much things cost." It isn't important on what you do as much as how often you do it. There are many times throughout the day that you could choose to spend time with your child. It doesn't need to be drastic or expensive.