Most families lead such hectic lives they rarely spend true quality time together. Between work, school, church, and other activities, families are spread so thin there is usually much interaction that takes place together as a whole. Instead of letting your activities rule your life, restructure your family so that you can spend time together and enjoy each other.



It has been evident that interacting with family over various issues and events acts as a stress buster. You tend to feel more relax, calm and at home with your family. It gives you the chance of being closer and understanding the importance of relations. Moreover when parents spend quality time with their kids they generally get to know what is going on in their life and problems faced by them.

The first step towards taking your life under control is to make a schedule of events for everyone, including parents, to see. Mark all the activities of the day such as sports practices, lessons, meetings, and special events that affect family life. This will help you cut down some activities if you find your children are over booked with too many activities. Essentially, a couple of major activities a season should be enough, otherwise they may not perform well in school and at home.

The family meal is the best time to be together and interact with each other. If you can't do it everyday, try to make it happen at least a couple of times a week. Eating together was the traditional way of spending quality time together. You can bring it back into your life. Just make sure to turn off the television or any other distractions and focus on each other. You may have to make some modifications in your dinner schedule to accommodate all family members, but it's worth it.

Try to mark one free day or night a week as family time. During that time, the entire family should spend time together without friends, neighbors, or any other distractions. Consider a family outing to the zoo, a museum, or park. Perhaps spending time at home playing board games will best suit your crew. Remember, family time is about family?not the event planned.

Television can be a constant distraction for families, especially in homes where there is a war being waged between family members. Try to choose programs that will entertain all members of the family. Seek to rent movies or find television shows appropriate for all ages, so no one is left out.

With todays fast pace life majority of the time is spend in the car. This time can be put to good use by the parents in talking to their children and knowing the problems faced by them. Infact there are many families that tend to waste this time and then crib over less time for family interaction.

It is good to involve all the family members in the interaction. If your child is playing any sport then whole family should sit and watch that together. If your child is excellent in music then make sure of your presence at his concert. This will not only motivate and cheer him but also inspire him to perfom better.