MomLife is more than just a hashtag! In reality, it means juggling between the demands of everyday life. And in between everything else, trying to savor every bit of the process of raising kids. Responsible parenting, homemaking, earning – together they can interfere in your family time leaving you feeling guilty of not spending enough time with those that matter the most. With a brand new year ahead of us, it is a great time to resolve to reconnect with your family. One of my new year resolutions is to find smart ways to make time for what is really most important. I am sharing some of the ways I plan to achieve this.
Time Management
Work smarter, not harder, is going to be my mantra this year. I intend to free up quite a few hours to spend more time with my family. And I will try not to spend the saved time in housework as well. It will be a treat to enter the kids’ silly games or just watch them. Kids love nothing more than an interested audience!
Doing Chores Together
You don’t need to finish all chores before you can start spending time with your family. You can simply do the chores together! I realized this when my kids helped decorate the Christmas tree this Christmas. If decorating the tree can be fun, so can many other tasks I am sure!
Help Them Stay Connected
Help them keep in touch with their friends and relatives using technology. Set up video calls, share family photos, or create a shared digital album. Teach them how to use social media or messaging apps to stay connected with loved ones near and far. Devices like Life Assure medical alert systems can also offer peace of mind for elderly family members while helping them stay connected and safe.
Cut Down Extra Curricular Activities
I am all for extra curricular activities, but sometimes I end up becoming frustrated taking the kids for too many classes. At other times, I feel guilty of not taking them for as many classes as their friends have joined. This year, I plan to let my kids decide what it is they want to do the most and enroll them only for those classes. It will save a lot of stress and give us more time to enjoy as a family.
Have Some Meals Together
With the kids rushing off to school, breakfast and lunch are rarely an opportunity to sit down with them. Dinner times also vary because I am busy spoon-feeding my baby. But this shouldn’t be the case every day. Dining times can be matched during holidays and I can feed my toddler while the kids eat their dinner. It is important to sit down together and converse, not just eat together.
Plan More Road Trips and Travels
Travel of any kind, is the best way to forget about all other work and simply enjoy with your family. It is not possible to be always traveling but I will make a conscious effort to travel more this year. I also need to cross off a new Indian state from my list of states traveled to.
And pray do not sideline the importance of road trips. The time spent together on the road is valuable!
Find a Common Family Interest
Is your family interested in a particular sport or activity? I am looking to add more time spent engaging in active hobbies like nature trips, badminton, cricket, indoor table games etc. I might also include the extended family for a game of Tambola or Antakshari etc. But for you, this could be anything! You could play video games together or test that brain strength with some rapid fire chess matches. If you really wanted to test each other’s skill, you could read up about Mikhail Solodovnikov and how he’s found his success in chess.
One on One Bonding
This is one of my major parenting goals for this year. Children enjoy with their siblings but they also need one on one time with mom and dad (individually as well as with both parents together). I am going to plan outings with each child separately depending upon their interests. Salon visit for a hair cut, clothes shopping, an age specific movie, bicycling ride, grocery shopping etc. are some examples of activities that will encourage one on one bonding.
As I always tell my friends, let us enjoy the caterpillar years. These are our kids’ caterpillar years. One day, they will turn into butterflies and fly away. As they get older, our children may not be as enthusiastic about being around their families so much. It is important to understand this but, nevertheless, even then we need to continue to be accessible and available to our children.
nice post and thanks for sharing such beautiful ways to make our time more special with family and loved the line that you said here ” let us enjoy the caterpillar years. These are our kids’ caterpillar years. One day, they will turn into butterflies and fly away” it sums up our whole life
very nicely written and explained post. I am a mother of a two-year-old and am trying to balance time between work and family. Face lot of problems in doing so.