The Importance of Family Time – Do We Spend Enough Time with Our Children

Many families, in today’s age, find it hard to make quality family time for their children and enjoy each other’s company. According to surveys, families today spend less than 8 hours a week together, which definitely is very less. A family that knows the importance of spending quality family time together makes sure it finds such opportunities where everyone can share their experiences. The more quality family time you spend with each other, the stronger your bond becomes.

By spending family time together, a good understanding develops amongst family members. As they have their meals together, they talk about how they spent their day, share their happy moments, and times when they got upset. This way they get close to each other which is great especially for children.

Do we spend enough family time with our children?

According to research, parents do not spend sufficient family time with their children today. On weekdays, they spend 36 minutes on average with their children, while over weekends they spend 2 hours and 20 minutes each day, most which is in front of televisions because they are too tired to talk to them.

Yes, the demand of modern life has made it difficult for parents to take out time from their busy schedules for children but they must know the importance of doing so. It is not just the parents who have a packed schedule but the children, too, have a hectic routine to follow. With so much going on in the everyday life, not spending quality family time with your child can impact your bond with them, and you may miss out on a lot of things happening in their life.

It is important to communicate with your children and listen to them no matter how busy you are. If they have something to tell you take it seriously or it can cause a breakdown in your family bond. Studies have also found that children whose parents remain absent throughout the day are more likely to suffer from stress and depression and feel emotionally distressed. This means that the more importance you grant to family time and children, the healthier and happier they are.

Since most parents today are not able to give proper time to their children because they may be working long hours or having odd timings, they must know that it has an impact on their children’s academic success too. The children may feel lonely at home which hampers their performance in school. Added to this, according to research, poor relationship with parents also leads to children developing antisocial behavior, becoming aggressive and involving in unsafe sexual relationships. All these things can be prevented if parents spend quality time with their children.

Spending family time together affects children positively

As most parents go to work every morning, their children attend school, so it is only possible for them to spend family time together during the evening when they are all back home, or on weekends. Despite the parents being too tired to even talk it is important for them to make the effort of spending time together because even 20 minutes a day of quality family time can have a positive impact over your children as they grow old. It has the following benefits on them.

Helps build confidence in children

Children are always looking forward to spending time with their parents. They are always trying to determine their worth which is why whenever parents and other family members spend more family time with them, they feel that they are smart, fun to be around and important to them. This helps in building up their confidence as they grow. So, you can spend time together helping them in their mathematics homework or coaching them in your favorite sport praising their talent and skills as you continue. It is important that you identify their natural skills and tell them how to use them to their advantage. This will boost their self-confidence even more.

Helps encourage healthy habits

Of course, you will not want your child to spend their entire time sitting in front of the television or playing computer games. You know it is not good for their health and wellbeing, and it is only going to make them a couch potato. However, spending quality family time together with the family and a few activities together can help them stay healthy. According to studies, children who spent time with their families watched less television and got adequate sleeps had a lesser probability of getting obese compared to children who had poor routines. Physical activities are beneficial for children as these build healthy exercise habits in them.

Lowers risk of involving in drugs

Studies have found that children, particularly teenagers, who spend quality family time with their families, frequently, are less likely to indulge in drugs. When family dinners are habitual for children since their childhood, it helps keep them away from all such harmful things such as drugs. Such children are more responsible and sensible as they know how important they are for their family which is why they stay away from all such things. So, it is essential for parents to make family dinners a habit when the children are young.

Guidance

When children do not get to spend family time with their parents and families, they start seeking for advices and guidance from their peers. They start sharing everything with them and start following them. So, by spending time with your children you make sure that they do not have to search anywhere for their role model. You can have a chat with them anytime and know what they are feeling and sort out if there is anything that has been disturbing them such as being bullied at school. This way you can instill all the good habits in them as you deal with their issues.

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