Friday, August 12, 2005

Sometimes the greatest time spent with your kids...

is when they want you to play a game or read a story while you're "busy" and you actually go ahead and do it instead of putting them off. It's SO hard to stop being "busy" long enough - but SO rewarding!!!

What kind of "family time" do you find most rewarding?

3 comments:

Nancy C. Brown said...

I do so agree with you, and as my kids get older, I try harder and harder to make that time, seeing how little time we have left to be together as family. When they are little, it feels like you have forever in front of you, and then suddenly, the toddler is a teen and you wish you could make teenhood last forever!

Our best times have been playing a great game called "The Un-Game" it's a pack of cards and you go around and ask a person something, like "What holiday do you like best and why?" or "What makes you sad?" It gets us talking about things we might not get to otherwise.

Other great family times are when we are traveling and staying all in one motel room. It just seems like this promotes more intimacy, more secret sharing, and more stories of the parents past, etc.

I have one daughter who likes to hear about my girlhood (back in the "old days") and sharing those stories with her is very special time.

Of course, reading a loud time. The books we've shared have created life-long bonds, I have no doubt.

Now, I'll try to leave some room for someone else ;-)

none said...

That's great! I consider these spontaneous activities to be part of school -- the learning that happens all the time, even just by kids interacting with their parents. (Guilt be gone! -- scheduling, schoolbooks, and housecleaning will have to wait.)

none said...

Okay, I do feel guilty about not staying on task, like everyone else (but I feel more guilty when I spend time on myself). However, since my daughter is just six, these spontaneous times are often what school consists of, and where I find the most teachable moments.

There are several questions I ask myself when being interrupted from chores and other tasks:

1. Was it a polite request?
2. Is it a reasonable request?
3. Can I make time for the activity right now, or do I have to stay on task (because of an immanent outside activity, approaching dinner time, or some other reason)?
4. Will this particular activity set a precedent of some sort? (Any future negative consequences?)
5. Then I frequently set a time limit (and perhaps a timer).

I was often inclined (from the beginning) to say no when asked to do something right now, but instead decided that if the request passed a few tests, there would usually be reasonable explanations for the no's. And perhaps I could say yes more often.