8 Valuable Ways to Increase Quality Family Time

Inside: Increase quality family time and create deeper connections with your children using these 8 tips for busy families.

There is no denying that life moves quickly. The days are long and the years are short. No matter what season of parenthood or life you are in, you want to be intentional with the limited time you have with your family, not just all hustle and bustle. Having consistent, quality time with your family is certainly a vital part to happy living.

In society, we talk a lot about individualized health but I believe there is also the need for family health. What does family health mean? The definition may vary a bit for all of us.

Family health may be defined as emotional support and kindness with each other, having fun together, and enjoying meaningful experiences together. However, with our busy, modern lives involving school, work, and activities, fitting in time together and focusing on our family health consistently can be quite challenging.

If you are looking to increase your quality family time and focus on family health, see below simple, yet effective ways, you can incorporate this balance into your life routines.

8 Ways to Increase Quality Family Time

1. Make Family Meals a Habit

A family meal does not have to be everyone sitting around the table ready to eat a homemade dinner. A family meal can be accomplished in a variety of ways.

family meal ideas: 

• A traditional, around-the-dinner table, evening meal
• Carryout pizza on the living room floor with a Friday night movie
• Brunch at your family’s favorite pancake place
• Saturday morning coffee and donuts at the local park

Research shows that children who grow up in families that eat meals together thrive.  They are healthier overall, perform better academically, and are even less likely to engage in risky behaviors when older (i.e., drugs, alcohol, promiscuous sex). 

There are many advantages to eating together as a family, most importantly being the connection with time to laugh and share. 

2. Limit Scheduled Extracurriculars for Kids 

This is tough as I know many kids love playing sports and doing different activities (my own included) but chances are one or two recreational sports per season is all he/she really needs. 

Practices, games, and team requirements take up a lot of time.  More than one child?  Then the driving around and added responsibilities really get crazy. Extracurriculars are great for a child’s development but an overplanned schedule that has them hopping from one thing to another is not.

Consider how much you and your child can take on each season. Talk to your children about what they truly enjoy so you know what activities to prioritize. Be honest with yourself too!

3. Hide the iPads 

Regarding devices such as iPads and phones, out of sight, out of mind.  It is less tempting to be on a device when it is not readily accessible. 

Keep iPads, phone or other devices hidden or in a “no-use zone” making them a non-option. This allows more opportunity for interactive family time such as playing a board game, doing an art project or watching a family movie together on the living room TV (yes, a screen, but better than everyone hiding on their personal devices).

4. Go Outside

Getting outside is vital to everyone’s wellbeing and can be an easy way to fit in some simple quality family time. It doesn’t have to be a major outing, any way to get outside together can provide an excellent opportunity to get away from screens and take a breather from home responsibilities.

Ways to incorporate time outside together:

• Playground or park with areas for ball play, bike riding, etc.
• Take a family bike ride
• Skatepark
• Short local hikes
• Walk around the neighborhood
• Take all kids to a sibling’s outdoor sports practice where they can play on the sidelines or at nearby play area
• An evening stroll with flashlight
• Take the family dog for a walk together
• The beach, local pool, or waterpark (many cities have city-owned pools or parks for low cost or free entry)
• Spend 20 minutes in the backyard after dinner

5. Lose the FOMO

FOMO stands for Fear Of Missing Out. I experience this myself, and especially in today’s social media world, FOMO can be an ongoing issue. We see everyone doing all these amazing things and think “we should be doing that or why weren’t we invited?” I am guilty of this too!

But it is okay to miss out. You and your family don’t have to be at every social event. Lower the FOMO and increase quality family time by being confident in these two thoughts:

1. White space on the calendar is okay. 
2. Being alone as a family is okay.

Every minute of every day does not need to be booked.  Be willing to say no to social requests sometimes so your family can focus on quality time together.

6. Employ a Babysitter

Perhaps your quality family time means just being with your spouse or only one child — not everyone at once. Your family health may depend at times on the parents spending time together or with individual children.  

Consider hiring a sitter for one child so you can spend time with the other(s).  This one-on-one time is beneficial to overall family health as long as you take turns with each child (no picking favorites :).   An ice cream date or even a Target run with one of your kids could be just the family time he/she needs to be reminded of how special they are.

7. Communicate 

You and your parenting partner must communicate about all things family: goals, priorities, and ways they can be accomplished. With everyone on the same page, you can more easily find and agree on ways to honor quality family time.

Ways to communicate as a family:

• Share a calendar (digital or paper)
• Write down important messages on a whiteboard in central area of the house
• Send weekly texts for reminders
• If a long-term calendar is overwhelming, only post the family weekly schedule in a place where everyone can see. Be sure to note a family dinner, walk or activity together!
• Hold a (short) monthly family meeting — even by group chat or FaceTime — to check in with each other

8. Establish a Weekly Commitment

Blocking time into the calendar every week for the same time, day and location helps set the habit and becomes a commitment that you aren’t as likely to break.

This could be weekly activities such as Saturday pancake breakfast, Sunday morning church, Friday pizza and a movie, Tuesday night bowling. Whatever your family loves!

Quality Family Time is Important

Life is busy and you want to keep your family active; however, slowing down and simply being together is just as important.  This balance is hard in today’s world, but keeping it in place will greatly benefit your family health.