Strong families are ones that find opportunities to spend quality time together. The more time that is spent with your family, the better chance there is of sharing quality experiences. Eating your meals together and talking about what happened during the day can easily qualify as spending quality time together. So can sharing joys and sorrows, and even doing household chores together. Some families even schedule one day each week for those special family activities. What better day for this than Sunday?
Football
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Sundays are a great day for football when the season is right. There is nothing better than watching a game with your family. It is even better when you have Sunday Ticket from DIRECTV because you will never have to miss even a single game. You won’t even have to leave your house to do it either. No more need to get all dressed to go to a sports bar where the kids may or may not be able to get in and watch the game with you. Just fire up the grill and watch the games with the family.
The Great Outdoors
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There is also all kinds of fun to be had outdoors with your family. If the weather is nice, you might think about camping out in the backyard, or doing some yard work together. Fishing is also always a great activity that kids will remember for a lifetime. You might also think about going for a nature walk or taking the kids to the park for a bit of picnic and play. There are all sorts of things that can be done outdoors.
Game Time
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No, this isn’t about sports games this time. Think about this – what activities can you do with your family on a rainy or snowy Sunday when it isn’t football season? What are your favorite board games? What are the kids favorite board games, or card games? Get them out and you can spend hours of quality time playing with the kids. You might also think about working together on a big jigsaw puzzle if that floats your boat.
Study
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There isn’t really a kid out there who enjoys doing homework. Even most of us adults remember it and cringe. However, it does need to be done. Helping your kids with their homework is an important thing to do for quite a few reasons:
• This will help you to know where they are when it comes to learning
• If you are right next to them, it can make the activity more bearable for them
• It can help you to connect with your child on their level, with something that they have to do
• It will reinforce study practices that they can carry with them throughout their learning journey
Exercise
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This option offers a wealth of benefits. It allows for you to spend time together as a family while you are also improving the physical and emotional health of everyone involved. This doesn’t necessarily need to be a structured exercise like an aerobics class either. You can take a walk, play ball with the kids, or even go for a bike ride. If you live near a body of water, you might even consider a walk on the shore or swimming.
Read
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There is no doubt that children love stories. It doesn’t matter if they come from a book or your head. However, reading to your children gives you an excellent opportunity for bonding. Surely, this is an amazing choice to end the day with after a day spent together with your family. It will help relax you and get the kids to sleep.
If you happen to be wondering if you are spending enough time with your family, Michigan State University Extension has a program called Building Strong Adolescents that can assist you in finding the answer. If you find out or feel like you aren’t spending enough time with them, start out by making every meal one that is spent together. Eat with your kids and spouse or significant other away from things that can be distracting – such as cell phones, video games, and the TV. Start conversations with them. Make them feel and know that you are there for them.
