How to Help Your Kids — and Yourself — Remain Present During Family Activities
Technology is changing the world. In some ways, it is changing the world for the better. In other ways, though, it is making things more challenging. Cell phones are becoming more common, making it harder for kids to remain focused and present during family activities.
Spending time and remaining engaged in family activities is extremely important and beneficial. Here are some tips to help you and your children stay present during family activities.
Stay Off Electronics
One of the best ways to remain present during family activities is by staying off of electronics. As a parent, you need to set an example for your children. If your children see you on your phone or check emails, they will think they can quickly check social media or respond to text messages. Checking your phone may not seem a big deal, but it can distract you from what you are doing and take away from the bond you are creating with your family.
Make a rule that everyone needs to stay off of electronics during family time, and then ensure that you follow that rule. You cannot hold your children to a different standard than you hold yourself to. If you must check your phone for work or other relevant reasons, set a time limit for yourself. Give yourself five minutes to prevent and respond to text messages or emails, ensuring you do not spend much time on your phone.
Select Activities That Are Engaging For Your Entire Family
Another tip to help you and your children remain present during family activities is to plan or select activities that engage your entire group. For example, hiring your whole family to make a princess tea activity for a family outing may be hard if you have two teenage sons and a young daughter. Teen boys are not interested in that.
While it may take a lot of time and planning, there are different activities that your entire family may enjoy. Taking the time to find and plan these activities allows everyone to enjoy each other’s company while enjoying the action itself.
Designate Specific Times for Family Activities
It can be challenging to remain present during family activities if family members have different things going on in their lives. One of the best ways to encourage yourself and your family to stay current is to designate a specific time for family events. For example, if your family knows that every Sunday afternoon is family time, they tell their friends they cannot hang out or socialize. This helps to decrease distractions.
Having specific times for family activities also helps to develop a routine. Getting into a way makes things easier. This makes spending time as a family more regular and practice than trying to get everyone together for a random evening out.
Allow Children to Have a Say In the Activities
One of the ways that you can engage your children and help them stay present during family activities is to allow them to have a say. Children are instantly more involved in something they feel they have a say in than something they feel is forced upon them.
Ask your children what activities they may want to do as a family. Ask your children what their schedule is like and when a good time for family activities is for them. Ask your children for feedback on family activities. And don’t just ask. Listen to what they are telling you and consider the feedback they are giving you. This helps them feel heard and have a say in family activities.
Try to Set Aside Your Distractions and Stresses
One of the biggest challenges parents face when it comes to family activities is setting aside distractions and stresses. As a parent, it can be hard to disconnect from work, stop worrying about a fight with your partner, or put aside money problems. However, when trying to remain present during family activities, you must find a way to set these things aside.
You must focus on your time with your children and enjoy your time together as a family. Try different techniques to help you set aside distractions and stresses to better the time you and your family spend together.
Take a Break As Needed
The final way to help yourself and your kids to remain present during family activities is to take a break as needed. There may be too much tension on a specific day or too much going on in life. Sometimes, enough is enough, and people need a break.
If your family needs time apart, forcing them to spend time together doing activities will not benefit anyone. Taking a break and regrouping can help break up friction and give people the holiday they need to return and spend quality time together.
While cell phones for kids are becoming increasingly popular, parents must proactively ensure that cell phone use is limited among kids. Cell phones should not take away time from family activities and should not prevent a child from being present during family activities.
Planning family activities that are engaging, staying off of electronics, designating specific days or times for family activities, allowing your child to have a say in those activities, and trying to set aside your distractions and stresses are all great ways to help yourself and your children to remain present during family outings.
