Parenting – How to Make More Time for Your Children

How to Make More Time for Your Children

In the modern, fast-paced world we are currently living in, it can often feel like we don’t have time to do anything much at all during the week, other than work and chores, rinse and repeat.

When you’re a parent, it can be particularly hard to make the time stretch to allow you spend quality time with your children. But it is so important that you do, for the sake of their development; to build loving parental bonds; because being with your children is the most important thing there is.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at ways on how to more time for your children:


10 Winning Ways – How to Make More Time for your Children


1 – Request Flexible Working

Requesting a flexible working situation at work could be a great opportunity to help you make more time for your children  You can ask to work when they’re at school and stay home when they’re at home, which means you will be able to spend far more time playing, reading, laughing and having a great time together.

Working from home could also create much more time together. Taking away the time spent on your daily commute and adding it into family time, could be life-changing for you and your children, especially when they’re young.


Parenting - How to Make More Time for Your Children - Flexible Working Hours

Photo by Jon Tyson


2 – Start your own Business

This obviously isn’t for everyone, and it might mean less time with your kids in the short term, but if you are up for starting your own business, it’s a good way to be your own boss and arrange your own time how you like. It could also help you build a stronger financial future for your kids. Thanks to the internet, and the likes of companies such as Rapid Formations, which allows you to register your business in moments, it has never been easier to turn your skills into your own business, so it is definitely worth considering.


3 – Cut Down on Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities like sports, music and drama practice are undoubtedly good for children and their development, but they are not more important than building a solid family bond, so although you should keep an activity or two, especially if the kids love them, cutting down on the number of after school obligations your kids have could be an idea.

Instead of playing games with the scouts or playing football with the team, they can join you at the kitchen table for a board game, or head to the park for a kickabout, and it will ensure you get to see them as much as possible.


Further Reading: 3 Common Worries You Will Face As A Parent


Parenting - How to Make More Time for Your Children - Cut Down on Your Own Activities

Photo by Kirk Cameron


4 – Cut Down on Your Own Activities too

As busy parents, you absolutely do need a break and you certainly need to do something that is just for you. But if your schedule is crammed with yoga classes, gym sessions, voluntary roles and who knows what else, something is going to have to give.

Even if you can cut down on just one activity per week, that is more time you can spend together as a family. And when you look back, you will miss that hobby class much less than you did any time spent with your children when they were still children so it is absolutely worth it.


5 – Turn Off the Technology

Depending on the age of your children, this might not be the most popular strategy at first – indeed you yourself might not be the biggest fan – but turning off the tech, inclusive of Wi-Fi, phones, and tablets, for as much of the evening as you can manage will give you the perfect opportunity to spend more time together as a family.

Often, we claim that we have no time to do anything when actually we have plenty but we are using it unwisely to binge-watch the latest show on Netflix or stalk the latest fads on Instagram or Tiktok, and by removing that option, we find that we suddenly have a lot more time to do things together after all.


Further Reading: How to Keep Your Family Safe Online in 4 Ways

 


6 – Walk to School

Again, this won’t be possible for everyone because it depends on various factors such as how far away the kids’ schools are, and what time you need to get to work at in the morning, but if you are able to walk the kids to and/ or from school, then it will give you an opportunity to spend some quality time with them.

When you pick them up in the car, the journey is all too short and you have the distractions of the road keeping you busy. However, when you walk, you slow the pace right down and you give your kids the opportunity to just be with you, having a nice chat, telling you about their days and just generally enjoying being in each other’s company.


Parenting - How to Make More Time for Your Children - Sync Schedules

Photo by Annett _99


7 – Sync your Schedules

Again, this may be difficult for some families, but the closer you can all sync your schedules so you all do your various activities and head to school/work at the same time, the more free time you will all have as a group, and the more fun you can have together as a family.

It’s not always possible to sync everything, but you can often find classes running at various times and days of the week, so it is definitely an option that is worth exploring if you want to make more time for your children.


Further Reading: 3 Living Room Hacks to Help it Work for the Whole Family


8 – Volunteer at their School

If you happen to have some free time when your children are usually at school, why not sign up to volunteer at their school now and again?

Most schools would love to have parents come in and read to classes, help set up or maintain the school garden, or help supervise school trips. And although there’s a big chance that you’ll need to help classes other than the ones your own children are in, you will still get to see more of your kids, and have a great time whilst carrying out a rewarding job for your community too.


9 – Outsource your Housework

One really effective way of making more time for your kids, if you can afford to do so, is outsourcing all of those home-based chores that take up a lot of time, (and you don’t enjoy doing, chores like laundry or cleaning), to a third party.

This frees up a surprisingly significant amount of time for the average household. And when you don’t have to worry about keeping your home clean or the kids uniforms ironed, you can devote more of your headspace to supporting your children, and nourishing them emotionally rather than just physically.


Parenting - How to Make More Time for Your Children - Include them in 'Grown-up' Stuff

Photo by Elisabeth Wales


10 – Include them in ‘Grown-Up’ Stuff

Okay, so some ‘grown-up’ adult stuff is absolutely not suitable for children – and we shouldn’t need to explain which types of places are a no-go (from rowdy match days to boozy BBQ’s), but including your kids in shopping trips or brunches, or celebratory meals is important. Not only will it give you more time with them, but it will make them feel valued and ‘grown-up’. It will make memories of time spent with you that they will never forget and nor will you.


As you can see, there are lots of things you can do to make more time for your children and it is definitely worth making the effort to do so because the more time you spend together, the closer your bonds will be and the happier you will be as a family too. It’s not always easy to make time when you’re so busy and you probably won’t be able to do all of the above, but make a real effort to fit in more parent-child stuff and you will not regret it.


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