Oh yeah, I bet this one hits home for someone 🙂 In all fairness, we’re not perfect, none of us. My family has went from app to app to spreadsheet to Alexa alarms. We’ve attempted to make family dinner and game night on Friday’s a habit, but all have been failures at one point or another. What works? What doesn’t work? Well, if you’re looking for the perfect answer for your family or comparing yours to someone else on social media, you won’t find it. But, I can offer what we have done for ours.
Screentime
While this may be combative to some, this is probably significant factor of every family home now. We find ourselves, and our kids, staring at Ipads, Kindles, computer screens, or Television screens. It also is taking the most time away from our families. I only say this because I have experience with it. I’ve seen tantrums due to addiction of it. So, don’t feel bad for saying “No” or removing them from the picture at certain times of the day or even days all together. Remember, technology (especially phones), is a priveledge and should be treated as such.
Family Dinner
This is probably the most important time that can be made for your family. Make sure it’s a habit and make sure everyone is there…always! No phones, no technology! It doesn’t matter if dinner is Ramen or McDonald’s, this is a time for all to be together and talking about their day and happily. We get everyone involved, from choosing dinner, to picking out recipes, to taking turns helping cooking it. I think an important part of them growing up is knowing how to cook for themselves before leaving our house, not just heating up freezer meals and Ramen (which every kid loves). We built this table in 2019 specifically for this room and it’s still nearly perfect.
Chores
Really? Chores? Look, it’s not a great pasttime for anyone but, it’s something that must be done AND, once again, it allows everyone to talk and do things together without electronics (minus an app if you use it). I use the ‘Sweepy’ app for assigning rooms and tasks to everyone. I set the app to go off at 7:30 every night, and as much as they dislike the chores, you still hear the goofing off throughout the house. You’d be surprised at how much joy is heard from cumbersome tasks when they are done together.
Activity
This is a difficult one because noone thinks physical activity is fun, for the most part. So, encourage other avenues, not just “go run” or “go bike”. Sure, those are great, but they are monotonous to young kids and kids love to fight against anything physical activity over just sitting on an electronic (see a trend). Mine are no different. If they hate running, have them try running to music (remember I like Zombies Run – check my other blog). Have them pick out their own running shoes for a burst of motivation. There’s even virtual races for causes that they can sign up for to get a race number and medal which have been successful in the past. One of my girls enjoys weightlifting as do I, so we now have a lifting platform in the basement. Of course this is an expensive endeavor so I would try a gym first to make sure this is something they will stick with before committing to space in your basement. For younger kids, take some sidewalk chalk outside and create an obstacle course and do it with them. The joy grows when we get involved.
What tips does everyone else have?
God bless