In today’s busy world, building in family bonding time can be a challenge. However, with some planning and focus, you can create spaces and blocks of time for your family to connect and enjoy each other’s company.
Food
Making sure that you share a meal together is a great way to strengthen ties, but why not start in the kitchen? Create a layout that offers everyone the chance to cook together. A kitchen island is an ideal place to create a food assembly line. Even small children can help with simple, cold ingredients such as fruit or granola to build parfaits for a special breakfast treat.
Gardening
Summer fun can be had together outdoors in a variety of ways. Simple projects such as adding potting soil and seeds to recycled containers, or building a bird feeder out of Cheerios will get your family working together and enjoying the great outdoors. Even better, once everyone’s had fun getting good and muddy, just fire up the sprinklers so you can cool off and clean up together.
Movie Night
The whole family can enjoy snuggling up for movie night in front of the television. Why not put older kids in charge of the engineering of the space and build a blanket fort for movie night? Parents and adults alike will enjoy cocooning in the space together. Get everyone into their pajamas before you start and bedtime will be a breeze. You can even consider adding some sort of home theater system in your home to have a movie night anytime you want.
Reading As A Family
By using the clock feature on your smartphone, you can set a timer and create blocks of time for reading as a family. While older kids (and adults) can enjoy reading to themselves, younger children need to read aloud to foster stronger reading skills. This can be a scheduled time each day or you can plan it around bedtime. Create a book nook for you and your children to enjoy together.
Do’s
- discuss what everyone is reading
- add a special lamp, some pillows for sitting on the floor, and throws for snuggling
- keep a basket of post-its, pencils and highlighters
- add a shelf for library books and discuss how to handle borrowed books
- use a timer to help kids focus on their reading in this space
Don’ts
- use your phone for anything else
- use e-books in this space. Try to focus on the tactile pleasure of books
- allow snacking in this space
Family bonding time may be hard to find but is so worth your efforts! Enjoy these spaces and blocks of time to forge healthy connections that will last a lifetime.
