Lesson 3: Family Time
Strong families raise strong, confident children. Children need the strong sense of safety and guidance a family can and should provide. This lesson will help you find ways to foster healthy, positive family interactions.
Making Time
PDA’S, e-mails, notes on the refrigerator. This is often the only way busy families communicate with each other. In many homes, both parents work and children have sports or other activities. So being together is reserved for holidays. The price for living life this way is often very high. I know because I was this way. And my children suffered for it. They needed me, not a note or a frozen dinner.
This changed drastically last year. After talking over priorities with my husband, I decided I could write from home and devote myself to raising my children full time. The events of September 11th only reinforced this decision. We are much closer as a family, and we spend lots of time talking with each other. Dad takes the boys on weekly bike rides. Just the 3 of them for some real quality time. It also gives me free time to read a book, color my hair, or just have a long soak in the tub.
Meals are eaten together now. It gives all of us a time to enjoy each other and catch up on the day. My boys recognize how hard I work, often 18 hours a day, in addition to homeschooling them, and maintaining the house and garden. So this meal is very special to them. They help set the table and clean up the dishes, without argument.
Was the loss of income worth it? Yes! We enjoy a much better quality of life with so much less stress. Our children are happier and more cooperative. Am I suggesting this will be for you? No. What I am suggesting, is a readjusting of priorities. Your family is important. However and when ever it can be done, time needs to be made for your children. Making sure you eat at least 3-4 meals together every week is one way to do this. It doesn’t have to be dinner; it can be breakfast or meeting everyone for lunch.
One day a week should be set aside for family time. No phones, computers, just you and your children. This lets them know how much you love and need them. Play a game with them, work together in the garden, or go on a family hike somewhere. Use this time to get a feel for where they are, how they are doing, and to help work on any problems. The most successful families have all found ways to creatively improve their time together.
How can you carve out time for your family?
Here is a fun link for younger children. Called the Kids Corner, it has lots of neat garden related stuff for them to do.
http://www.kellogggarden.com/kids/index....
