(2) comments
Add Your Reply
- You are here:
- Home
- Family
- Days are short and lives are busy
I'm a wife and a mom to two. I'm an entrepreneur married to a small business owner. My to do list has to do lists.
Can you relate?
There is nothing I hate more than climbing into my bed at night and realizing that I did not look into the eyes of my children for more than a moment here or a moment there that day.
I have been known to sneak into one of the kids' rooms (or both) on the hope that they may still be awake so we can have a little late-night chat. And a tear or two has been known to slip out when I miss them.
I work for myself so I can avoid this. I joyfully gave up a corporate career because I was tired of commutes stealing my hours and nannies getting all that precious time with my children.
But what I quickly realized was that if I wasn't careful, mindful, I could fill my days with nonsense and miss out on those important moments with the people I actually care about.
So how do we avoid this? How, in the midst of all the demands that life places on us, do we keep our children at the top of our priority list?
Here's what I do. Feel free to steal any and all and PLEASE - drop your tips in the comments below - believe me - I could use all the advice I can get.
- Put it on the books. I'll admit it. I have "connection" time listed on my daily to do list for all the people who live in my home. Eyeball to eyeball time with zero distractions for each human I live with. I schedule appointments with customers, time at the gym and my work hours. Why in the world would I not schedule the most important things?
- Turn off the distractions. Its so easy to get wrapped up in Facebook (this doesn't count, right?) or some random show or a YouTube video loop and lose way more time than I'd like to admit. If you want to zone out for a bit watching cat videos go for it - just turn on a timer - and shut down the distraction when your time is up.
- Play. And play and play and play. I really struggle with unstructured play but love activities and games. So I make sure we all ride bikes together at least a few days a week and we have a standing date for family game night. Nightly walks are a huge way to connect and unwind and a favorite of everyone (including that of my favorite children - my pups - oh hush - I'm mostly kidding).
- Include the kids in everything that you can. At our house we cook together. We run errands together. We clean together. They come with me to meetings. If I need to watch a webinar or read some training materials they are right there with me working on something of their own. We exercise together, read together and eat (a LOT) together. Yes, I always want quality time, but quantity has its value too.
- Divide and conquer. As you can see - we are together a whole bunch. I love that time with all of us. But I feel kids need one on one time. Time with just me, time with just their dad, time alone with both of us without their sibling there to grab half of the attention. We work hard to have weekly "dates" with each child one on one and monthly "dates" with both of us and one child. I remember the first time I took my son on a date and I was absolutely shocked at how much he talked. Then I realized that my daughter usually does all the talking so he never is able to get a word in edge-wise. Alone time allows them to really be them - and us to really enjoy it.
If you're looking for some fun game suggestions for number three up there - keep reading to check out some of our family favorites.
Please let me know if these little tips helped give you some ideas on how to not miss out on all those special little moments with your little loves. And please, please, drop your suggestions in the comments below because we all could use more tools in our tool box.
Our Favorite 10 Family Games
- Life - old-fashioned fun with the added perk that I get (pretend) grandbabies. https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-4000-Game-Life/dp/B00CM2IFT2/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1501555576&sr=1-1&keywords=game+of+life
- Zingo - pretty much bingo for littles but lots of fun for all. https://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-7703-ThinkFun-Zingo/dp/B0032UKTXI/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1501555617&sr=1-3&keywords=zingo
- Jenga - go for the giant version - so much fun! https://www.amazon.com/GoSports-Giant-Toppling-Tower-Bonus/dp/B00ZUABRXO/ref=sr_1_4?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1501555695&sr=1-4&keywords=jenga+giant+genuine+hardwood+game
- Connect 4 - Simple but a blast - especially as teams. https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-A5640-Connect-4-Game/dp/B00D8STBHY/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1501555750&sr=1-1&keywords=connect+4
- Uno - quick and portable. https://www.amazon.com/Mattel-CDY11-Dare-Card-Game/dp/B00IVLIW5K/ref=sr_1_11?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1501555781&sr=1-11&keywords=Uno
- Spot it - there are a ton of ways to play this game so its easy to keep everyone engaged. https://www.amazon.com/Peg-Spot-it-Card-Game/dp/B0170U0P6Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1501555844&sr=1-2&keywords=spot+it
- Spoons - forgot a game? No problem - grab a deck of cards and some spoons and you're good to go. Directions here: http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/activities-games-and-crafts/spoons
- Pie-Face - takes zero skills and creates a big ol' mess mixed with some sugar highs but the kiddos love it. https://www.amazon.com/Face-Power-Rangers-Amazon-Exclusive/dp/B01N27YMPF/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1501555875&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=pie+face+game&psc=1
- Mancala - one word: math. Win, win. https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00004TFZJ/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all
- Clue - definitely updated from when we were kids - we personally love the Harry Potter version. https://www.amazon.com/Clue-Harry-Potter-Board-Game/dp/B01D8XEH2C/ref=sr_1_7?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1501555975&sr=1-7&keywords=clue
