FAMILY MATTERS Seven ways to find more time for family life A
CHILDREN’S
S a busy, working parent, it’s so easy to let life get in the way of having fun with your kids. When exactly do you fit in the quality time around work, school, cooking, cleaning, homework, clubs, exercise and laundry?
According to new research by Thomas Cook, half of British parents spend less than one hour of quality time with their children each day, and of the 1,500 quizzed, eight out of 10 were completely aware they’re not around their children enough during.
But when you simply can’t slash your hours at the office, and weekends have to be spent catching up with chores and being a taxi driver for the kids, how do you fit it all in?
“Perfecting the time ratio between kids and responsibilities can be a struggle,” says life coach and author of How To Be Selfish, Olga Levancuka (olgalevancuka.com). “The ‘always on’ technology culture, longer commutes and working hours, while juggling other admin around family time, can sometimes leave parents feeling overwhelmed.
“However, quality family time is important, because it lays the foundations for how a child develops socially and psychologically. The time spent with your child now may impact their behaviour and understanding later on in life.
“The first step you need to take is to understand that you can’t always be in control of the time. Yes, it’s useful to have a structure, but you have to accept that it won’t always go to plan. Once you have accepted this, you will relax and will be ready to manage your time without any additional, unnecessary stress.”
So take that on board, along with the following top tips – and you might just find your life contains more fun and quality family time...
“IN a way, it doesn’t matter how much time we have with our children if that time is spent being preoccupied, fretting or not really being ‘there’,” says human behaviour specialist Sophia Davis (sophiadavis.co.uk).
“Very few of us are ever really present with our children, no matter how much time we have spare. Children notice when you are fully with them, and engaged in the time that you share, wholly together.
“This means that we’re not on the phone, not planning our following days or weeks, not there and wishing we were somewhere else, but totally, fully, and completely there. Present.
“This is quality time. It’s the quality and not the quantity of time that makes a difference.
“Let go of guilt, stop worrying about small things, “NOT every single bit of clothing has to be ironed, and not everything in the house needs to be squeaky clean,” advises Olga. “Stop spending time trying to make everything look perfect, and use that time to have fun with your children. No one will judge you for having a messy house, it’s part and parcel of having a happy family living in it.”