How to Make the Most of Family Time

Many dads look forward to having "Family Time" with their wives and children. With the many demands throughout the week and the busy lifestyle that many families lead today, sitting down and having quality time with family helps dads slow down and enjoy their home life. But do you actually know how to maximize the effects of "Family Time"? Following are some suggestions to ensure that your time together is the best that it can possibly be.

1. Make it a routine. Instead of having "impromptu" family nights, set aside one, two or even three nights a week that you spend time together doing something as a family. And that doesn't mean sitting around and watching TV. That means actually doing something productive, even if it's something as simple as a jigsaw puzzle. Once it becomes a routine, everybody will look forward to it throughout the week.
   
   
2. Talk to each other. It might seem hard at first, but facilitate conversation by turning the TV off and playing a game or participating in some activity. Ask each other questions as you play. You might be surprised how much conversation will occur by just asking a few simple questions.
   
   
3. Invite their friends. Depending on your child's age, they might be "too cool" to just hang out with their family at night. If that's the case, let them invite friends over and have a "Family Fun Night" by including their friends as well. Your children will be more excited about "Family Time" if you allow this to happen. In addition, you can learn more about your older kids by spending time with them and their friends. (Yes, that's a sneaky trick to play. But in today's world, parents need every advantage they can get!) On the other hand, younger kids learn social skills and how to interact with others by allowing them to spend time with other kids of similar ages.
   
   
4. Let them choose the activities. Don't force your children to play "Chutes and Ladders" if they hate that game. Rather, ask them what they'd like to do for "Family Time." It'll make them feel like they have a say in what goes on in the household and they'll be more excited about the time you spend together each week.
   
   
5. Try something you've never done before. Families that learn new things together learn a lot about each other at the same time and, as a result, they grow closer. Here are just a few things to get you started, but the possibilities are absolutely limitless.

• Volunteer your time. What better way to enjoy your time together than by volunteering your time at the local soup kitchen or other well-meaning charity. You'll be teaching your children responsibility and each of you will feel much better about yourselves afterwards.
• Create a blog. Have a family blog that each member of the household can contribute to on a regular basis. Be creative and encourage your children to post often. It's a great way to get them to open up and stay in touch with distant family members at the same time. During "Family Time," you can all work on making the blog more creative and adding new elements to make it more exciting. It can also serve as a virtual scrapbook for the important events in your family's life.
• Create a new dish. Gather the family together to cook a meal. Make something you've never made before and allow each member to contribute. Be mindful of the age appropriateness, though. Letting your three-year-old commandeer the gas stove is just a recipe for disaster. Instead, let them break eggs or something else that they can't really mess up. Share your dish with a neighbor or with grandparents so the kids can brag that they helped to make it.
• Look through family pictures and home videos. Your kids might dread this at first. But once you start telling them the interesting stories of how you met their mom or other anecdotes, they might not be able to get enough. Don't overdo it, though. Nobody wants to hear the same stories or look at the same pictures every week.
• Exercise with your family. Go for a hike on one of the local trails or take a bike ride through the neighborhood.

At first, kids might dread "Family Time." It's "boring," "uncool" and even "lame" for some. But it's essential to spend this type of quality time with your children in today's world. If they're not spending time with you, who are they spending time with? By doing it right and following some of these suggestions, you can have a major impact on your child's life. They'll definitely remember it when they have a family of their own.