Spending time with family, quality or quantity, which is better?
Spending time with family, quality or quantity, which is better? To be honest, a good combination of the two is best, however, with any size family it can be difficult to spend time together as a whole, so make the time you do spend quality time, and strive to increase the amount of time spent together. It is a common belief that time should make up in quality for what is missed in quantity, but that does not mean you should spend limited amounts of time together. Your goal should be to spend as much time together as possible, and make every minute you spend together quality time.
Many people think this is impossible because of some incorrect notion that quality time can not include any disagreement or conflict. This is untrue. In fact, it is by working through these that our families are strengthened. Also, it is important that when spending quality family time, that limits be set and parents not let family rules slide just because they feel guilty about not spending enough quantity of time with the family.
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As you can see, quality time may not necessarily mean what you think it means. So, what exactly is quality family time?
Quality family time means concentrated, uninterrupted time to spend with children, spouses, or both. It can be a matter of minutes, or a matter of hours.
The following are some great examples of things you can do to ensure that the time you spend with your family is quality time.
Take the time to just talk to your child. This is very important to building an open and honest relationship. So, during your time together work toward building an environment where children are free to discuss any topic of concern they may have.
Take the time to listen to your children. In addition to talking with your child, listening to them is important as well. If your child wants to tell you something, stop and give them your undivided attention, and do it right away. This is especially important as children are younger. They need to know that their idea or need can be shared with you. This builds stronger future relationships
Ask questions. One of the best ways to make even small quantities of time into quality time is to stimulate your child's curiosity and interest by asking lots of why and how questions. Not only does this give you insight into your child's world, but it also helps your child to learn to verbalize their thoughts and feelings.
Give them room to talk. Even if you have no interest in what Sally Jean did on the playground, if you will allow your child to talk about themselves and what they like to do, their feelings and concerns, friends, school, and how they feel about themselves, you will help them see that you not only trust them, but love and accept them as they are, flaws and all. This is very important to a child's self esteem.
Read to your child. You can make even a few minutes into quality time by reading to your child. It is a great way to encourage them to explore and discover the world around them.
Go places and do things together. Don't just clean house together, or go to your relatives, have something else your family does together. Visit parks, libraries, the zoo, museums, or where ever you want to go.
Make sure when you have an opportunity to spend time with your family that you do so, and that you make it into a positive experience that helps your children grow up to be better, more confident people.
