T. Michael James Gives Tips on Creating Fun Family Routines
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Let’s face it. Some days the regular life we lead is just boring. You don’t grow up thinking your life will turn out this way, but sometimes it just does. Somewhere in between 29 and 39 things change a whole lot for many of us. It’s not to say that everyday is boring but when you have kids, you kind of have routines for the sake of the kids but it can cause you to feel a little tired of it sometimes. The funny part is when I talk to other parents, they feel the same way but just resolve their self to live with it. Being the go-getter that I am, I like to find solutions to things that bug me and thought I’d share my “stop being bored” tips for families with you.
- Pay serious attention to your surroundings. Sometimes when you have kids you kind of zone out. You may watch tv or be doing work at home and you just get a tunnel vision that makes you not pay attention to anything that’s going on except what you are doing at the time. You have to break this habit to make things better. Kids can get into all kinds of things, especially on the internet when you’re not paying attention. Besides, they’ll only be this age one time so try to spend time paying attention to them. When they crash out for the night, you can go back to the tunnel zone.
- Schedule time to get crazy. Every day my kids and I have a 10 minute rock out connection time. They laugh, I laugh and we not only burn off energy but we burn off stress too. Kids get stressed just like we do and having some fun every day helps get rid of it. I let the kids pick a song and a dance they want to see me try or we do things like play hopscotch (I always fall) in the driveway for a few minutes between homework and dinner.
- Don’t take your family for granted. It’s not easy being a single dad, but I do what I have to do. Kids don’t ask to come here and we can’t treat them like they did. Family always comes first. When kids know that they really matter they are more likely to act like they really matter. Start having family legacy days. Get your kids to pick something that represents who they are and start a memory box or scrapbook. It’s not corny, it is actually pretty fun.
- Have family meetings. Let one of your kids or your spouse be the chair person for the day and plan out the agenda. They can add food breaks and decide on whatever topic they want. Kids love to be in charge and feel like adults sometimes. It can also let you know what’s really going on in their minds so you can help them if they are struggling with something.
Because of the way life works, it’s really easy to get bored and fall into a routine rut with your family. It takes effort to spice things up but you can do it. Add fun and that is always the ticket to making family time something to remember.
Photo by: Tienvijftien/Flickr