Creative Ways to Maximize Family Time

In an increasingly fast-paced, high-tech world, it can be difficult to find quality time to spend together as a family. While household chores like meal preparation, laundry and school work are essential, they also leave less time for you to spend with the ones you love. Here are a few creative ways to maximize your family time:

Use What You Have

One smart way to free up some time is to take advantage of the resources you already have. If you have a regular babysitter, ask them to prepare dinner, clean up toys or fold clothes. Contact a local dry cleaner to see if they offer an affordable laundry service. Rather than running errands throughout the week, designate one day to run all of your errands. Take some time to coordinate errands in advance based on their location, this will allow you to complete them in the least amount of time. If you have teenagers in the home, consider ways that they can help with some of these tasks. Having them clean out the garage or pick up the laundry can free up time for you to dedicate to other things.

Involve the Children

Household chores can be a great opportunity to get the whole family involved. If you have younger children, encourage them to help you fold clothes or set the dinner table. Not only will this keep them active and away from the television, but it also teaches them valuable skills. Teaching children to put their own toys away can help them become more tidy and independent as they develop into young adults. To incentivize household chores and make them more fun, consider making a game out of it. Divide a pile of laundry equally among each family member. The first one done gets a special prize such as a popsicle or 30 minutes of a television show of their choice.

Play Learning Games

Lazy weekend afternoons are the perfect time to bring out some learning games. For young children, consider using cornhole lights to teach them their primary colors. These lights are very inexpensive and can be purchased online at sites like CustomCorntoss.com. For older children, look for spelling or word games to help them improve their vocabulary.

Between work, school and extracurricular activities, it can be difficult to carve out time for family activities. These 3 tricks will help you simplify your schedule and enjoy quality family time.

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