Today’s families are busier than ever. If you feel overscheduled and are missing quality family time, here are 10 things you can do to stay connected.

1.   Show Affection

While young kids crave attention, your teenagers might roll their eyes if you step one foot toward them. Each of your children – from the 6-year-old to the 16-year-old – needs affection.

One of the most important things families do together to stay connected is to show affection toward each other.

Dish out kisses and hugs to the little ones. For your teens, you might have to settle for a high-five as you pass them in the hall. Your spouse or partner needs affection, too.

2.   Say Thank You

You’ve probably heard of the tradition of family members telling each other what they’re thankful for on Thanksgiving. Don’t limit the thank yous to once a year. Let everyone in your family tell each other what they’re thankful for every day.

Take the time to gather as a family early in the morning or before bed to share your thanks. This is a good way to show kids how to be thankful and it makes everyone consciously think of new reasons to be thankful every day.

3.   Laugh

The dog just made himself a bed in the piles of laundry you need to fold. Dinner is supposed to be on the table in 10 minutes but the meat’s still frozen. Your youngest just reminded you that the school needs 48 cupcakes first thing in the morning. The only thing separating your chaotic life from a sitcom is the laugh track. Bust that stress when you laugh with your family every day.

Tell a knock-knock joke. Start a tickle fight. Laugh for no reason. As the saying goes, laughter really can be the best medicine. Besides, who doesn’t want to hear those tiny shrieks of laughter from their favorite people in the world?

4.   Exercise

Take a walk in the park when it’s warm. Play indoor hopscotch when it’s not. One thing you can do as a family to improve your bond and health is to exercise every day, regardless of the weather.

You don’t have to sign up for a family boot camp. Just find simple ways to keep your family active indoors or out. Everyone gets moving and the time together helps your family bond.

5.   Prepare Nutritious Snacks

When kids get hungry, it’s easy to reach for the potato chips or cookies to give them a quick fix. Instead, turn their hunger pangs into an activity. Prepare nutritious snacks together. As they help you get their snacks ready, they learn to make satisfying, balanced eating choices – a lesson that will benefit them throughout their lives.

6.   Read Books

If your family moves at a lightning-quick pace, curl up with a good book to slow them down and encourage a love of reading. Younger kids, even babies, will enjoy looking at picture books.

For teens, get them excited by asking about whatever the latest young adult fiction trend is. Take turns reading a page or designate a family member to do all of the reading aloud for the evening.

Time is the keyword here – everyone gets downtime, quality time, and story time all rolled into one.

7.   Go Green

Raising a green family helps the environment and gives your family a daily project. Sort through old magazines, plastic bottles, and aluminium cans. Find ways to apply green living strategies to your everyday life.

Remind the kids to turn off the water while they brush their teeth and turn off the lights when they leave the room. Not only will your kids get into an eco-friendly routine, but those green habits will also save you money on your water and electric bills.

8.   Clean the House

Parents have a constant chore hanging over their heads: cleaning the house. Make cleaning a part of your daily routine and add it as one of the things to do as a family. Let the kids get involved to reduce your workload while teaching them age-appropriate responsibilities.

It only takes 20 minutes to get your rooms tidy, especially when you have a small army to tackle the mess. If everyone works together every day, it will be much easier to keep your home organized and get chores done on time.

9.   Eat Together

Everyone’s clamoring to get out the door in the morning. At lunchtime, the kids are usually at school and the adults are at work. Dinner is typically the one meal of the day when you can all come together. Make a point to focus on each other.

Turn off the TV and put cell phones in a drawer. Get everyone to pull up a chair to the family table and enjoy a meal together. There are many benefits to a family meal and spending time with your loved ones every day of the week is just one of them.

10.   Discuss Your Day

How was your day? It’s a common question we ask when our partner comes home at the end of the day, but it’s important to ask everyone in your family. Encourage younger children to talk about their day or let them draw pictures if that’s easier for them. Get a conversation started with your teens to connect with them.

Explore each other’s days and really pay attention to what your kids have to say. Even if you were with them all day and know exactly what they did, you’ll still learn something new when they share their perspective of the day’s events.

© Apryl Duncan. All Rights Reserved.