During the holiday season we think about bonding with our families. We should find time for family bonding every day. Do you find time to spend with your loved ones. Sometimes we get so busy we forget. Find time.
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I’m a single dad. It’s just me and Annie and our dog, Shep, sharing our little home. You might think that makes it easier to bond with my daughter. I still have to work at it. It’s easy to get caught up with life’s busyness. I have deadlines and commitments. I have a job, a blog, responsibilities. Still, I find time for family bonding.
No excuses: There’s Always Time For Family
One advantage to living simply is that it creates more time. You make intentional choices to do less and limit screen time. This opens up your schedule for dedicated family time. The next question is what do you do with this time? What are some good bonding activities?
There are countless things you can do with your family. Here are a few activities that my daughter and I do regularly.
Try These 8 Activities With Your Family
- Walk together: Walking is a healthy activity. It’s good exercise. It gets you and your family out in the fresh air. You can get to know your neighborhood and your neighbors. You can make it an adventure by going to a park or a store. Find time to walk as a family
- Work together: Too often, parents don’t have their kids help around the house. When I spend a day cleaning or an afternoon doing yard work, I always have Annie help. It teaches her responsibility and the value of work. Acts of doing small chores lead to simple happiness.
- Play together: There are all sorts of games you can play together. You can play indoor board games. You can play outdoor sports. You can play simple games like 20 questions or charades nearly anywhere at anytime.
- Read together: I started reading with Annie from the time she was born. We have spent many hours reading together. She has benefitted greatly. She is always in the highest percentile in school for reading. And she’s smart. Maybe too smart. Find time to read together.
- Take a drive: Sometimes it’s fun to just take a drive. I’ve found that my daughter and I have some of our most intimate conversations while we are on long drives. You can also see and study natural wonders along the way.
- Take a hike: Hiking is good exercise and it teaches kids about nature. It also teaches them how to prepare and persevere. Hiking is a great family activity. You can take a lunch. You can find beautiful vistas. Find time to hike.
- Take a vacation: I used to claim I couldn’t afford to take a vacation. The truth is that you can’t afford not to take a vacation. Vacations help us to relax. We’re able to rest and reset. Vacations are wonderful opportunities for us to bond with our family. Vacations don’t have to be elaborate and expensive. A simple camping trip works.
- Talk: This is key. When we bond, we talk to each other. Take time to talk to your partner and your kids. You’ll better know what’s going on in their lives.
If you don’t see any activities that work for you on my list, check out this post at Sustainable Baby Steps for 150 more ideas.
Family Time Is The Best Thing You Can Do For Your Kids
Simple living opens the door to having more time. I’ve been practicing minimalism and simple living for over 20 years. I can teach you ways to make simple living add more value to your life.
