5 Ways to Spend Time with Your Kids as a Busy Parent

Between work and life responsibilities, it can be a while before you last spent time with your kids. The worst part is that you may not even realize how much time apart you spend from your children until there is an actual need to remember, like a birthday or a parent’s meeting for school. While you cannot drop everything and spend all your time on kids, you need to make time for them. Work life and taking care of your home is important, but it should not override the place for your children.

The advantage of spending time with your kids is you get to learn about them, watch them grow, and guide them through different phases of life. Find five ways you can spend some quality time with your kids regardless of your busy schedule.

Find different ways to communicate

You may be missing out on a lot because you are not physically available to be with your kids. Lucky for you, there are multiple channels you can explore to keep the communication going. If your kids are old enough, get them a phone, and you can text them every once in a while in the course of the day, to remind them that you love and care for them. Otherwise, utilize Skype and Facetime to communicate with them. Another great and simple way is through leaving notes. Sneak in a note on their textbooks, lunch box, or any other creative areas you can. Have a sticky note on the fridge for when they get up for breakfast, especially if you are an early bird for work.

Party Occasionally

Parties like those organized by kids party entertainers are a great way to come together and have a little fun with your kids. Since children naturally love parties, it should not be too hard to find a reason to celebrate. Consult professional party organizers for ideas of how to throw some of the best and intimate parties, whether for birthdays, graduations or anniversaries. You can even make a big deal out of small wins, enough to throw a party. Realize that children are very keen on what happens around them. Therefore, when they notice how much you appreciate their small wins, they will be inclined to do better in that area.

The good thing is that you do not have to go over-the-top with all the parties you host. On big days like Christmas and Thanksgiving you can go all out, but on other days, keep it as simple as possible. It can even be enjoying their favorite dessert because they performed well in school.

Dine with your kids

Meals are a great time to bond with family and friends. Make a conscious effort to make it to at least one meal every day. This can be at home, or even in a restaurant. As you eat, sneak in a conversation and get to know how your kids are doing. It would be best to share a meal with your kids every day, but depending on how busy you are, you can schedule it for specific days.

Do an activity together

Activities are always a great way to keep things fun and different. While there may not be time for an outing every now and then but, you can certainly make some arrangements at home. Set up a home alley, most of the bowling alleys designed for home do not need much space, do some study around how much space is needed and how long is a bowling lane and get one for your home. This will allow you to join your kid during the game and you get to spend time with them without planning an outing.

Likewise, there is a lot you can do with your kids occasionally. However, to make it count, pick out an activity that you can comfortably commit to doing every day. For example, if you cannot be home early enough to help them do their homework, or to watch a movie, make sure you can tuck them to bed every night.

This is also the perfect opportunity to reinforce the values you want to see in your kids. By reading your favorite books, playing piano as you sing, visiting an orphanage, or engaging in any other activity, you help your kids identify with a certain trait and value that is core to your parenting technique.

Use your vacation wisely

With a lot going on in your adult life, you may also need to take time off for vacation. During such time, consider it a family time to travel and experience different things in life together. You can go camping, go for a picnic, hiking, or any other places. The beauty with vacation is that you spend time while having fun. As you are out trying new foods and touring different sites, make new memories. Take pictures as this will be a testament that you are conscious about spending time with your kids.