5 Best Ways to Spend Quality Time With Kids When Working Full Time

The time you have with your kids is precious, so you should spend it in the best way possible. As life is nowadays pretty busy and packed with all kinds of work, household and school obligations, we sometimes forget what’s really important in life – and that’s our family. Kids grow up so fast, and we should learn to appreciate their every age period. Keep reading to learn more about the 5 best ways to spend quality time with kids when working full-time. 

First of all, you should start with setting boundaries at work. Not only that, but you should also respect them; otherwise, they don’t matter. As we tend to spend a lot of time on our phones, we should decrease that time and focus on spending time with kids in a more quality way. Moreover, when playing with kids, get really involved in the play. A ritual that is key to keeping a family together is having dinner, so make sure you practice it. And lastly, another great way to spend quality time with kids is by taking a family vacation. 

1. Set limits at work and respect them

As you know, certain job positions require after-work attendance, which can negatively affect your family time. To prevent that from happening, you should set some boundaries at work. And most importantly, you should respect them. If you are working in a company, you can let your boss and colleagues know that you are not available at certain periods in the afternoon, as that’s your time with the kids. If you run your own business, then it can be slightly easier to organize yourself. 

Running a business from home can be slightly difficult to manage, but it doesn’t have to be necessarily. What you need to do is set working hours and stick to them. For instance, if you own some kind of fashion store, buy wholesale jackets, shoes and other garments during your working hours. Even if you’re doing business with companies in different time zones, restrain from responding to emails you receive in your off time. 

2. Decrease your phone time

We spend too much time on our phones, doing nothing really important, just scrolling through social media. Our kids see that and copy what they see. So, by reducing your phone time, you also reduce your kids’ phone time. There are numerous better ways to engage your kids that can bring all kinds of benefits both to them and you. As they are young, they don’t know anything except for the things you teach them. So, make sure that you teach them some valuable things.

3. Get seriously involved in the play

Being an adult puts a whole new perspective on the concept of play. Adults can’t relax and just enjoy the moment – we worry about the mess, cleaning up and a bunch of upcoming obligations. To be able to really get involved in the play, you should be present and enjoy that moment. Do the same with the bath and bedtime – make it fun and playful. You can even consider giving your master bedroom to the kids – some parents say it is a great help when raising kids.

4. Have dinner together as a family

Family dinnertime is so underrated. To make a connection with your family, you should start practising it. The point is not in the food but in spending that extra time together. You can use that time to find out about everyone’s day and see whether somebody is struggling. Having dinner together every evening helps bring the family together, which we really need. You can even teach your kids some simple, healthy dinner meals and make them together. It can be one of the activities you do together.

5. Take a family vacation every once in a while

Vacations are amazon experiences; adults and kids learn a lot from them. They learn about other cultures, ways of living, and history and gain much practical general knowledge. All of this expands horizons. Make sure that you travel together with your family every once in a while. You can take longer summer and winter holidays, and during other periods of the year, you can take weekend trips. Regardless of the location and duration, all trips teach us something new. 

Even with a super-packed schedule, it is still possible to make time to spend with kids. You just need to be really organised, decisive and creative.

By Jess Cooper

Jess Cooper is a part-time journalist and blogger working closely with Insight Early Learning. She is based in Sydney, Australia. Jess is an energetic, creative, highly motivated person with plenty of interests, often writing about parenting tactics, raising kids, and choosing the right childcare