Family Time
It’s hard to always be ‘positively involved’ as a parent don’t you think? When real life gets in the way, like making sure the packed lunches are made, the washing is done, everyone is and remains alive…that kind of thing, it’s really easy to overlook the very key role we play as mummy and daddy to our children.
What simple thing can you do to be positively involved with your child/children? We have this thing in our home called ‘Family Time’, which started out as being a set time of the day, but has become a little bit fluid, and probably needs tightening up a bit to be honest with you. However, the premise is that both Mr Happy and I put our phones and tablets away and the television goes off and we try to find time to engage altogether as a family in some kind of activity, whatever that might be.
I’ll be honest with you, it can go a bit pear shaped at times, because let’s face it, not everyone is open and ready for family time when the time comes. We might be stressed, super busy or whatever…but when it does go well, it’s really special, and I’d encourage you to give it a go.
We’ve recently been working together as a family on a couple of projects during family time, one of which is a papier mache moon, which we refer to as ‘the moon project’ and mainly consists of Mr Happy trying to engage Pippa and I, without much success because it’s a) too messy b) too much hassle or c) we don’t have enough PVA glue or newspaper. The other, much more successful project, is our Pokemon game, that we’ve sort of developed ourselves (via the medium of a printer, a laminator and dice) and really encourages good sportsmanship and turn taking.
But, more important than that, it gives our child the opportunity to witness and enjoy both of her parents being engaged and involved in a positive activity with her, (ask me again about that when she loses!) and when I’ve paused for a moment to observe how that affects her, it’s clear from her expression that in that moment at least, it makes her a very happy person indeed. What more could you want as a parent?
