Find time for fun time with your family

Doing activities as part of a family is shown to have a very positive affect on children and their relationship with their parents. Research has revealed over and again that family activities promote relationship bonding and increase communication. And, of course, being active with your family is a great deal of fun. But we all have busy lives so it’s not always that simple to create time to enjoy activities as a family group. Here we bring you a guide to making more time for activities with your family.

Plan ahead: Put a large wall chart-style family calendar up in your home and get every member to write in their commitments and personal activities. This way you will be able to clearly see when everyone has space to get together as a family group. If you mark on a fun activity that the whole family will be doing then it also gives everyone something to look forward to.

Why not plan a weekend away trying new outdoors activities such as gorge walking, canyoning or coasteering? Highway2Adventure can tailor a day to suit all ages and aspirations. Doing something new and adventurous with the whole family will bring you closer together and give you something new to talk about.

Keep talking: Find a time every day when you can all sit down and chat. It could be your family dinnertime or just before bedtime when the children are winding down. If you all know that there will be 10 minutes each day when you can talk about problems or the day's highlights then communication avenues will be kept open.

Fun and games: It could be a board game, a computer game, the Wii or an old-fashioned go at skipping or hopscotch. Let each family member take a turn of choosing the game and set aside a period of time each week when you will all get together to play the game. Although you should encourage a bit of healthy competition between family members, it is also important to ensure that everyone finishes the game on friendly terms. For a more organised group activity for a family day out or a birthday party check out these ideas with Highway2Adventure.

Getting out and about: Fresh air and exercise are vital for healthy and fit children so make sure that you find time every weekend or holiday for an outdoors adventure. Allowing each family member to choose their favourite walk route, bike ride (and café stop) will keep everyone smiling. And as a holiday treat why not book a totally new outdoors activity such as kayaking, mountain biking or climbing?

Time for one: If you have more than one child then it can be a great idea to find a time every month or so when one parent spends time with each of the children alone. On a one-to-one outing you’ll perhaps discover more about what your child is thinking or hoping to achieve than if they are part of the big family group. Family together time is important but so is special time with just one-parent-to-one-child.