Spending time with your family can have many benefits for every family member. Highland Springs Clinic says family time together can increase children’s academic performance. It also helps everyone in the family improve their communication skills. Here are some ideas you can try to help you discover how family time matters.
Find a Reputable Place to Dine
Family dinners at home are great, but taking your family out to dinner has benefits. Many times, at a restaurant, your family may try a new type of food. Being in a place with menus full of enticing pictures can encourage a picky eater to try something new. Your family members may discover they like a new type of cuisine that you can imitate at home.
When your family is out at a restaurant, they can practice social skills. Being in a public place may cause them to interact with people. When your family orders their food, they’ll learn patience while they wait for the meal. Having fun with your family in a new place will show you why family time matters.
One popular choice for dinner out with your family is an Italian restaurant. Few people don’t enjoy pizza and sharing a few pizzas can be a good source of family bonding. The atmosphere in most Italian restaurants is casual enough for families to enjoy themselves. If anyone in the family tries to slim down, many Italian restaurants will offer salad or an alternative to pizza.
Research Different Night Time Entertainment Options
In addition to dining out, going to evening or local night time entertainment with your family can be fun for everyone. One example is to plan a night at the movies. If you can get the family to agree on which movie to watch, it can be enjoyable for everyone. After the movie, your family can bond while discussing the movie.
If your family attends a church or synagogue, they may have activities for the family. Participation in those activities will help your family grow in their faith. The same principle applies to activities available if your children belong to a sports team or a Scouting group. If you have the time and desire, parent volunteers are usually needed by those groups – increasing opportunities for family enjoyment.
Some families enjoy family game nights. You can invite some of your children’s friends over for a night of games or share age-appropriate movies. If you get a few families together, you might be able to plan a scavenger hunt. The creativity you’ll show by planning the activity and the fun the group will enjoy will help you see how much family time matters.
Install a Swimming Pool
When it’s summer and everyone’s hot, there are few things better than having a swimming pool in your backyard. In addition to helping everyone cool off, swimming is good exercise. Exercise in the water increases the resistance factor of the activity. This increased resistance will increase the calories burned from swimming and be helpful for any member of your family trying to lose weight.
A swimming pool provides the family with an activity they can enjoy together. While playing a water game in the pool, everyone can be reminded that family time matters. In addition, a pool provides opportunities for you to host your family’s friends.
Before you can have a swimming pool installation, you’ll need to discuss with your family whether you prefer an in-ground or an above-ground pool. An in-ground pool will require more steps before the pool is installed. These pools require site preparation, excavation, and laying a concrete foundation. An above-ground pool requires adding a pool liner and accessories.
Update Your Patio to Accommodate Your Pool
If you’re building a pool, you may want an easy way to access the pool directly from the house. Building a patio can provide that access. In addition to using the patio to access the pool, the patio can offer different opportunities for your family to gather and play. The deck is also the perfect vantage point for parents to supervise their children alone in the water.
Having a patio between your home and the pool also provides you with places to store things while in the pool. If you have patio umbrellas, these can give them a spot to sit in the shade between swimming times. Everyone can enjoy a snack, connect with friends, or relax on the patio when not in the water. The patio can give you many reasons to experience how family time matters.
A patio must be safe and sturdy, so it’s a good idea to contact a patio contractor to design and construct your patio. In case you were wondering, pressure-treated softwoods like teak, cedar, and redwood. As an alternative to wood, you could have the patio made from stone, concrete, tile, or brick. Ask the contractor which material they recommend based on your area’s climate.
Remove Annoying Pests from Your Yard
A backyard provides your family with a place for the children to play. It also provides a place for family and friends to gather for picnics or barbecues. Your backyard will provide many reminders of how family time matters. A well-tended backyard can also increase your property value.
Unfortunately, backyards are full of insects and moths, which can decrease your family’s enjoyment of the backyard. These insects in your yard can also eat plants from your garden. There are ways for homeowners to prevent pests in the yard. For example, you should replace outdoor light bulbs with LED light, as these bulbs attract fewer insects.
One of the easiest ways to keep the number of insects low is to mow your lawn regularly. WikiHow states that you should mow your lawn at least once a week. Bag the grass you’ve cut and dispose of it so the pests don’t get to climb back onto your lawn. If insects continue to overrun your yard, contact a pest control service.
Inquire About Safe Trees to Build a Treehouse
Building a treehouse can give you and your children a good DIY project and help you bond during the building experience. Building a treehouse will give your children building skills and help them learn coordination. The building project could be another experience reinforcing the reasons family time matters. Once the treehouse is made, it will encourage the children to climb and exercise.
The treehouse can also increase their imagination and creativity – in both the building process and the time after the treehouse is built. Having a backyard place to play will encourage your children to spend more time outdoors. The treehouse may allow them to invite friends. On the other hand, if your child is troubled about something, it will give them a private place to have time to think and consider the problem.
You will need to select the right tree for your treehouse. The ideal tree for a treehouse has a ‘Y’ shaped branch with a large cleft. The branches where you place the house should be strong enough to bear the weight of a few children. If you’re not sure which tree to choose, and you use tree services to keep your trees healthy, ask your tree service professional for their opinion.
Purchase Materials to Garden with Your Family
Gardening is an activity that people of all ages can enjoy. Younger children can fetch tools, or help you dig holes for the seeds. One of the most important reasons to include gardening as a family activity is its ability to provide exercise. When your kids see you doing tasks in the garden, they’ll be encouraged to exercise with you.
According to Very Well Family, gardening activities have been shown to lower stress. The same source reports that time working outdoors will improve a child’s behavior and performance at school. Fresh air, the smell of the soil, and sunlight have been shown to release serotonin (one of the body’s pleasure chemicals.) With family gardening to uplift everyone’s mood, it will be evident how much family time matters.
Another great reason to work in the garden with your family is that if your children can participate in planting vegetables, their pride in those vegetables may persuade them to eat them willingly. If you want to choose a gardening activity that promotes creativity, select flowers for gardening. Selecting between several flower seeds that will produce colorful blossoms will allow children to choose which flowers to plant.
Take Your Family on a Hunting Trip
If you enjoy hunting, pass on hunting skills to your children. Hunting with your family can help you teach the guidelines of safe gun ownership. Children who go hunting with their families will also learn about any family traditions associated with hunting. Activities like hunting will remind children firsthand why family time matters.
Your children may not be aware of how hunting helps animal conservation. If they’ve never been involved in it, they may not see hunting as anything except pursuing the animal. Explaining how hunting can help control the animals’ population will help them feel like part of a group, making a difference and helping animals. Remember to check your state laws for hunting to determine the age at which your family members can hunt.
If your family has been hunting for a while and wants to try something new, you may try exotic animal hunting. Depending on your state, some exotic birds and other animals can be hunted on ranches dedicated to exotic hunting. In Texas, you can hunt game birds like ring-necked pheasants, grey partridge, and chukar (like a partridge). If you prefer four-footed animals, Texas also provides places to hunt Barbary sheep (called aoudad), Sika Deer (like an elk), ibexes (a type of goat), and oryxes (gazelles).
Rent a Golf Cart on Your Next Family Vacation
If you’re planning a vacation where you’ll be staying at a guest house or camping, you may want to rent one of the local golf carts to get around the area quickly. Although you may have your car, using a golf cart is more environmentally friendly. Golf carts can provide the many benefits of spending time outdoors with your family. As you share this time with your family, you’ll be able to confirm that family time matters.
Having a golf cart to tour the campground or resort will increase the time you may spend outdoors. The cart can be used for any events where you or other family members must transport several carloads of equipment or supplies. A golf cart would also be handy if any family member has limited mobility.
If you want your teens to share in running errands, most states will allow 14-year-olds to drive a golf cart. While you or another adult with a driver’s license must rent the cart, your teens can take off and enjoy freedom in the carts. You will also need proof of auto insurance when you go to the rental location. You should know that golf carts can be driven on any road with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less.
Plan a Party at a Spa
A party at a spa can be an excellent idea for a birthday party or a bridal shower. Some spas provide family spa party packages. Being pampered at a spa and sharing that experience with your family members can be an experience that combines the pleasure of pampering with the joys of being with family.
The men of your family may be doubtful, but you can assure them that men use spas regularly. Talk to the spa before booking the party and tell them which family members will be coming so they can prepare age-appropriate activities for everyone. As for the men, they may wonder what they should get. According to Brandon Essentials, the treatments most often ordered by male clients are massages, facials, and pedicures. Men may find they enjoy the pampering of the spa personnel.
These activities may be the right choice for you and your family as you discuss which activities you like; the discussion itself may remind you how much family time matters. If the choice isn’t unanimous, try to rotate activities so each family member gets their chosen activity during one of the upcoming family days.
