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Families are urged to spend more time playing with their children - one survey says that 46% of dads find time to play with their kids versus 26% of mums.
One argument for less than half our time being spent in fun activities is that there not enough hours in the day, is this true ?
Do you deliberately find the time , or is time taken up with work, family issues or other everyday chores.
"The housework will always be there but your children won't be small for long" is a piece of advice I was given but as a busy working parent I struggle to stick to this mantra.
Come on dads give your fellow parents some ideas to make parenting more fun than frantic.
Mags
I play badminton with my 13 year old every week for an hour - it is great bonding and it doesnt matter who wins but this is important for both of us.
Also be interested in what they are doing even if that is playing on the Xbox or watching a film on TV.
My final point is eat as a family as often as possible and enjoy the conversation.
Regards
Mario
I agree with you both and especially the last point about eating together as a family. This is something we always try to do but now my kids are older (20 and 17) it doesn't always work out as their social lives, activities, work etc seem to get in the way! It's always a great time to discuss what's going on in the family and out of it, even if sometimes the conversations get a bit heated! I heard a quote once that ' says 'a family that eats together stays together.'
Right now I think the one thing i really make time for is getting out of the house and go off to the park.
It is good fun going down the helter skelter. For me its one way to show little one that he's fun to be around and and inspires me.
We also like our traditions that we've built up over time....
- visit DonMcalds for chips (Well I call them chips even if they're sold as 'fries')
- buy a bouncy ball every now and then (yes, we have a bouncy/foot/any colour collection now)
- ride the lifts up and down just for the fun of it (glass sides and the movement are great fun)
I do struggle with the balance of all the things that just have to get done. It is only when I think of slowing down enough to say: lets go in the garden - and when I do it is always good. Making the conscious effort.
/orange
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