It seems that a weekday zooms by in a flash, it can be frustrating because you’re not getting much time with your kids. But to maximize your weekdays, especially if you only get an hour or two with your children in the evening, you need to try some of these simple strategies.
Use Your Crockpot
A crockpot is one of the best things you can do to create a healthy meal that doesn’t require you to slave over a stove. One of the biggest problems parents have is getting their children to eat healthily but this usually means spending more time preparing and cooking fresh food. The crockpot is not just something you can do to make soup, in fact, our crockpot meatloaf recipe that’s fast and delicious is a savior of the family meal. Put the ingredients in the crockpot in the morning before you drop the kids off at school, and the crockpot does most of the work for you! There are so many crockpot recipes out there. And if mealtime is the reason you are not able to spend much time with your kids, cooking is one of the best ways to maximize meal time without the effort.
Reduce the Pressures in Your Life
You might think that there’s a lot of household chores you need to complete when the kids come home from school, but if you can learn how to streamline your things-to-do, whether it’s preparing the dinner table in the morning or unloading only half the dishes from the dishwasher, you will make life easier for yourself. If you feel stressed because of all these pressures, you are going to feel stressed when your kids come home, and this won’t result in any quality time.
Put Your Phone Away
It’s easy to have a look at something on our phone, but before we know it we’ve been sucked into various social media dramas. Devices provide that temptation for us to respond right away when we should be with our children, present in the moment. If you really want to look at your phone, remember those posts will be there a few hours later. In the meantime, you can spend some quality time with your children, which will make a massive difference in the relationship you have. If your children see you on your device all of the time, they’re going to think this is ok, but are you going to regret this later in life?
Focus on Quality Time, Not Quantity Time
You may think there are not enough hours in the day, but you have to remember that ten good minutes is better than two bad hours. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about helping them with their homework or doing something meaningful. Having a good quality winding down routine so they are ready for sleep is important for that bond between the two of you. You don’t have to be changing the world, you just need to remember that the best thing for your relationship is for your child to feel secure and comfortable and safe. In this respect, providing a sense of ordinariness will make a massive difference.
