Easy Does It

Make Family Time a Priority

By Shel Franco

We've all heard that witty saying that "you'll never hear a man in his final hours of life saying he wished he'd spent more time at the office." Of course, you can drop "at the office" and add "at the grocery store," "in traffic," "cleaning house," "doing laundry" and the list goes on and on.

While the basic premise of the sentence might sound depressing, it's really just an eye-opener. Focusing on our daily to-do lists and all the personal and professional goals we wish to achieve may be bringing us down. "We become focused on where we are going rather than enjoying where we are right now," says Stephen Shapiro, president of Goalfree.com. "We sacrifice today in the hope that a better future will emerge – only to discover that achievement rarely leads to true joy."

What leads to pure joy? Well, more family time for one, and we'll tell you how to get it.

"Our problem is that, while we are indeed in the same house, or room even, we are not communicating with each other," says Heather Miller of Techumseh, Mich. "At any one time in our house there could be two televisions on, a radio and a computer – and there are only four of us!"

Sound familiar? Sure it does. Spending time together as a family means more than being in the same house or room. For it to really count, you have to interact. Stress management expert Debbie Mandel suggests the following ideas for encouraging family togetherness:

Want to see more?

• Check out our Article Library.
• Is Family Time Overrated? The Importance of Individualized Attention
• Backyard Games: Hands-on Fun for Parents and Children
• To Swing with Clouds: Learning to Truly Enjoy Playing with Our Children
• Talk about it!