May 9, 2011

Quality Time With The Kids?

This sounds like a cliché, right? My question really is; is there ever too much Quality time with the kids? Okay, I'll rephrase that: is there ever too much time with the kids?
As parents/ guardians in the 21st century we seem to be really crazy
 about spending time with our kids, and that's a good thing, but what i dare to question is that can it ever be too much? A situation wherein a parent/ guardian spends every moment with their kids in the bid to spend quality time with them can be unhealthy for both the parent(s)/ guardian and the kid(s).

Lets start from the downside for the parents, they easily and quickly become frustrated with their kids and spouses as a direct result of the fact that having to watch over the children all day does not give them adequate time to do things that relax them e.g exercise, sleep, watching a movie, getting a manicure, reading a favorite magazine or even learning how to be a better parent!. In the long run, these parents do not really spend quality time with their children because they are so immersed in the routine of their daily frustrations, they find it hard to find time to fix the situation.

The end result is that such people are usually tense and angry and who is worse off for it? THE KIDS!!!
On the other hand, children who are in direct contact with their parents all day become more dependent than other 'not so lucky' kids. Apart from being direct victims of their parents frustrations, they do not get the chance to do 'naughty things' they need to do in order to explore and learn.
Many years ago, when families were more closely knit, this problem wasn't so apparent, a typical family had two or more of the following, grandparents, aunties, uncles,cousins etc. People one could really trust one's kids with and it took the stress off parenting and it created more opportunity for parents to take stock of their duties towards their kids and resolve to spend true quality time with them.
Now, that pedophiles are bound it becomes difficult to entrust kids to people including family members, i know. The truth however is that, if you look around keenly enough you just might find, discover, create or evolve a way to get the kids off your back at least for a couple of hours a day and if your mind is as creative as i guess it is, a day in a week.
The advantages of spending true, real quality time with one's kids cannot be over emphasized and that's why it may be a good idea to actually sit down and plan exactly what you want to achieve during each time you do allot to your kids and how you want to achieve those aims.
If you are thinking of spending time with them at home, at a park, at a beach or anywhere else for that matter, its good to have an idea what you want to achieve, it may not turn out exactly as you planned it.. it may just be even better! or maybe worse if you hadn't planned at all!
Source: ezinearticles.com