Tag Archives: Family Time

Goals For Marriage

Yesterday we looked at the idea of goal setting and marriage. but what about setting goals for your marriage. Some the goals you might want to consider are: Commit fully to your marriage and make it your goal to have a long, lasting marriage. Make your goal a loving, nurturing environment for family where they can grow and develop. Here are some practical ways you can do this. Make sure you set aside time each day to sit and talk with your spouse, even if it’s only 15 minutes. Make it a goal to never be so involved with work … Continue reading →

(Sort of) a Vacation?

The end of last week was a whirlwind for my family. I’ve been in technicals the past week for a theatrical show I’ve been working on, my wife had an obligation in another city, and my graduate work for school certainly hasn’t let up at all. To top it all off I ended up going with my wife, out of town, for her work obligation. This ended up being a great thing but it certainly outlined the difficulty of trying to be in two places at the same time. It also outlined the difficulty of the types of work my … Continue reading →

Just for Fun

In every married life there needs to be times you do something just for fun. Yesterday we had one of those days – a family time of picnic and time for the adults to chat while keeping an eye on grandchildren playing in the park. After that we headed off to a medieval fair. Three generations went. Mick and I our son and his two children (unfortunately after finding out about the medieval fair our daughter-in-law was too ill to come) and our daughter and her husband, gathered with hundreds of other people at Winterfest. We watched mock battles between … Continue reading →

Family Home Evening: Troubleshoot Your Problems

Family home evening and family council are designed to help you bring more focus in your family life. At times it may feel like you are just going through the motions to meet each week as a family with family home evening or that your family council meetings are not as effective as you would like them to be. It is important to make the most of the time that you have together as a family. If you feel that your family home evenings are not effective ask yourself these five questions, and you will likely find yourself back on … Continue reading →

Change Up Your Family Home Evenings

If family home evening time is becoming more difficult or a bit monotonous, it may be time to try a new routine to make the lessons more effective. Everyone loves change and changing up your family home evening lessons may make the night more effective for everyone in your family. One easy way to start is to find a new source for lesson material. If you have been using the same manual find a new one. If you have been using the church magazines, try using a manual. You can even come up with lesson ideas and stories on your … Continue reading →

How to Create a Family Ritual with Your Preschooler

Family rituals are wonderful to have. They strength all of you as a family, contribute a sense of self confidence and belonging, and give some security to your preschooler. This is the perfect age to get started on creating family rituals, if you haven’t already. Chances are that you already have some family rituals in place. If not, check out the following ideas. Many family rituals with preschoolers take place at bedtime. You could read a favorite story, have a secret family handshake or other way of saying goodnight, or sing a song. Try celebrating half birthdays. Preschoolers love this … Continue reading →

The Importance of Family Time

Numerous studies have shown how important it is to children to have quality time with their parents and siblings. From research that shows that children who have a regular family dinner time are less likely to be involved with drugs, to surveys of children that say that the one thing they really want more of is time with their parents, there is no doubt in my mind that family time is very important. There really is no time that is too early to establish the routine of family time. You can start with eating together at a meal. If you … Continue reading →

Board Games for Toddlers and Preschoolers

By the age of two, most children are ready to play simple board games. Here are some of the ones I recommend for toddlers and preschoolers. Yesterday, after a long day running around the house (my oldest son said it was exhausting work), and a quick dinner, I decided to settle things down for my own kids and one of their friends who spent the day with us. I suggested that we bring out a board game. “What’s a board game?” the little girl asked. In all of her six years of age, she had never played, let alone heard, … Continue reading →

Family Time

The presents have all been opened and exclaimed over, the paper gathered up and thrown into the recycling bin. Two days ago, here was Boxing Day. Not for us the Boxing Day sales which in Sydney started ridiculously early at 5 and 6am. No, we did as many Australians do in the Christmas holidays; we gathered the family together and went to the beach. For us, the beach is ten minutes away. Mick and I were first in even though the water felt a little cold initially, but was only the first minute or so, then it become beautifully refreshing. … Continue reading →

Balancing Work and Life

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Over the years, we as a society have shifted in our expectations of work. Back in the 1950s, working a 40-hour week with only one spouse (usually the man) employed was the typical family work life. Over the years, with the booming economy of the 1980s, there became a greater expectation of material needs. Society began to expect workers to go beyond the 40-hour workweek to compete. In addition, dual income families became the norm. Since the new millennium, there has been another shift. More and more families are trying to still compete in the workforce but also find ways … Continue reading →