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Posts Tagged ‘family time’

It’s not often that Cheryl Ziegler gets to spend a relaxing night at home. Between driving her daughters to softball practice or taking in one of her son’s baseball games, Ziegler’s schedule is booked.The proof is in her calendar. The Lennox mom of three, 16-year-old Mikayla and 11-year-olds Alison and Jacob, has each event highlighted and color-coded. “That’s how I know who needs to be where and when.”

There have been times, Ziegler says, “when I was not home during an evening for over two weeks at a time.”

That kind of busy life is all too common for American families, many experts say. And with school starting soon and fall activities beginning, for many families, it will only get worse.

But what do you do when you want to make sure your child has the activities and skills to get ahead? For some parents, the answer is to slow down and focus on more unstructured family time, rather than racing from one activity to the next.

It’s easy to get stressed, Ziegler says.

Her kids are only doing what they love – they’re not just getting involved in activities just for the sake of getting involved.

Practically from the moment parents give birth, they’re offered a number of structured activities for themselves and their kids. From their first new baby group to their kid’s high school theater habit, they are urged to spend the next 18 years devoting every waking moment to enrichment activities – and with the school year gearing up again in the next month, parents will be hearing more about extra-curricular classes, activities and sports their kids can join.

Many of these activities have a lot to offer. But some take a lot of time, spurring some families to say “enough already” and slow down.

Societal change

Like the slow food movement, whose proponents suggest taking the time to savor rather than gulp and preserve traditional standards of excellence with ingredients and cuisines, the slow family movement is about focusing on changing the way society thinks about family living.

It’s the idea that more isn’t always better, says Carrie Contey, a nationally recognized parenting coach and co-founder of the movement. “It is about allowing family life to unfold in a way that is joyfully and consciously connected,” she says. “This means slowing it down, finding comfort in the home, and creating the space to see and honor the family as an entity, while simultaneously keeping sight of each member as a unique and valuable individual.”

via Busy families struggle to find time | argusleader.com | Argus Leader.