Time Management
Crissy sent me an article on scheduling “us” time on weekends, that’s like “vitamins” for overscheduled families. She also found some good articles giving you tons of tips on how to provide downtime. Worth checking out. There’ll be something inspiring you :
Time management can be a problem for any household. It seems there is always so much to do with very little time to do it, which can easily overwhelm the family. Whether it’s scheduled activities, chores, appointments or any other obligation, both parents and children will feel the stress of always having to “do” something.
As a stay at home mom by day and an instructor at night, I need to maintain a balance for myself and my family between “doing” and “being”. I have resigned myself to the fact that if something doesn’t get done, it’s not the end of the world while still understanding that certain things do need to be accomplished. As anyone can tell you, this is no easy feat.
One of the ways I try to do this for my family is make sure I schedule in “us” time. Since the weekends tend to fill up fast with activities, I try to block out one weekend a month for doing (or not doing) whatever we want. We many go on a hike, play at a park, tend to the garden or enjoy a day in our pajamas. With the hustle and bustle of the week and most weekends, the activities we choose are usually leisurely during these “special” weekends.
My particular example may not work for everyone, but the importance of having down time to offset the over-scheduling that frequently occurs in many households has been widely discussed. According to several articles, down time allows a child to rest their mind and be a more creative and independent thinker, as well as provide other benefits to a child’s state well being.
Listed below are several articles that discuss the benefits of down time for children as well as provide some suggestions/tips on ways to provide it:
Family Circle - “Mom, I’m Bored”: The Upside of Downtime
AOL: Parent Resource Center - The Importance of Kids’ Downtime
Mom Central - How Much is Too Much?
Paradise Porch - Does Your Family Have Down Time?
Children’s Hospital, St. Louis - All Activities and No Play Makes for Stressed-Out Kids Child Development Expert Says It’s Important Not to
Sesame Street Parents - In Praise of Down Time
February 25th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
These are good tips. I believe that scheduling appointments with the president ought not be more important than scheduling appointments with myself for me to pursue my own personal goals.
April 9th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
I’ve been reading through your blog. You have some great posts on here, especially this one - I really liked it…nice post. Consider yourself bookmarked