When I was young, I helped prepare meals after school and on weekends. My sister and I shared some of the duties and my mom supervised. My sister and I each planned a menu for two days of the week and mom planned the other three days. We would sit down at the kitchen table to clip coupons and rebates for the items we needed to purchase for our menus. We laughed and had fun being together. We also knew that we were helping mom.

On Saturdays, our family went to “the city” to shop for groceries. Mom and dad sold cream, milk and eggs to the produce before we went to the grocery store. Dad and my brothers stayed in the car while Mom, my sister and I got the groceries. Sometimes Dad took my brothers to get a haircut.

Now, many families do not eat together at home. We have fast food, restaurants and other conveniences that keep families from gathering around the table for meals. Some families miss the opportunity to spend time with each other because they lack the structure of family routines.

How can families get routine back in their life? It takes determination and the willingness to work together as a family!

• Sit down and make plans together.
• Create opportunities for activities and games to play together.
• Have children do chores that are appropriate for their age and development.
• Do things at the same time every day so the whole family knows the routine.
• Keep a calendar of events and plan around school activities.
• Plan time to play music, go for a nature walk or read together.

Most of all, take the time to be a FAMILY TOGETHER! Make it fun and memorable so that someday your children will look back and say:

“We loved our routines because we got to have quality time together.”

Tags: family , routines , family time , activities , chores , calendar

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