7 Ideas To Maximise Time With Children

Having little ones in the house guarantees 2 things: noise and mess.

As parents we could spend all of our time just cleaning up after our kids and sorting out arguments. But that’s a dangerous spiral.

Because you’re wasting precious time connecting with your kids. Here’s what we do to stay on top of the house & active as a family:

1. Go for walks

Time in nature is medicine.

Often the Scottish wind is howling and the kids just want to vegetate on the sofa.

But teaching our kids the value of embracing the elements, getting fresh air, and just disconnecting will serve them well as adults.

2. Gamify cleaning

Cleaning is annoying, and kids hate it.

We start at one end of the house, set a 5 min timer, pump some music and clean all together one room at a time.

It teaches the kids the value of teamwork, and leaves us with a clean home to enjoy the rest of the day in.

3. Play games

Games teach a ton of life lessons.

We play traditional games with winners and losers but also games where everybody needs to work together.

Talking with your kids about mistakes and the feeling of losing in a game scenario is vital practice for life.

4. Write stories

Children’s imagination is wild and fun, capture it.

Our kids have written multiple stories ranging from comic books to fairy tales.

It fosters their world-building, lets them experience empathy for different characters, and preserves a precious memory of their childhood.

A few years ago I wrote an adventure story about finding yourself for my kids.

We got it published via Kickstarter and you can get it for free here:

5. Ask questions

Kids never tell you what happened at school.

Getting our kids to open up to find out what they did and how they’re feeling can be a real challenge.

But taking time to ask questions, drill deep and let them find answers to their feelings is a life skill and will help them in dark times.

6. Cook together

Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours cooking for no one to eat it.

Involving our kids in at least part of the meal prep, chopping vegetables, stirring the pot or serving gives them ownership of the meal.

And sharing a meal is a great way to have meaningful conversations.

7. Have parties

There’s always something to celebrate.

My wife is the party queen, her birthday preps are out of this world. The kids love it so much, we often just have random parties, just to have a chance to decorate the house and have fun together.

It also teaches the kids gratitude for what’s in their lives.

I hope some of these ideas are useful for you and you’ll go and try them out.

What activities do you do as a family?