Quality time with your family is an essential part of cultivating a healthy and happy household environment. In fact, much of a child’s personal development hinges on the time they spend with their family. By spending quality time with one another, family members can strengthen their bonds, learn important values and skills, relieve stress, and keep traditions alive.

Granted, finding enough extra time might seem difficult, especially for parents with busy schedules. However, you don’t need to dedicate long hours to have a great time with your loved ones. What’s most important is how you choose to spend your time with them. That being said, it’s best to select fun and enriching activities that you and your family can all do together.

If you want to start spending quality time with those nearest and dearest to you, but need some inspiration, below are five tips to help you get started:

Read with One Another

Reading is a great activity that any member of the family can engage in. Besides being a good form of entertainment, books impart knowledge while aiding in language development. If you have younger children, let them select a captivating storybook that you can read together before bed. Older children can choose an exciting novel that you can both enjoy and have discussions about.

The best part? There are plenty of applications that provide digital copies of your favourite books. PDF readers can store hundreds of novels, while apps like Muslim Pro can even give you a copy of the whole Quran with one tap. This way, your family always has access to a collection of books that you can all read together.

Practice Family Traditions

Many families have a set of traditions that are passed down from one generation to the next. Practicing these traditions not only keeps them alive, but also provides the best bonding opportunities. For example, if your family is religious, then performing your daily prayers together is likely to be an important tradition. To ensure that you never miss this special form of worship, you can set dependable prayer reminders on your phone with software like the Muslim Pro app.

For families who don’t have many traditions, it’s never too late to make new ones. You could host a special movie marathon every month or have weekly game nights. You may also opt to practice seasonal traditions, like decorating a Christmas tree during the holiday season.

Be Present during Mealtimes

Eating together during meals is one of the most effective ways to spend quality time with your family. Work and other family commitments may prevent parents from being present during every meal, but it’s still important to share at least one with your family. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, mealtime is the perfect opportunity to have meaningful conversations with your loved ones. We love having a special brunch together once a week, or a taco night even, when everyone will share the best parts of their week.

Each member of the family can talk about their feelings and how their day went, or even a favourite TV show. When someone is talking, do make sure that you give them your undivided attention. Wholeheartedly listening to one another is one of the best ways to show each other that you care. It can be tricky with different ages and when their are lots of voices, but once established as a routine, this gets easier.

Help with Schoolwork

Spending at least an hour a day to help your children with their schoolwork is also a great bonding activity. Schoolwork can be a daunting (and sometimes boring) task for many children, especially when they’re not getting enough support. It helps to get involved in your children’s academic activities, as it shows them that you’re genuinely interested in their personal growth. In turn, this can encourage them to value and enjoy their studies. Getting siblings to help each other can also be beneficial for bonding.

While you should teach your children to be responsible for their own schoolwork, do set aside the time to help them in simple ways. This could range from teaching them how to solve a particularly difficult math problem to helping them assemble an art project. Whatever their tasks may be, being there for them can give them the confidence to face all kinds of challenges.

Do Household Tasks Together

Household chores may not be an appealing activity for most people, but doing these tasks with your family can actually make them more enjoyable. You could create a playlist with each family member’s favourite songs and play it while you’re all doing your chores. Time-consuming tasks, like cooking and folding the laundry, can be made easier with some helping hands. Doing chores together can instil a strong sense of teamwork within your family. Children will also learn the importance of contributing to household work and doing their part to help the family. Ours love to help wash the car for example.

Remember, the activities that your family engages in have a deeper meaning to them. Besides providing you with precious memories, quality time reminds your family that you’ll always be there for one another, no matter what.