Category: busy schedules

Easy Chores Kids Can Actually Help With

Posted on | by KD Novelties

Parents and guardians have a great deal of responsibility, and on top of caring for children; there are plenty of chores involved, too. That doesn’t even include providing for the family, supplying food and other necessities, running errands, and countless other things. Kids should focus on growing, developing and learning, but actually having kids pitch in with the chores and cleaning can be helpful! Kids should not be forced to do labor, especially nothing that is unsafe or unreasonable for them to do, but giving children a household responsibility helps them develop that skill, as they get older. It can also help teach lessons in patience, gratitude, and discipline. Here are some chores that you can assign your kids from time to time, or have them help you with.

Vacuum

Kids shouldn’t handle any heavy, large vacuums, but slimmer appliances can actually prove to be fun! They make toy vacuums for a reason, right? Giving kids a light task like vacuuming the kitchen or the bathrooms provides them with some activity yet is still small-scale enough that they can handle it. Knowing that they have a small hand in the household chores can help them feel more important as well as responsible without feeling overwhelmed.

Sorting the Recycling

Going through bottles, cans and plastics can actually be turned into a fun game if you’re creative enough! Focusing on recycling is good for any household, and it can help provide a lesson for kids about being environmentally conscious. By giving them a hands-on role in the recycling, they can develop a better understanding of the impact they have on the earth, and what can be done to prevent pollution and other damages that trash or certain materials can do to nature over time.

Help with Laundry

Laundry is a pretty stress-free task, though time consuming. That’s what makes it a great group activity. Whether you have your child assist you with folding and sorting or you disperse the tasks among several kids, laundry can be done in so many ways that no matter who helps, the whole process goes faster. Kids will also appreciate more and realize the time parents take to wash, fold and sort laundry. Plus, laundry usually allows for some multitasking, too. You can fold laundry and watch a movie or a show at the same time. That way you get to spend some quality time together while still being productive.

Two brothers helping father to wash and dry dishes in kitchen

Doing the Dishes

This is a classic, but it works! It’s a great idea to have kids help out with the cooking prep if you can, especially since kids are more likely to try new foods (even veggies!) if they had a hand in making it, but helping with the dishes is a great chore to task them with, too. Having kids do the dishes can also help them be more mindful of the appliances they use, and it may inspire a desire to wash dishes as soon as they’re done being used. Even if you have a dishwasher, tasking kids with filling and emptying the dishwasher can help with organizational skills.

Dusting

An easy chore, but still necessary! Dusting is an essential skill, even if it’s not at all challenging. The problem is remembering to dust. Dust buildup can cause a number of different things, but allergies especially. It’s something quick and easy that kids can accomplish, but also helpful. Plus, your kids may be able to get into those hard to reach places you can’t quite get to!

Refilling Supplies

This task is another good observational and organizational skill-builder. Ask kids to refill soap bottles, resupply toilet paper and paper towels, and take inventory of other such essential goods.

Having kids help around the house can be beneficial to the both of you. Not only is it important for kids to develop a healthy sense of responsibility, but helping out with the chores can help them develop a better understanding and appreciation for what you do for them all the time as well.

Are Your Kids Too Busy?

Posted on | by KD Novelties

When people think of “busy” the image of a parent with a full schedule is usually a common image. With more and more families containing working parents these days, it is no wonder parents are seen as the busy ones. Between taking care of the family, running errands, keeping up with a career – and not to mention hobbies or passions if one has the time – parents are often running around, maintaining their hectic lives. But when people think of kids, they tend to think of bygone, carefree days full of imagination and play time, right?

Along with busy parents, there are busy kids. With more social and academic pressures in our society urging parents to keep their kids active, to have them participate in sports, after school activities, take up an instrument, learn a language, or join a variety of different clubs, kids may be overworked, too.

For teens, activities are a great way to bolster a college application and is something that many establishments look for when it comes to choosing prospective students. Younger kids may be along for the ride, especially if mom and dad, as well as their siblings, are constantly busy.

Whether kids are part of a club because their friends are or simply because there is no one to pick them up after school until one parent or the other becomes available, kids may feel stress and pressure from constantly running around as much as their older family members do.

Some kids are simply active and energetic, and that is completely normal, so how can you tell whether your child is stressed? Here are some warning signs:

● If your child often expresses or visibly shows symptoms of tiredness, anxiety, or even depression (loss of interest, appetite, apathy, etc.)
● If they complain of headaches or stomachaches (these can be due to stress, missed meals or lack of sleep)
● If they fall behind on school work, if their grades drop

If you notice these issues, then it is important to take action – but what is there to do? If your child’s busy schedule relies on the general activeness of the rest of the family, then you may need to make some adjustments, but overall it is important that you discuss these things with your child and understand what it is that they want. Here are some things that you can do to help:

● Agree on activities and arrangements ahead of time, and check in with them periodically to see how things are going
● Establish carpools and other things that can help make life easier
● Try to balance activities for your kids, and yourself
● Make room for quality family time
● Set shared priorities
● Know when to say no

However, keep in mind that it is important to SLOW IT DOWN.  Take a moment and think about your child’s life and what they may be experiencing. If it’s hectic, sit down together and decide where you can cut back. If it’s overly structured, set aside time for blowing off some steam.  Downtime is crucial for these times and staying home, relaxing, reading a book together is probably much needed rest a child needs.

Simple Steps to Make Time for Family When Busy

Posted on | by KD Novelties
Spending time with family is important, especially for children, but finding the time in order to have complete unstructured family time may be more and more difficult to come by.

Many families run on tight schedules these days. In most families, both parents work full-time and kids are enrolled in any number of after school activities. With such hectic lifestyles, it may be hard to make time to enjoy each other’s company. Studies have shown that there are plenty of benefits to spending quality family time. Family relationships help kids build relationships with others, it helps their academic performance, and it can even help their overall health. Here are some ways to make time in your busy schedule to help make sure that you squeeze some time in for your kids and your whole family.

Family Time at the table
1.   Have a home cooked meal. Kids who eat dinner with their families are much better at forming and maintaining relationships, perform better at school, and are even healthier. Home cooked meals made from scratch are usually much healthier than fast food meals grabbed on the go, and they also provide kids with the opportunity to become acquainted with what they are eating. Sitting around the table and having a quality dinner together is beneficial for the whole family while creating lasting memories. If you are pressed for time and think that it may be impossible to cook when you’re swamped with work and busy schedules, take one afternoon or evening out of the week to prep meals ahead of time. Do all of the prep work and simply stick the food in the refrigerator until it’s ready to be prepared. Even if you don’t eat a home cooked meal every day, having at least a few will help improve your child’s health and will help get in some quality family time as well.

2.  If you can’t eat in, eat out! If you are, in fact, too busy or too tired to cook, it might still be helpful to spend a meal time with everyone in the family out at a restaurant. Dining out can be fun, but usually only if children are a little older. But planning an afternoon or evening around a family meal at a restaurant can be both fun and relaxing. Even if you are not the one cooking, everyone is gathered around the table, making conversation and spending time together. You can pick a day out of the week if possible that is family night out time.

3.   Plan a movie night. Between sports practice, after school activities, work, meetings and a variety of other things, it may be difficult to find an overlapping period of time where everyone in the family is free. If you have the luxury of examining everyone’s schedule ahead of time, even if it is just by a few days, schedule a movie night at home. Get popcorn and kick back – you can all take a breather from your hectic lives and unwind while also enjoying some family friendly entertainment together!
Family Movie Night

4.  Make small talk. There may be days where you find that everyone in the family seems to be in different places at different times. With this sort of schedule, it may be difficult to really catch up and have a quality conversation. For kids, it is always important to have strong interpersonal relationships, and parents can still accomplish this by taking time out of their day to ask their child about school, what they’re up to, or even just shoot the breeze. Having conversations with kids, especially ones where you treat them like contemporaries, helps boost their self-esteem. When they hear that you are genuinely interested in their thoughts and feelings, they will take the time to form genuine answers which can be vital to their personal and mental development. Even though more unstructured family time is preferable, even small interactions can build up over time and will still mean a lot.

5. Take a break! Even when we’re unwinding and relaxing, we can find ourselves preoccupied. Whether our eyes are glued to our phones, laptops, or even the TV, it’s important to take a step back and interact with those around us. Sure, indulging yourself in some entertainment can help relax you after a long, busy day but it is much more important to interact with your family, make conversation, or even share in these activities together.

For more family resources make sure to subscribe to this blog and visit our website at http://www.KDNovelties.com.