Quality family time does not have to be time spent on a specific activity. The key element in quality time is that you, as the parent or caregiver, give your undivided attention to your child—you are fully present to her. When you ask her about her day or about her opinion and really listen without planning your response, that is quality time. It can just be time spent with your child on a trip to the grocery store or having a family meal together. A Harris poll showed that, for teens, the most important aspect of holidays was time spent with family.¹ Here are more suggestions for quality time:

• Read to your child. Being read to can be one of the most comforting experiences a child has. Don't be afraid to read stories to your child that are above his reading level. Discuss what you've read and encourage your child to express his opinions about it.

• Together, learn a new hobby such as planting a garden, building a model airplane, or learning how to make a quilt. Resist the urge to correct your child's less-than-perfect tries and focus on encouragement.

• Go for a walk, do a puzzle, or toss a ball together.

• Go to a park, build a fire, and sit and watch the glowing coals together. Share your thoughts with your child but be sure to listen more than you talk.

• Encourage your child's questions and curiosity; then help her satisfy her curiosity by looking up answers in dictionaries, encyclopedias, and online.²

• Set aside one night a week to be Family Night. Spend the time playing a board game or some other activity.

• Create a circle story: one member starts the story with "Once upon a time." and continues until she chooses to pass the story on to the next person, who does the same.

• Spend a family vacation relaxing together at a lake cabin or an ocean beach house—any setting where there is no schedule and no agenda.

• Cook a meal together; let your child help plan the menu.³

Remember, after your child is grown, her fondest memories may be her Saturday trips with you to the hardware store or walks along the beach collecting shells.

¹ Harris Interactive. December 2002. Trends & Tudes, last referenced 2/12/2003.

² Ohio State University Extension Service. Quality Family Time, last referenced 2/04/2003.

³ Correll, K. Spending time together helps make family close, last referenced 2/04/2003.

Additional Resource

• Rankine, P. Just a Minute: Is quality family time a thing of the past?
• Child Trends Research Brief. Building a Better Teenager: A Summary of "What Works" in Adolescent Development