Shorecrest Preparatory School Blog

Family Time with Your Preschool-aged Child

Posted by Betty Gootson on Feb 1, 2016 4:59:49 PM

Is time spent together really time together?

Our children live in a fast-paced world; people are busier and trying to fit more into the same 24 hours a day. Families often struggle to find time to spend together, and when they are together, technology may replace conversation and interaction between children and parents.

Make the most of time with your children! Instead of letting children watch videos on car rides, take the opportunity to engage in conversation; talk about things that may have happened that day and share what is coming up.

A few easy suggestions: 

  • Sing and play verbal games with little ones like “I packed my trunk and in it I put…,”
  • Find the alphabet in order on street signs, and think of words that start the same or rhyme.
These preschool activities will make car rides enjoyable while helping the children learn sportsmanship and reinforce skills like memory, letter and sound recognition, and rhyming.

family-dinner-conversation.jpg
Research shows that in families who eat dinner together regularly, there are fewer incidences of the children getting involved with drinking, drugs and other serious issues. Family meals provide time for talking and sharing thoughts, information and opinions. When conversing with family around the dinner table, children will learn conversational skills and the conversations will keep you connected and informed of what is important to one another. Make meals together at home or in restaurants the rule rather than the exception; and while eating turn off electronics and include children in the conversation. It is only by watching the modeling of dinner manners and participating in dinner conversations that children will be prepared to do so on their own later.

Topics: Parenting