Modern lifestyle brought a lot of improvements in human lives. From technological advancement to scientific breakthroughs, our lives today are richer and advanced more than ever before. However, like in everything else, moderation is an important factor for leading a quality and healthy life.
One of the most important parts of everyone’s life is family and those who have children know how rewarding and demanding it can be. Before all these gadgets came to be, people spent more time with their children. But nowadays, due to the busy lives and overworking themselves, people rely on TV and the Internet to keep their children entertained.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you use this option on occasion and moderately. Nonetheless, if it becomes a habit and you notice your kids spend more time in front of the TV or on the Internet, consider it a wakeup call. And to show you that the whole family can benefit from quality time together, here are some fun ideas that don’t include TV or Internet.
1. Go sightseeing in your city
There are so many things happening in cities now, that even the inhabitants can’t keep up. Well, that is a perfect opportunity for you and your family to visit some locations you always wanted to. That will be an exciting adventure for all of you as you will learn something new together. After sightseeing, discuss what you saw and see what your kids liked the most, so you can visit the similar locations another time.
2. Grow plants together
Gardening is close to home and very rewarding activity that is perfect for families that don’t have time to travel. Kids love to garden, especially the younger ones, so you will have quite a helper while planting and tending to your plants. Make sure that you plant vegetables and fruits too, so your kids can pick them later and eat. This will make them happy and teach them that every hard work pays off. Give them chores like watering the plants or picking the weeds out, but also let them decide which plants to seed.
3. Leisure time at the beach
If you live near a beach no matter if it’s on the river or sea, go and have fun in the sun and maybe take a dip. There are so many activities you can do at the beach beside sunbathing and swimming, that you will all have a lot of fun. From kite flying to snorkeling, you and your kids will have a nice relaxing time together. Just don’t forget to build castles in the sand or collect seashells, since that will give you a project that only you and your family share among yourselves.
4. Create a family book club
We all remember The Twilight Saga and the hype it created several years ago. That made parents read it to see what was it all about, and now they’re devoted fans to the fantasy young adult genre. So, if you have teenagers in your household, read the same title and then talk about it at your own family book club.
There are many TV and movie adaptation of the books today, but nothing can beat the written word in the end. This way, you will make sure that your kids read appropriate literature and you will all have fun discussing the characters with cookies and soda.
5. Ride bikes in nature
Cycling is not only good physical activity but it is also an ideal one for the whole family. If you have small kids that can’t ride yet, don’t worry, you can put them on your bike in the basket out front. If your kids don’t know how to ride, this is the perfect opportunity to teach them.
Before you go on a ride, check the bike tires and breaks to make sure that everything is in perfect order and also don’t forget to show your kids how to do it as well. Play a music that you all can sing to, or tell them some interesting thing about the sights you encounter. Pack some snacks and beverages and find a perfect spot to have a picnic and chat about the things you’ve seen.
6. Do family yoga
Yoga is probably the best exercise you can all do as a family. It’s good for the posture, easy and, the best thing is that you can do it at home or in your backyard. However, start slow and with not too complicated poses so the kids could get used to it. Also, 20 minutes a day is enough for the whole family to have their yoga activity so no one would get tired or bored.
Use yoga as an introduction to other exercises and to teach your kids the importance of physical activity. If you have a high energy child, this could be a perfect way to help them channel their overly active personalities and learn to focus.
All in all
TV and Internet are a great babysitting service when you need them, but they’re also easy to overlook since they are normal entertainment we all tend to enjoy. That is why fun ideas like sightseeing or cycling will be new and interesting ways to connect with your family and have fun. Not to mention the lasting memories it will create for the whole family to talk about during diners or holidays.