In the hustle and bustle that is today’s norm, it’s hard to grab hold of genuine family time. With everyone going places and all things high speed it is easy to forget the value of family instilled in our lives growing up. When you are little you are surrounded by love and quality time with your parents and siblings, but as life goes on that quality time slowly vanishes. Everyone always has something to do and can simply not get together for visits, let alone dinner. I was lucky in my elementary through high school years to have family dinners every night where everyone was present and attentive. No cell phones were allowed at the table, and no TV in sight. We had each other’s company as entertainment. My parents insisted on quality family time, for which I am grateful. As a family we had many adventures that produce precious memories and hilarious stories. Without these cherished moments I would not be able to realize the true love that I have for my family today at 20 years old.
With newer generations being added to the mix I have noticed that family time is diminishing. With so many distractions that isolate family members from one another, it is getting harder and harder to get family’s to spend time together. IPods, tablets, cellphones, video games and all the other “progress” in this world make for a digressing family structure. People are so plugged in they are sucked in, and rarely come out to socialize. Even when I was in I high school I encountered friends and peers who confessed they rarely sat down and ate with their families let alone spend extended periods of time with them on purpose. I feel that it is important to have real family time and to make an effort towards it. It is a foundation—a building block for those growing up and looking to learn how to run a functional family of their own one day, or going out into the real world and making it.
Quality family time goes beyond sitting around the TV together. It involves real interaction, not texting each other from separate rooms. The little things like board games or card games get momentum of a conversation going if not a couple laughs and friendly competition sprinkled in. When extended amounts of time are spent with your family members things are learned and taught, about life and each other. My siblings are my best friends and I would have never discovered that behind an iPad playing Angry Birds. I found my siblings to be the best playing mates by going outside and jumping on the trampoline with them, playing kickball and exploring the woods. Parents teach you how to ride a bike, throw a football, plant bulbs, mow lawns and other valuable or arbitrary lessons that will make memories. Families are so much more than a mom and/or dad, a brother, a sister, a grandma or grandpa. Families are life lessons, values and precious relationships that grow and increase the more time spent together.
