We live such busy lives that time to connect with our kids are at a premium.  Summer days bring many fun opportunities for family time – vacations, reunions, days at the lake, park or beach, or maybe just a walk or bike or trip around the city.    These are great fun and we should get in as much as we can during our warm summer months.

But I was reminded this past weekend of another opportunity to share family time – job time.  We were clearing and washing the dishes from our first family gathering with our new daughter-in-law from Peru when I realized that even more sharing was going on than in the previous hour.   We were working together and I realized we were sharing the every day stuff of life.  

We can do this with our kids too.  Modern conveniences, as much as we all love them, can take away opportunities to just work together.   Washing dishes is such a one-person, one-machine job now.   I’m not advocating throwing out your dishwasher, but try to find jobs that you can do together.  Maybe it is washing and drying the dishes by hand, folding clothes, washing a few windows or the car, making a meal together, weeding, or dusting.  There are lots of tasks that need to be done to keep a home in shape.  Include your kids, do the work with them, slow down and chat.  You can make any job more fun.  Our More, Easy, Fast and Fun culture has done a great job of telling us that work is not enjoyable and should be minimized as much as possible. But we miss a great opportunity if the traditional fun time is the only time we connect with our kids.   What jobs can you do with your kids? 

Dr. Dave