5 Strategies for Balancing Work and Family: Quality Time with Kids When You Work Full-Time

happy little moments

5 Strategies for Balancing Work and Family: Quality Time with Kids When You Work Full-Time

If you’re struggling balancing work and family life, as well as spending quality time with your kids, you’re not alone. I frequently hear working moms say, “I feel like I’m failing at both work and being a mom” or “I just want to enjoy more quality time with my kids.” You’re in good company.

These are things I’ve said to myself, too.

Juggling full-time schedules, work, life, self-care, chores–it is tough to carve out quality time with your kids regularly. With everything you’re trying to manage, it feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day to do it all.

But, spending quality time with your children doesn’t have to be a monumental task. There are ways that you can spend quality time with your kids and still manage it all.

Here’s 5 strategies you can use to help you balance work and family and maximize your “Happy Little Moments” together.

1. Establish Consistent Routines with your Family

Children thrive on consistency, routines, and predictability, so it is incredibly helpful to spend quality time with your family by setting routines. This also establishes stability in their life. Plus, it gives everyone something to look forward to day-to-day and week-to-week.

Here are some ways to implement consistent routines into balancing work and family:

Create a Family Calendar

Start off by creating a family calendar that everyone has access to. Since my kids are still young, we use a visible chalkboard calendar, but a digital calendar can work, too. If you go digital, ensure it syncs up with all your devices!

Designate Specific Times for Family Connection

Choose specific times during the day or week that are for family activities. For example:

Establish consistent morning routines. Take the time to spend 15-20 minutes each morning eating breakfast together or preparing for the day. Making just a little time to connect with your child in the mornings fills their connection bucket and builds their confidence.
Make time after work to check-in with your child. A great way to do this is to make sure to sit down together for dinner each night. Ask your child what their favorite part of the day was.
If sitting down consistently at dinner isn’t possible, set aside 20-30 minutes after coming home from work to give your child your undivided attention.
Establish a consistent bedtime routine. Spend some quality time with your child before bed, reading books, talking about the day, and saying prayers or expressing gratitude for the day. This allows your child to go to bed knowing they are loved, grateful, and wound down from all the activities for the day.

Plan Weekly Family Nights

Have consistent family time scheduled every week. For instance, we have family pizza and movie nights every Friday night.

These family nights are truly something everyone in our family looks forward to. During times when I’ve been stressed from work, the consistency of our family movie nights helped ground me and gave me something to look forward to at the end of each week.

But your family night doesn’t have to be movies and pizza. Here’s a few family night ideas:

Board game nights
Mario Kart nights
Cooking meals together
Baking together
Arts and crafts sessions

Be Flexible but Committed

While it’s important to be consistent, sometimes other plans take over these routines. Be flexible when necessary, but always let your child know that you’ll make up for your missed family night whenever possible.

By establishing family routines, you create a framework for regular, meaningful interactions with your child. This predictability in getting to spend quality time with you allows your child to feel secure and valued.

2. Maximize Everyday Moments

Quality time doesn’t always have to be planned or extensive. Some of the most meaningful interactions can happen during everyday activities. The key is to be present and engaged during these moments. Here’s how you can make the most of daily routines:

Take Advantage of Your Commute Time

If you drive your child to school or activities, utilize your time together. Start conversations with your kids and ask about things they’re looking forward to in their upcoming day. Bonus: this helps diffuse some of the nerves that can occur before school.

You can also create games for the car such as finding objects that start with a certain letter or are a certain color. If your child is learning to count, you can count the speed bumps or you can spend time counting to 100 with them.

Alternatively, you can listen to stories or audiobooks together in the car that you can discuss later, or belt out your favorite tunes together. Whatever you do together on the commute, make sure it’s something they enjoy doing and sets them up to have a good day.

Make the Most of Mealtimes

Eating together is a powerful way to bond. Many cultures around the world make evening dinner a full-on event every day. But even if you can’t have dinner together every night due to work schedules, you can try:

Having at least one meal together daily, even if it’s breakfast.
Turning off all devices during meals so that you can have thoughtful conversations together.
Using conversation starters or games to encourage meaningful conversations.

Involve Your Child in Chores

I know—no one loves doing chores. But, you can control whether these activities are more fun by connecting with them during their chores. Here’s a few chores you can do together:

Cook meals or bake together.
Do laundry as a team. In our house, we have a folder and a runner. Sure, our laundry may not end up in the drawer in the neatest fashion, but it makes doing the laundry much more fun.
Make cleaning the house a game. See how much you all can get done in 10 minutes. Or make the toy baskets a “goal” as you clean up.

Even if these tasks aren’t done perfectly when you involve your kids, remember the time you spend together matters much more – plus, done is better than perfect!

Be Present During Transitions

Give your child your full attention when you get home (or when they get home). Everyone loves to be welcomed home – yes, even if you have a teenager who pretends like they don’t. So take advantage of this opportunity to connect:

Greet your child with enthusiasm and your full attention.
Ask open-ended questions about their day and listen to their answers.
Sit down and have a snack together while talking about their day.

Maximizing these everyday moments creates lots of opportunities for connection, even if you have a busy work schedule. This approach helps you fit quality time with your kids into your routine, balancing work and family time more effectively. This makes it feel more natural and less like another task on your to-do list.

3. Use Technology Wisely

These days, technology is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to family time. While excessive screen time hinders our interactions with our kids, technology can also help working parents stay connected with their children.

Here’s how to leverage technology to your advantage:

Do Virtual Check-ins

Some of us have to travel for work, or we have seasons when we have to be at work longer hours. If work keeps you away from home, use Zoom or FaceTime calls to keep you connected:

Schedule video chats with your kids during your lunch break or between meetings.
Use these calls to see your child’s face, hear about their day, or you can even help them with their homework.
Use apps that allow you to send video messages when you can’t set up an in-person call with your child.

Use Shared Digital Experiences

You can use technology to share experiences or learn something new together. Here’s a few ways you can utilize technology to spend time together:

Play digital games together on your phones or tablets.
Send photos and texts to one another throughout the day to stay connected.
Use language learning apps to pick up a new language as a family.

Setting Technology Boundaries

Using technology can be a great way to connect with your child, especially as they get older. But it’s also really important to have clear boundaries about the use of technology in your home.

Make sure to include “tech-free” times in your daily routines or establish time limits for screen time every day. For example, our 7-year-old and 5-year-old love to play games on their tablets; however, we have set times when they are allowed to play each day and strict time limits. It’s much easier to set a strict boundary around technology and then occasionally flex the rule, than it is to allow it to be a tablet or smartphone “free-for-all” all of the time.
Be a good role model when it comes to technology. Establish family times throughout the day when you put your own devices away. Children don’t listen to what we say as much as the imitate what we do.
Keep the conversation with your children open about balancing screen time with other activities. Many children are not getting enough time outside or are even getting depressed because they spend too much time on technology. As a parent, keep track of the amount of technology exposure your child is getting.

By using technology thoughtfully, you can use it to build more connections with your child and even improve your interactions when you are together. Remember, you can use technology as a tool for connection but not as a replacement for face-to-face time. Technology in your home must support balancing work and family and not create a further barrier.

4. Prioritize One-on-One Time

While family activities are important, there’s something really special about giving each child some one-on-one time. This individual attention allows you to focus solely on one child’s needs, interests, and personality.

Here’s how to make the most of one-on-one time:

Schedule Regular "Dates" with Each Child

Set up regular one-on-one outings or activities with each child:

Try to set up at least one “date” per month with each child. This helps you build up your relationship with all of your kids and makes each of them feel special.
When setting up these dates, let your child take the lead. Ask them what they’d like to do or choose an activity you know they will love.
Remember that these dates don’t have to be anything huge. They can be simple activities like going out for ice cream, visiting a park, or going to the library.

Cater these Activities to Your Child’s Interests

Use this one-on-one time to participate and learn about your child’s unique interests.

If they love art, try taking a painting or drawing class together.
If they’re into sports, go to a sports event or practice their favorite sport together.
If they love science, do science experiments or visit science centers together.

Practice Being Fully Present

Remember that these one-on-one times they get with you are really special for your child. (They’re special for you, too!). Make an effort to be fully present on these outings.

Put your phone away and turn it to silent.
Give your full attention to your child, maintaining eye contact and actively listening.
Show genuine interest in what they’re saying and doing.
Ask your child questions about their thoughts or experiences at school.
Share stories from your own childhood or about your work life. (Keep it age-appropriate!).
Talk about anything they’re worried about or finding challenging.

Be Consistent

Consistency is key in making the most of your one-on-one time together. Make sure to stick to your scheduled times as much as possible. If you have to reschedule, let your child help you pick a new date or time. And make sure that your child knows their one-on-one time is a priority for you.

By prioritizing one-on-one time, you create a special bond with each of your children. This individual attention helps them feel valued and understood, and provides you with insights into their unique personalities and needs.

5. Use Your Weekends for Family Time

Weekends are a great time to spend extra time with your child. However, it’s easy to wind up using the weekend to catch up on chores or even on work. Balancing work and family life on the weekends can also be difficult.

But I’d like to challenge you to focus on creating meaningful memories over the weekends instead.

Make Plans

To make the most of your weekends, it goes a long way to do a little planning. It’s also helpful to get feedback from your family about activities they’d like to do together.

Start by scheduling family meetings on Friday nights (or even earlier in the week) to talk about what you’d like to do over the weekend. Let your kids to get involved in making the plan so that everyone has something to look forward to. Schedule only one main activity each day so that it’s easier to remain flexible. Remember to be open to changing the plans based on what your family would like to do.

While it’s great to have plans, it’s also important to remain flexible. Limit overscheduling your kids on the weekends. It can be tempting to cram in as many family activities as possible, leave time for downtime, rest, and relaxation. This ensures your kids get spontaneous play and also some recuperation time. It’s okay to have “do nothing” weekends, too.

Make sure to leave plenty of free time so that everyone gets to relax and recuperate for the week ahead. There are often so many options these days, and it’s important to allow your kids the chance to prioritize what they’d like to do and make decisions. This is building an invaluable skill set.

Establish Weekend Traditions

Create routines and rituals that your family looks forward to every weekend. This may include Saturday morning pancakes or Sunday afternoon walks together. Once again, children thrive in a home that is stable and predictable, and they quickly start to look forward to and find comfort in those little routines you have established together as a family.

Engage in Shared Hobbies or Explore Your Community

Use your weekends to develop shared family interests. This can be planting a garden together, enjoying a sport together, or starting on projects together. You can also find ways to enjoy your local community:

Visit local farmers’ markets, street fairs, and festivals together.
Explore the parks, trails, or tourist attractions in your city.
Go to the local museums or learn about your city’s history together.

Involve Extended Family and Friends

Weekends are great time to connect with extended family and friends. While it may be easy to fall into the pattern of just spending time with your immediate family, don’t forget to build and nurture the community around you.

Investing time in building your support network is crucial for you and your family’s mental health. Plus, building better relationships with your friends and family will make everyone around you happier and more fulfilled.

Invite your friends over for barbeques or brunches. Organize playdates or outings with friends and family, and use technology to talk to people who live far away.

By making the effort to establish and maintain these relationships, you’re setting an incredible example for your kids, as well as creating memories together and strengthening bonds. Balancing work and family is challenging but it can be done when you’re living your life with intentionality.

In Conclusion

Balancing a full-time work and family is undoubtedly challenging, but it’s far from impossible. By implementing these five strategies – establishing a consistent routine, maximizing everyday moments, leveraging technology wisely, prioritizing one-on-one time, and creating meaningful weekend routines – you can improve the quality of your time spent with your children.

Remember, it’s not about being perfect or always having elaborate plans. The most important thing is to be present, engaged, and consistent in your efforts to connect with your child. Small, everyday interactions can be just as meaningful as grand gestures or outings.

As you use these strategies, be patient with yourself and your family. Finding the right balance or establishing new habits that work for your family may take time. Be flexible based on your family’s needs and feedback from your children.

Lastly, don’t forget to take care of yourself. A happy, well-rested parent is better equipped to provide quality time and attention. Make sure to carve out time for self-care and adult relationships as well.

By making a conscious effort of balancing work and family, and striving to maximize your time with your children, you’re not just improving your relationship with them – you’re investing in their emotional well-being, building their self-esteem, and creating a strong foundation for their future. The memories you create now will last a lifetime, shaping both your children’s lives and your own in beautiful ways.