All of us are busy doing everything we can to make life as good as it can be for our family, but it's taking a huge toll on our kids. It's time for St. Cloud to take a close look at the time we spend with our kids.

Daily Mail recently published an article that talks about the important role of parents to balance between home and work life. Basically, our kids are losing out of having the most important thing if their lives, their parents.

It's expensive to raise a family these days, and most households have both parents working to give their kids a life they've dreamed of giving them. Think about it, almost every family has at least 1 smartphone and tablet of some sort. Laptops, televisions, game consoles, and everything else that's almost expected now...we're working hard to be able to buy it.

The problem is, we're buying them, and they seem to be replacing the time us parents spend with our kids and we don't even realize it. Many of us are spending less than 30 minutes of quality time with our kids each week!

They found that 1/3 of kids feel their parents work too much and aren't able to give them the time they with they had together. 44% of parents have said their children have asked them to spend more time with them. This is concerning -- 72% of parents feel that watching TV together with their kids is spending "quality time" together.

There's a big difference in the type of time you spend with your kids, active -vs- passive. Active time is focused time on a specific activity, whether inside the home or outside activities, that mutually has you and your child(ren) doing something focused on each other's interaction together. Passive time is just the opposite, like watching TV together. it's using something to distract the child's attention from the parent, while still being in their presence. A little passive time is healthy for a parent's well-being, but should be very limited.

Portrait of a young couple in a swimming pool with their son and daughter
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There's a ton to do right here in central Minnesota any time of the year. With spring right around the corner, I'm begging you to make it a habit of getting out a calendar and taking some time with your kid(s) to brainstorm and write down some solid dates that you will be doing active time together more than once a week. It's essential for their development.

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