10 Things to Do With Your Children Instead of Watch TV

I think everyone has seen it at one time or another. You walk through the door and you see your entire family sitting in front of the TV staring blankly at the screen. While there really isn't anything wrong with this, you really can't help but wonder if it is the best use of your families time. I know there are good excuses for TV. You had a long day, you worked really hard, your not feeling inspired and more. However, while your creating these excuses for making it okay to watch TV, how about considering the idea of doing something together as a family?

When asked why they don't do more with their family a lot of people answer "Because I can't think of anything to do." That is why I have put together this list. Next time you come home and you find everyone watching TV, give some thought to any of these fine activities.

10: Take A Nap

It is no secret that most American children and adults are sleep deprived. One of the top reasons for this sleep deprivation is television. Not only do people watch TV when they could be sleeping, but television also causes an increase in brain waves that make sleeping more difficult. While a lot of people don't think about it, one thing is for sure, nothing beats a snuggle pile with your children no matter how old they are.

9: Make Something to Eat

There is an obesity epidemic in our country and one of the main causes is poor diet. One of the top reasons most people give for their poor diet is not having enough time to make a proper meal. Instead of simply pulling out the latest frozen meal, you might want to consider getting the kids together and actually making a home cooked meal. Not only will it be a way for your family to eat healthier, its a great way to spend time together as a family and teach your kids how to cook.

8: Read A Book

If your feeling lazy, it's a natural habit to turn on the television and veg out. However, next time your feeling lazy instead of turning on the TV how about you make everyone find a book and spend an hour or two reading? If your really daring you can actually all read the same book and let everyone take a turn reading a page. This not only works as a great way to spend time together, but makes sure you encourage your children to keep their reading skills sharp.

7: Make up A story

Everyone knows that kids have great imaginations and they love stories. Next time you find everyone sitting on the couch becoming zombies why don't you turn off the TV and then have your kids tell you a story. You can have them work together to tell you a story, or let them each take a turn telling a story that you start. While these stories may not have the polish of the TV, they are a lot more fun and give your family a chance to grow closer together.

6: Play A Game

A lot of people seem to forget that TV is actually a relatively new invention in human history. This of course begs the question of what people did before TV was invented. Believe it or not, a lot of families would play some kind of game together. Whether it was a game of cards, a board game, or some kind of sport, most families spent a lot of time playing together. Next time your tired of seeing your children stare at the television with glazed eyes, turn the thing off and go play a game.

5: Go For A Walk

Another leading cause of the obesity epidemic in our country is a lack of exercise. While TV may not be responsible for people not getting enough exercise, it is not helping either. Whether you do it once a week or every single day, pick an hour of the day, turn off the television and go for a walk with your family. Taking a walk is not just about getting exercise, it's about taking time to connect with each other.

4: Talk About Your Day

It may not seem like it sometimes, but kids actually love hearing about the lives of their parents. Every time I tell my kids about my day, what I am doing, or something I learned, they pester me with questions. While this may not seem like a good thing, it is. By taking time to tell your kids about your day, you are showing them how you handle being an adult and lets them know you care about their place in your world.

3: Call A Friend of Family Member

In the hurry up and wait world of today it can often feel like we are loosing touch with the people we care about. Instead of watching the pretend lives of other people on TV, why not reach out and say hi to real people with real lives. Maybe you have a parent you haven't said hi to in a while, or maybe the kids miss some friends from back home. By taking time to talk to friends and family on the phone you remind yourself and your children that people are still important even if they don't look like the ones on TV.

2: Help Them With Homework

We supposedly place a high priority on education, but how often have you actually helped your kids with their homework? Right now public education is having a harder and harder time meeting the needs of students. We have gone from being one of the most educated nations in the world to falling behind some third world nations in reading, mathematics and science. Your kids will not only benefit scholastically from your help, but will also see that you truly do care about their education.

1: Ask Them About Their Day

As adults we have a tendency to trivialize the stresses that our children go through each day. While there isn't any doubt that being a parent is a tough job, try to remember what life was like as a kid. While it may seem to the world that children have no responsibility, they often carry a lot of weight on their shoulders as they try to deal with the stresses of life. Believe it or not, even your surly teenager will be happy when you ask them about their day. They may not tell you all their secrets, but they will know you care and that counts for a lot.

In the end, finding something to do with your kids isn't all that hard. What is hard is slowing yourself down enough to think about doing it. Maybe you need to set an alarm on your cell phone, or maybe you need to write a post it on your computer, but chances are that if you make it a priority, you can easily find something to do with your kids.

A changing culture...

I have been a stay at home father for over ten years. During those ten years I have had a lot of opportunity to give some thought to many aspects of not only fatherhood, but of how a family works, and even a bit on the subject of motherhood. Over time I have had to deal with other people's prejudice, fight against my own personality, and in may ways, change my entire world view. I have gone through all of this for one simple reason, I feel that fatherhood is a severely under represented and appreciated aspect to our society. While we heap accolades upon Mothers (and they deserve every bit of it) Father's get lost in the mix and this has harmed us more than I think anyone has taken the time to realize.

Father's play an important role in the development of children. If you don't believe this is true, look at the statistics for children who were raised without a father present. These statistics reflect that children without fathers are much more likely to become career criminals, seldom achieve a college degree, and earn less money than those who had a father in their life. This isn't something I make up to justify my decision, this is fact and it has been ignored for far to long.

The purpose of this blog is to combat the prejudice against father's who stay at home, find and report on information for all fathers, and to hopefully eventually act as a place father's can come to learn and share with one another. I realize that I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I feel I am ready for this and look forward to building this blog into a real tool for fatherhood.