Tips to Help Parents Get Out of the House with Children

Times with the family should be memories you and your family will have for a lifetime. But, depending on your lifestyle or plans, it might be easier to make excuses not to go. It has been said that kids steal your heart and your mind. You love them, but they might make it difficult to remember at times. Do not let disorganization and forgetfulness become reasons for skipping family time. Be prepared. Have go-tos ready and waiting to make every potential family outing as effortless as possible.

Go-tos are items and plans that you have at the ready so you do not need set plans to get out with your family. You can have go-to places, go-bags, gear, and games.

The first thing you want to do before you make a family go-to list is to sit down with your family and talk about (or ask each one individually) what they like to do. This is a good idea, even if you think you know, because people change, sometimes right before your eyes. Once you have the list, you can plan various activities that involve a little of each. Remember, the go-to list can be a backup for when the big plan falls through, or when there is downtime.

Go-to Places

Make a list of places you and your family can go on the spur of the moment. ‘Go-to’ places are places that do not require any fees and are relatively easy to get to. Such places include libraries (especially for story time), fire stations, pet stores, and even walking around the mall. Depending on the location and your family's skill levels, this list could even involve camping and fishing.

Go-Bag

Have things ready to go, so if you want to take a spontaneous day trip, you are ready. Put items common to all outings, such as wipes and the first aid kit, in a drawstring bag, so they are handy throughout your excursion. The bags can be packed for any activity you and your family plan to do regularly. Have other bags containing changes of clothes. This will help prevent having to cut the trip short.

Gear

Make room in the family vehicle for items you might need on an excursion. If you plan on hiking, for example, make sure such outdoor essentials like insect repellant and various other survival items (compass, poncho, GPS, etc.), as well as hiking shoes are available.

If one of your go-to plans involve picnics, have a basket or similar kit packed with the essentials (re: silverware, napkins, plates, etc). Maybe even have non perishables in there to help round out any healthy picnic meal.

Games

A great game to play that will get the family out is a scavenger hunt. Depending upon the age of the participants, you can have one around the house, or around the city or woods. Think about how much you can learn merely by setting one up and how much you can teach your family about certain familiar areas.

Depending on your family members’ ages, pack other things to do. Cards, travel-sized games, and notebooks and pens can help fill the small gaps between activities. If you feel that the age of the smartphone has taken us away from traditional activities and family time, make the activities conducive to family time.

All the running around with school and other activities can make planning fun time with the family difficult. There are ways that you can help your family get up and out and involved by filling in the gaps between plans with go-tos. Go-to places, go-bags, gear, and games are but a few. Spending less time planning and setting up will give you more time with your family, and make those times easier to remember. Be prepared. It is easy to let disorganization and forgetfulness ruin what spare time we have with our family. Times with the family should be memories all members can have for a lifetime.