Time At Home With The Family: You Are Welcome To Do Nothing
There seems to be a lot of pressure on parents to take advantage of the free time at home with the family to perform extra activities. But today we want to tell you that it’s okay for you to do nothing!
Relaxation and permission to relax also creates an emotional connection within your family, and it is important to encourage this. So if you are stressed about getting the most out of your free time, we will help you ease this burden.
Millions of parents around the world have felt the pressure. Organization of homework, activities, games, special meals for cooking with your children, endless crafts, family training, scientific experiments…
Maybe in your pursuit of productivity you also took the time to reorganize your playroom? Or maybe you have dusted off old educational games and signed up for a lot of educational platforms? If all this sounds familiar, you can be sure you are not alone. And you’re probably exhausted.
Some thoughts on leisure time at home with the family
When you have extra free time at home with the family, you may have gone even further. You have strived to take care of your mental health with riddles and coloring books. Or maybe you’ve been thinking of using this time to take an online course or study something new.
Most likely, the following thoughts have gone through your head:
- “Maybe I can finally commit to a 7-step skincare routine in the evening.”
- “Where should I make my new home training area?”.
- “Now I can finally organize the thousands of images I have on my computer that make it run so slowly!”
- “I can read so many books now! Where do I start? ”
- “This is the perfect time to concentrate on really training my dog to stop barking every time a neighbor walks by.”
- “I wonder what color I should paint the bathroom?”
- “My two-year-old will be diaper-free when this is over!”
Actually, there is nothing wrong with thinking this way. If you are a goal-oriented person and you work better with goals, structures and boundaries during the week, that’s fine. But after just a day of working from home while teaching your kids at home, you probably felt like you were doing something wrong.
If you were not able to tick off all your goals for the day, there is no reason to feel guilty. It is a common feeling when you have not done anything extra with your free time and feel that your day has been wasted.
Maybe you’re starting to realize that your dream of turning your free time into a new project was a little high? If so, it may be a good idea to reconsider your goals.
There is nothing wrong with not doing something in your spare time
It’s time to give yourself permission to simply survive and enjoy this time with your family. All these other plans can wait.
To measure your success, you need to measure your happiness. It is not necessary to spend hours with your children to complete duties, make crafts and bake cakes to feel like you are doing the right thing. It is also important to just sit sometimes and do nothing.
Your value does not depend on your performance. Focus on the simple things. Are your children confident? Are they loved? If you are cleaning up your child’s closet because you really want to do it, go for it. But if the only thing you crave is collapsing in bed as soon as your kids fall asleep, that’s fine too.
Your children need you in their spare time
Yes it’s true. What your children need to enjoy their free time is to spend it with you. They do not need a lot of activities.
There are lots of things you can do with what you have in the house. And they do not have to spend every second doing activities. Maybe they want to take a nap or spend an afternoon watching movies with you on the couch. Or maybe they just want to play save.
The days we spend at home are reflection time. As a parent, you should not feel guilty if you have not done everything you thought you would accomplish. Don’t get me wrong if you have to postpone some projects to a later date. Is your family safe and happy? That’s all that matters.
