{"id":4469,"date":"2017-08-03T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2017-08-03T07:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/screentimelabs.com\/?p=4469"},"modified":"2022-03-18T05:34:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T05:34:50","slug":"five-ways-to-spend-quality-time-with-your-kids-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/screentimelabs.com\/blog\/five-ways-to-spend-quality-time-with-your-kids-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Ways to Spend Quality Time with Your Kids This Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4470 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/screentimelabs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/parental-control-software.png\" alt=\"Parental control software\" width=\"600\" height=\"380\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Family Book Club<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Everybody says kids don&#8217;t read enough these days, so do your part with a family book club. Let your kids pick a book, everybody reads it, and then set aside a little time to chat about it. What did they like about the book? What didn&#8217;t they like? Why not? It&#8217;s a good way not only to get kids reading but also to encourage them to think critically about the messages they find in the things they read and watch \u2014\u00a0a positive habit to build up at any age. It&#8217;ll also keep their minds sharp for when summer ends, and the book report once again returns to the weekly schedule.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Family Meals<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It can be tough to get the entire family around a table sometimes, but it can be worth it. Help your kids get invested in it by having them help plan out the meal. Take them shopping with you and talk them through how you shop, why you buy one thing and not another, or ask them to help pick out produce and other ingredients. Have them help prepare the meal, and then you can sit around the table and talk about what they learned, and they can ask you questions about what you cook and why.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Play Their Games<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Do you ever spot games around your home, online or offline, that you have no earthly idea how to play? The summer is the perfect opportunity to learn. While you should limit <a href=\"https:\/\/screentimelabs.com\/\">screen time<\/a> and get kids outside, it&#8217;s OK for kids to play the occasional game. Next time they do, hang around and watch for a while. Ask them questions about the game. Learn what they get out of it, and you and your kids will better understand each other. And, of course, don&#8217;t hesitate to introduce them to your games.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4471\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4471\" class=\"wp-image-4471 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/screentimelabs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/parental-control-software2.jpg\" alt=\"Parental control software\" width=\"600\" height=\"380\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/380;\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4471\" class=\"wp-image-4471 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/screentimelabs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/parental-control-software2.jpg\" alt=\"Parental control software\" width=\"600\" height=\"380\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-4471\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The family can be together all summer.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Take A Road Trip<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The family trip is a classic way to spend time, and it&#8217;s a good way to get out and see the world. Everyone should leave the phones and tablets at home, and you can plan a trip for everybody. Even if you just take a day trip to a historical site or see another town and what it has to offer, it&#8217;ll be a fun way to spend time together and make memories.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Have A Summer Project<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Another way to bring everyone together is to plan out a big project together. Build a garden or a shed. Design a garden for you and your kids to care for year-round. Rearrange the family room so it&#8217;s easier to organize and play in. Look for a project you can all work on together.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s far more you can do with your kids over summer break. Think about what your kids like to do, family activities you&#8217;ve enjoyed in the past. And, above all, limit the <a href=\"https:\/\/screentimelabs.com\/\">screen time<\/a> to get out there and enjoy the world. Need help keeping kids off screens? <a href=\"https:\/\/mediashower.com\/ce2\/59320\/1643\/35\">Sign up<\/a> today.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Begin Media Shower Content Reporting code --><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"fr-fic fr-dii\" style=\"height: 1px; width: 1px; border: 0px;\" src=\"\/\/mediashower.com\/content?Action=tp&amp;cid=59320\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p><!-- End Media Shower Content Reporting code --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s summer, the kids are home, and you want to spend more time with them. But where to start? Use these ideas as a springboard to spending more quality time with the kids over those long summer days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":4471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[145],"class_list":["post-4469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting-hacks","tag-parental-controls"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Five Ways to Spend Quality Time with Your Kids This Summer - Screen Time<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Use these ideas as a springboard to spending more quality time with the kids over those long summer days.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/screentimelabs.com\/blog\/five-ways-to-spend-quality-time-with-your-kids-this-summer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five Ways to Spend Quality Time with Your Kids This Summer - 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