Probably more than anything the important thing that we can give to our children is our time!

This far outweighs the children’s toys that money can buy and means so much more. Time is a precious commodity these days. Parents seem to be always so pushed for time and after a day at the office it is so much easier to go home and chill out.

I am not saying that kids toys are a bad thing, in fact there are a lot of great learning toys around but nevertheless use your time to interact with the children and join in with their games.

I suppose this is a great factor as to why the television plays such a great part in our children’s lives.

These days a child spends an excessive amount of hours in front of “the tv” and the general opinion is that this is not a good thing. Why not turn the tv off and actually play a game together or even just talk. The sad fact is that very the art of conversation in some families is actually dead and in the main it is very much the fault of the parents.

I’m not saying absolutely no tv, but even if it was just one evening in the week, surely it must be worth giving it a go!

Mealtimes are prime time for interaction within the family. Again not tv dinners, but why not actually sit up to the table and share a meal together. This is meant to be better for the digestion too!

I wonder how many parents take an active role to help with their children’s homework. I don’t mean actually doing it for them, but just making suggestions and being there to give them help and advice when they need some.

What happened to the bedtime story? This was often the carrot used to get them to bed. Ask a child what story he or she best remembers from their childhood days and very often they will remember a story that a family member made up at bedtime.

Another treat and something they can look forward to is the promise of a picnic. Children love the outdoors and the fun and games that are involved.

Perhaps even better than that would be a family holiday. Half the fun and anticipation comes from all the pre planning and it is obviously something to look forward to.