'The 'two birds, one stone' method, and other hacks I use to squeeze in more quality time with my kids.'

“Tomorrow is a new day.”

It’s the mantra of all parents, I’m sure.

After a long day, when my kids are finally asleep, I notice their feet growing closer and closer to the end of the bed and promise myself that tomorrow I won’t rush through the day. Tomorrow I’ll try not to shout. Tomorrow I’ll plan some more family time and I will definitely be more present. Today was crazy, but tomorrow…

Well, tomorrow rolls around and someone’s lost their shoe, the milk’s gone off and where is my credit card because I need to place a lunch order? Child A has soccer training, Child B has swimming lessons, both are long overdue for the dentist, it’s almost my mother-in-law’s birthday, the car needs a service and that mole looks concerning, I must book in for the doctor. Which reminds me, when was my last pap smear, anyway?

With the never-ending juggling show that is the mental load, it’s no surprise that planning quality family time tends to fall off the list. 

So lately I’ve developed a few hacks that have helped me squeeze in some quality moments of bonding with my family each week. Here’s how.

The 'two birds, one stone' activity.

This activity is a great one to start with if you are feeling completely and utterly overwhelmed by your to do list. Why? 

Got some furniture to build? A meal to cook? A yard that needs weeding?

Well, my friends, you have yourself a family activity.

Okay, I hear you saying, ‘Lady, I can't even get my kids to do their own chores, let alone enjoy helping with mine!’ but hear me out.

Sure you might meet a bit of resistance at first but creating a habit of everyone in the family pitching in together for household projects and tasks fosters a special bond. Doing something together regularly enough is the stuff that traditions are made of. 

I aspire to be one of those Italian Nonnas that for generations has had her children come around to make pasta together from scratch. Quality time together AND dinner is served!

Alas, I am not Italian nor am I any good at cooking, but this week my backyard looked like a jungle so with the Italian Nonna in mind, I grabbed us some gardening gloves and my kids and I got to it.

Image: Supplied.

We pumped the music, basked in the sun and it was the perfect environment for little conversations to flow organically too. We even stopped in the middle to play a bit of backyard soccer.      

The satisfaction of completing a task together – especially one where you see a visual transformation like this – was huge. What a team! 

The 'crowd pleaser' activity.

Part of the pressure of being the organiser of things is organising things that everyone in your family will actually agree on.

If you’re like me and are constantly refereeing a nightly battle between watching Lego Masters or playing 'The Floor Is Lava', sometimes you might feel like pulling the red card on everyone and calling it a day.

It’s the reason that I’ve decided to switch up our nightly TV viewing to an activity that everyone can agree on: the Nintendo Switch.

A quick game of Nintendo Switch Sports after dinner brings everyone back together for the day for some light-hearted fun. 

There are six sports to choose from including bowling, volleyball and football, with a seventh sport, golf, being added via a free software update on 29 November. All the games mimic your real movements so everyone is up and off the couch, creating a whole lot of playful banter as we contort ourselves trying to win.

The multiplayer function means you can play alongside or against family and friends in person or online (paid membership required), or even rally together to play other people around the world.

Image: Supplied.

One of the great things about the Nintendo Switch console is it actually does what it says on the tin... it switches! It’s really simple to switch from TV to tabletop or handheld mode so it can be played any time, anywhere. This flexibility is also handy if you want to reclaim the TV for some ‘me time’, so the kids can keep on playing and you can keep binge watching The Crown (translation: everyone wins).

We’ve got the OLED model featuring a vibrant 7-inch OLED screen that makes colours pop. Along with the regular Nintendo Switch, there is also the Switch Lite which is great if you just want to stick to handheld play. 

I love how playing a quick game brings us all together and I especially love how easy it is to sneak in 10-20 minutes here or there of quality family time. We don’t need to plan this in advance so even on the busiest of days, it’s something we can always fit in. And the best part is, it fills everyone’s cup!

The 'it takes a village' activity. 

Just organising family bonding activities can be a lot, let alone finding the time to actually do them, so sometimes you need to call on the village for a bit of help. Literally. Local councils are the absolute biz when it comes to providing great events for families.

Since my kids were little, my family has moved around a fair bit – different cities, states, countries – and this has meant getting to know a new village each time.

The first thing I’d do when moving somewhere new is start following my council. If you have a family and don’t already follow your local council on Instagram, go do it now. I’ll wait.

I am also especially stalky of local people in my area (creepy but true) – other mums, local businesses or news outlets. They are a great source of information about family fun.

Instagram is the way I found out that my local community was running a world food truck market down at the local park recently. 

Park = fun for kids

Food trucks = I’m not cooking dinner

WINNER.

Music was playing, kids were dancing and families were all sitting around together enjoying one another’s company.

The chippy pizza, a culinary masterpiece. Image: Supplied.

We rolled out our picnic blanket and sat down with our chosen meals from around the world. My kids sampled an Italian delicacy called ‘cheese pizza’ and made it extra gourmet by putting hot chips on top. 

Was it nutritious? No. Did we have fun together and did I get a break from cooking? YES!

Thanks to the village. 

For some serious family-bonding inspo, check out the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Sports now. 

Feature Image: Supplied.

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