21 Ways To Spend Time With Your Kids When You Have Zero Time

Last Updated on March 18, 2022 by Michele Tripple

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~This post is sponsored by Moose Toys. All opinions and ideas are my own.

Spending quality time with our kids is important, but how often do we find ourselves out of time due to a new job, housework, or other obligations you are committed to?

You may feel like you have zero time to spend building a parent-child relationship, but what if I told you that there are simple ways to connect with your kids every single day?

It’s true!

Dedicating as little as 8 minutes a day of uninterrupted time with our kids will greatly benefit you and your children and help you connect on an even deeper level.

Importance of quality time with kids

As you spend quality time with your kids you will see your relationship improving with them and you will start to see how much easier it is to talk with one another.

Your kids will start to recognize that they are important in your life as well.

As you spend time with one another your kids will see how you have empathy and compassion for others and learn those traits to be better kids, siblings, and friends to those around them.

Keeping it simple

When spending time with your kids, one of the most important things to remember is to keep it simple. Think of an impromptu trip to the ice cream store, watching Bluey on TV, getting on the floor, playing with your kids, gardening etc.

It does not need to be some grand elaborate plan. It is the most simple moments of snuggling even that create the biggest impact on our kids.

Allow yourself to have fun!

Remember to have fun in the moment! With so much to do and our lives being so busy it is sometimes hard to allow ourselves to have fun, but it is important to live in the moment with our kids.

Rather than watching them play and laugh, get down on the floor and laugh with them.

Benefits of quality time with kids

When we spend quality time with our kids both our kids and you Benefit!

Benefits Moms and Dads see

  • Deeper empathy for our kid’s feelings
  • Learn to share in their exciting moments
  • Reconnect with our inner child and express our own creativity and imagination
  • Reminded of a child’s innocence
  • Help recognize when our child is not themselves

Benefits for our kids

  • Learn from us
  • Help develop imaginative play
  • Help strengthen vocabulary skills
  • Builds self-esteem
  • Promotes positive behavior
  • Builds a stronger relationship so that when something is bothering them they have an easier time expressing it to us
  • Help develop to their full potential
  • Recognize that they are important

21 Ways to Spend time with your Kids

Making Play dough / playing play dough together– Something as simple as making homemade play dough allows you time to spend together in the kitchen making the play dough and then you can spend quality time as you mold your favorite shapes or other objects. Take time to talk and listen while you do this!

Play Pretend / kitchen- Kids love to play pretend, especially when play food is involved. Create a restaurant or a kitchen and pretend together.

Have a daily tradition- Create something special between you and your child that only the two of you do. You can make up your own little song, a handshake, dance, or even a special saying when you tuck them in at night that they know is just something between them and you.

Cardboard Cars / Watch Bluey together- Save your cardboard boxes from deliveries and take some time and make a cardboard box car out of it with your car. You can decorate it together and create a drive-in right in your own living room.

You and your child can sit and watch Bluey on Disney as you watch Bluey interact with Dad, Mum, and her sister Bingo as they turn ordinary things into extraordinary adventures.

You can even pretend to be a taxi driver like Bluey does herself in one of the episodes.

Build Forts- Forts are a great way to spend time together no matter what time of the day it is. Just grab some chairs and a big sheet and make a hideaway so that you and your little one can hang out and tell stories together.

Play on the playground with them- The playground is a place kids can run free and be themselves. Just jump right in and swing beside them, or catch them at the bottom of the slide. Just be present.

Go on Scavenger Hunts- Kids love adventures, so take them on a beach scavenger hunt, a camping scavenger hunt, or create your own backyard scavenger hunt.

Play Simple Games Together- Gathering around as a family or just with your kids is a great way to spend time with your kids. They will for sure know they have your attention once the game begins. Try playing Charades, or even if you have teenagers they will have fun playing Who’s Most Likely or even Would you rather with you!

Kids Coupon Books-  Let the kids have a say in how your time is spent with them. Give them a coupon book where they can redeem quality time with you whenever they need it most!

Blocks- Creating structures may be just how your child loves to spend their days. Take time to talk about what they wish to build and make it happen. The 10 minutes you took to help them create the big race track may lead to hours of them pretending to be in their own race!

Play with Toys that spark Imaginative play– When your kids use Imagination play with their toys it is fun watching as a parent. Talie and Tony love the show Bluey on Disney and thanks to the episodes they have been using her imagination even more! 

For Talie’s birthday, we gave her a bunch of Bluey toys that she loves, and we have had so much fun sitting on the floor playing together.

Per Talie’s request, she got the Best Mate Bluey, a jumbo-sized soft plush for her to hold and snuggle with!

We also got her the Bluey Heeler 4WD Family Vehicle that fits 4 Bluey figures (Comes with Bandit and two surfboards that can be stored on the roof! Tony is in love with this vehicle!

And how can you go wrong when you pick up Bluey and Family Figure 4-pack so that dad, mom, Bingo, and Bluey can go on so many adventures together?

We also totally love the Bluey and Bingo Mini Playsets, specifically the Playroom that has some of Bluey’s favorite toys that spark imagination and creativity!

You can pick up your favorite Bluey toys at Target in late June and all major retailers on August 1st.

Eat meals together – When you sit down at the table together that is a great place to have some of your best conversations with your kids no matter their age.

Take Walks Together- In our family, we love to go on family walks. The kids love to get out their bikes, scooters, and footballs. We leave electronics at home and we just connect one with another.

We listen to each other as well as point out things we see in the neighborhood

Let them be your fix-it buddies- Kids love to help you! So, whenever a task needs to be done around the house ask them to help. You will be surprised how excited they are to hold a screwdriver or a light bulb. Tony for one loves to help, especially when tools are involved.

Ask Funny questions- Kids love to laugh, so ask funny questions for kids and get them laughing and help you get to know their silly side even more! Both you and they will be laughing hysterically.

Take Pictures together every single day- Take pictures with your kids every single day! Yes, even on those no-makeup wild hair days. Your kids will want to look back on these memories! Not only that, but it gives you a few moments of closeness every day to snap a pic together. As Talie always says, “Show the blog mom!”

Kids love pictures with you! Take more of them.

Play tag- There is no better way to get your kid’s energy out than running around the yard playing tag together.

Do Puzzles- If you are looking for a quiet activity to do with the kids, break out a puzzle and work on it with each other.

Exercise together- Exercise is already part of your morning routines for moms, so involve the kids in it if they are up, even if it is just the cooling down portion.

Have Family TV time- Hanging out as a family snuggling and relaxing is a great way to spend time with the kids, especially when you are exhausted. Turn on Disney and watch an episode of Bluey and watch Bandit, Bluey’s dad interact with his girls in a fun imaginative way!

Snuggle- What is better than snuggling with your kids? Yeah, I can’t think of anything either!

It is a wholesome show that teaches kids that dad’s love to have fun too and play with their kids.

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There you have it! 21 ways to spend time with your kids even when you feel like you have ZERO TIME! What do you like to do with your kids? Share in the comments!

 

8 thoughts on “21 Ways To Spend Time With Your Kids When You Have Zero Time”

  1. I’m guilty of this, can be so hard but just 8 minutes didn’t k ow that. I’m practicing being more intentional about spending time with my daughter

    Reply
  2. Love these ideas to spend time with our children. My daughter and I have a daily tradition and I agree that it creates a special bond between the two of you. They feel so proud that they have some sort of a “secret” with mommy.

    Scavenger Hunt is also one of favorite activities at home as it’s exciting and fun.

    Reply
  3. while my kids are teens now, definitely can see myself (and i do some of these:-)) using these tips to spend quality time with them

    Reply

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