Time.
It’s moving fast.
It’s limited.
We will never have more of it than we already have.
So the issue is not how do we get more,
but how do we become more intentional about what we have?
How can we manage our time strategically, to parent beyond our capacity?
When you create a rhythm you establish priorities. A priority is simply a pre-decision about your time. It’s very important that this principle is not confused with the idea of simply spending time together as a family. Rhythm requires two primary components—intentionality and constancy—and can be defined as a strong, repeated pattern. To create a musical rhythm, an intentional sound must be constantly repeated within a frame of time. If there is no intentional sound, there is no rhythm. If it is not constant, there is no rhythm.
So it’s not quantity or quality time you need as a family—it’s the quantity of quality times. Some would make the case that it is important for families to spend an enormous amount of time together, no matter what they are doing. Others would argue that the issue is not how much time you spend together, but how you spend that time. What we are suggesting is that it takes both quantity and quality times working together. When you increase the quantity of quality time you spend together as a family, you leverage your ability to positively impact your children’s relationally and spiritually.
Adaptation from Parenting Beyond your Capacity
So. I’m reading OrangeParents as I often do when I have a quiet moment and I came across value #4 … create a rhythm … and enjoyed the few paragraphs that were posted. As parents we love to mix it up. Go out to dinner, travel, have friends visit but to kids this just breaks their rhythm. I guess musically it would be like shaking a tambourine violently during the middle of the solo. I think of it as a daily routine that you have to keep to “keep the peace”. We have realized that the stuff we like to do to mix up our day just causes trouble for the kids. It postpones bedtime, it adds another person to the game, it’s sleeping together in a bed when you’re used to your own room. I think it’s imporant to not only spend quality time and quantity time but also routine time. It may be boring but it keeps things running smoothly at our house. I remember being a kid and seeing other kids playing outside at 8pm and wondering why I had to go to bed. I realize that it was the bedtime routine that keep my mother sane and my dad happy.