• for children, love is spelled T.I.M.E.
• children need quantity time as well as quality time
• significance of first eighteen months of a child's life
• who will be our child's main caregiver?
It can be hard to work out balance of parenting and employment
• working at home/from home
• full-time/part-time
• the time we spend with our children is more powerful in communicating our love than anything we say
We need to prioritize our time
• learning when to said "yes" to our children and "no" to other people and things
• the only place we are indispensable is at home
• we need to plan our time
• time with the people who are most precious to us doesn't just happen
• if married, plan marriage time" each week
• as a parent, plan "family time" each week
• plan some one-to-one time with each child (we will look at this in detail later in the course)
We need to protect our time from:
• the TV
• the telephone
• other people
• our work
Question: What demands on your time stop you from spending time with your children?
marriage more established having weathered tough times
may be teenagers in the house
emotionally the most exhausting stage of parenting
the greatest need is to support and encourage each other
Winter
empty-nest stage for many
probably fewer demands with an opportunity for more time together
can be the most exciting stage of marriage
the greatest needs are shared interests and good communication
Reflect on what you’ve heard so far. If you are in one of these seasons, talk together about the pressures you’ve worked through until now in your relationship, and the pressures you’re currently facing. If you’re not here yet, what do you think it will be like?