2.2 - Controlling Your Family’s Time

This goes hand-in-hand with spending more time with your children--YOU control your family's time!

Raise your hand if you wake your children up at 6 AM so you can drop them off at school (or schools, as the case may be) on your way to work. Do they eat cereal or a peanut butter sandwich in the car because there's really no time to eat at the kitchen table? Do you put your children to sleep no later than 8 PM because there would be no way they could wake up otherwise?

Now, let's be clear--we parents do what we have to do. Many of us, me included, work jobs that start very early and the commute is murder. There are many two-income families nowadays--at least Maria stays at home with our kids. But, I'm sure many of you don't have to imagine what it's like to be on the go-go-go! Why? Because you just do it. We do what we have to do.

But, imagine just for a moment what it would be like for your family if we remove the rushing from the equation...

In our household, everyone is still asleep at 7:30 AM. Unfortunately, I wake up Maria because I'm loud when I'm getting ready for work at 4:15 AM Other than that, as the story goes, "No one was stirring, not even a mouse."

The kids wake up naturally--yes, Maria starts school around 9:30 AM, but that's not a hard and fast rule. The kids always eat a warm breakfast at the kitchen table--okay, Alex eats on the go, but guess what? She's now in public school. Hmmmmmmmmm.

Maria has school work ready to go for each child. They usually start at the kitchen table and slowly but surely start to find their own quiet space somewhere in the house to read, write, draw, or think. There are no rows of tables and chairs that force 30 children into uniform order for hours at a time.

When I get home, I'm known to take Cameron, Brandon, and Nicholas out for (you guessed it) a "Boy's Night Out!" This could be bowling, pee wee golf, visit to Barnes and Noble, ice cream, you name it. They love it.

Did you know there are absolutely no children in Barnes and Noble after 9 PM on a school night? That's because they're already at home asleep preparing for the hustle and bustle of the next day.

Controlling your family's time--think of it as your new mantra!