Quality Time vs Quantity Time

Quality Time vs Quantity Time

Am I giving enough Quality Time to my child?

Am I giving sufficient time to my child? Are his Emotional and Psychological needs being met with the right amount of time he needs? But what is the right time? Being together for 4-5 hours and watching your favourite show or cooking something in the kitchen, while your child is busy playing all by himself, may be video games or watching videos? 

Or we’re really short of time? Once we’re back from corporate responsibilities, we hardly have 1-2 hours to catch up with kids. But even then, notifications acts as spoilers.

You’re divided of your attentions [child and social media]! And alas, we ponder upon the lack of real time.

Are you really spending the right amount of time with your kids ? believe me, to have some quality time, spending good amount of time with kids is important. It ushers a new confidence and empathy in kids. Read more for parenting tips. #qualitytime #parenting #parentinghack #momguilt #kids #raisingchildren #raisingkids #mom #momgoals

The best thing to spend on your children is “TIME” !!

Not to blame anyone, even I made a transition from Corporate Job. Things were really getting arduous, though I had the flexibility to work from home for most of the time. I used to be with my baby physically, but my mind used to juggle up between the revenue projections to presentations to mails. I was fulfilling my responsibilities physically without actually accomplishing the real goals. And not to forget, that mom’s guilt seemed to be hovering every moment.

I made the decision. I left my dream opportunity of joining Microsoft as well, as something else wanted me more. My baby was growing and he was in the fastest spurt of his growth, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. If I couldn’t give him the real explorations, how could someone else do?

Its a consistent battle between the Quality and Quantity time.

Kids need Parental Touch

A child’s brain needs lots of rich experiences to understand the feelings of self awareness, morality, empathy and more. The most important learning in the initial years is via the human interaction. A child, more closer to non human things as devices will have quite differently wired neurons compared to a child in consistent proximity to human touch and feel.

 So, today, what we as an individual, need to review is, Is the time we spend together really good enough? Quality time is important, but that time can be obtained if we have “Quantity time”. It is important to understand that interactions which are meaningful cannot be planned.

Meaningful moments cannot crop up in an hour of Quality time and you cannot see yourself as a parent working on the morals within that hour and hearing your child’s heart out.

Are you really spending the right amount of time with your kids ? believe me, to have some quality time, spending good amount of time with kids is important. It ushers a new confidence and empathy in kids. Read more for parenting tips. #qualitytime #parenting #parentinghack #momguilt #kids #raisingchildren #raisingkids #mom #momgoals

Quantity is must for that Quality Time

And that’s why, “Quantity time” in necessary, to get that quality in between. Last day, we were simply strolling in the nearby garden (with no mobiles) and talking to each other and having some fun. While conversing, he suddenly came upto me and told me how one of his classmate threw away the food and informed the teacher that her food was finished!!

Stunned, though another kid did that, It reminded me that I need to ensure such actions are not done by my child. I informed the teacher so that she could help that child understand the same. It was quite conclusive, that 

“Kids speak their mind, when things come in their mind, and it can never be tuned as per our schedule”.

With rising exposure, there are so many small moments in a day, which have a certain impact in their lives and personality which is being built. And hence researches have proved that spending good amount of focussed time builds kids who are confident yet empathetic, resilient yet adaptable, Intellectual yet self aware. Though many surrounding factors also impact these developments!

This is just one incidence to quote, we have had so many similar serendipitous moments, wherein we got an opportunity to help our lil baby with the real learnings. They could have gone away so easily with the blink of an eye. Well, here, I’m not saying that we need to spend a full day with children, I’m sure it will pull your hair out, lol. But the focus here is to spend good amount of time, which brings in consequential interactions with kids daily. The importance of talking to your child, has been focussed, right after the birth. 

The more linguistic interactions parents have with their baby, the better is their Intellectual development. Kids who have had Good time with their parents are mentally, emotionally, Psychologically and intellectually advanced .

This is just one incidence to quote, we have had so many similar serendipitous moments, wherein we got an opportunity to help our lil baby with the real learnings. They could have gone away so easily with the blink of an eye. Well, here, I’m not saying that we need to spend a full day with children, I’m sure it will pull your hair out, lol. But the focus here is to spend good amount of time, which brings in consequential interactions with kids daily. The importance of talking to your child, has been focussed, right after the birth. The more linguistic interactions parents have with their baby, the better is their Intellectual development. Kids who have had Good time with their parents are mentally, emotionally, Psychologically and intellectually advanced .

Are you really spending the right amount of time with your kids ? believe me, to have some quality time, spending good amount of time with kids is important. It ushers a new confidence and empathy in kids. Read more for parenting tips. #qualitytime #parenting #parentinghack #momguilt #kids #raisingchildren #raisingkids #mom #momgoals

Here are some ways to spend Good time daily together :

1.Focus on Family meals, be it just a breakfast, if you cannot afford Lunch together. Ensure that those moments are “Notifications and TV free”. 

2. Ensure that you spare at least 30-45minutes reading with your child. Bring in some real life experiences (age appropriate) to enhance that learning.

3. Conversation time with free play : While your child is having his Free Play time, sit besides, observe, converse (don’t instruct, rather listen to what they have to say). It is one of the most relaxed time for kids, and you, as a parent can amplify your kids creativity. 

4. Have some fun moments together “DAILY” : How about grooving on some silly moves or dancing impromptu? Why not take a stroll in the garden or include your child in nurturing your garden/plants?  

5. Do some daily chores together, may be cleaning the room or the garden? or Cooking meal with some help from your child. [To me, my son sits besides me while cooking and helps me out with small things as rolling chapati’s, cleaning fruits, sorting beans and so on. And yes, we converse a lot then].

Spending a good “well focussed quantity time” creates that trust and gives you the ample chance to hold on to the “Quality moments” generated.

Share me your thoughts mama’s and papa’s. What do you think is important for kids when they are growing up? How do you give that Good time to your kids and achieve the parenting goals?

Jhilmil

Quest to live the life surrounded with the charming little bundle's of joy. When they speak, I sing, When they smile, I rejoice , When they hug, I hold them never to lose, Such is my passion for these Gifts of God.This love urged me to navigate separately from my Travel Blog & establish an "All-In-One" Blog for budding mothers. Mum's have multi-tasked this world ,with all her professional commitments , she still makes an extra effort to be a loving, caring and be an intellectual mommy! Cheers, for me too come from the same fraternity, post having a superb academics & close to 8 years of professional experience and blessed with a little one "who has indeed changed my life from Autumn to Spring";)

This Post Has 30 Comments

  1. Princy

    i try and follow these on a daily basis and what I have found out is that more time you spend with your kids, the better they perform at school and at home.

  2. Noor Anand Chawla

    I completely agree with you. A child needs dedicated quality time from both the parents for their optimal emotional and mental development. Thank you for sharing.

  3. Manasi

    I totally agree with you on this one. Spending time with your kids and most importantly making them feel your presence works wonders. They are assured that there is a listening ear and who better than a mom and dad to give that kind of assurity. Love the article.

  4. DrAmrita

    This is spot on. Parenting can be shared but not possible to delegate. Quality and quantity of family time is a big factor in early life health and behaviour.

  5. Ruchi Verma

    I totally agree that how much time you spend with kids allow them to grow more happy and mentally active kids !!!

  6. Gurjeet Chhabra

    ya, i too feel quality time is necessary with kids. even i learnt job for my babies. i too love to hear their school tales which make me realize what should they learn and what not

  7. Priyanka Patwari

    kids need both with their parents.. Spending time with our children is one of the most rewarding things we can do as a parent,

  8. Ritu Kalra

    That’s very true..its not only important to spend time with kids but also to ensure that we are giving them some good learning in whatever time we spend with them..

  9. Preeti Chauhan

    I am glad that you actually gave out instances where meaningful quality time can be had with our children because as working parents we already harbour a lot of guilt about being not there all the time.

  10. Pooja Budhiraja

    Kids are innocent and its very important to give quality time to them. As it is their learning stage, they do what they observe

  11. Neha Tambe

    I agree, that being physically present is different from spending quality time. You have shared some useful tips here.

  12. Siddhi

    Ba very well curated article. Being a reader the first thing I wanted to inculcate in my baby was the habit of reading. That’s the base I feel. Hence I started teaching her about books and now I can see her inclination towards stories….

  13. Yogita Amit Joshi

    Shch an amazing post . I agree spending quality time with babies is must… Me n my son indeed share alot of quality time together

  14. Sadaf

    Amazing and beautiful post. Very useful and beneficial tips for spending quality time with the kids. Reading is very useful for the kids. Great thoughts.

  15. Prisha

    You speak of a very valid Pont, especially that quantity is a part of the “quality” time when it comes to kids. I sure am guilty of not giving both to my kids.

  16. Richa Mina

    Spending quality time with kids is very essential for proper mental development. Tell them stories, play board games they should feel involved.

  17. Rohini James

    A much needed article in this day and age. Unless one of the parents are not working, the kid tends to get spend very little time with the parent.

  18. Judy

    I feel today’s kids like your son and mine are lonelier than before since most of us have just one kid. So I feel quantity time and quality in it is a must to give them. I try and do household chores with him. This way he is engaged positively.

  19. I agree with most of the points you have mentioned. In fact many of these are great for adults to have a compatible relationship. Thanks for sharing.

  20. Bushra

    Agree it’s not easy to give quality time to kids. Agree that in today’s world for spending quality time quantity time is much needed and your experience and tips helps a lot in achieving it

  21. Preetjyot Kaur

    For is quality and quantity both have a great importance. Spending quality time with the kids however is more important any day. Loved reading this post.

  22. Paresh Godhwani

    I believe that parents need to spend some quality time with their children but as you mentioned, it becomes difficult with corporate life. You have suggested some great activities in that list to create a parent child bond.

  23. Archana Nair

    I feel it is possible to balance parenting with your work life. But it is important to know that u need to stretch and make that balance happen and then maintain it. In the early years we can do a lot with mindful intentional natural and baby led parenting. . . These are concepts you will struggle with if your idea is to delegate parenting as a chore to someone instead of sharing it with other responsible adults. Love your thinking about quality n quantity time. . It will definitely help more parents out there.

  24. u

    I am seeing your evolution as a serious parenting Blog post writer and I am happy to see your growth. keep up the good work.
    Cheers!!

    UK

  25. U K

    I am seeing your evolution as a serious parenting Blog post writer and I am happy to see your growth. keep up the good work.
    Cheers!!

    UK

  26. Prerna Sinha

    Beautiful topic to write on. Most of us are around but are we mentally there? At least, I know that 50% of the times I am distracted. I ask my kids to repeat what they said on many occasions. However, I do make conscious attempts in the day to put away all my work and devices and spend time with them. Yes, not there perfectly but always trying.

  27. Kajal kothari

    Time is the most precious gift a parent can give to their children. This article certainly makes one think if v are spending quality time at all.

  28. Pavneet

    Great post I can so relate time and that too quality time is the best gift we can give to our little one’s.

  29. Disha

    I agree with you, time is the most precious gift we can give to our children. After reaching home from work, I spend the quality time with my kiddo minus any gadgets.

  30. Shraddha Bhalla

    Such a lovely article. I believe both are important. Quality and quantity. You shouldn’t be making a guest appearance in your child’s life on the pretext of quality time and neither should you be self absorbed or distracted while spending all your time with your child

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