Quality vs quantity time: What are we doing today?

If you are surfing on the world wide web, you see a lot of blogs and articles from parents who ask themselves – and the rest of the world- if they are doing the parenting-thing right. Are they being a good parent? Should they spend their time with their kids in a different way? Do they have to feel guilty if they worked a whole day & then don’t want to entertain their offspring?

There is a whole discussion on whether to focus on quality or on quantity. Sitting in front of the T.V. with your kids is not considered quality time. It’s quantity time. Quality time is more defined as doing something with your kids that is active and that teaches them. Like going to the zoo or reading a book together. The kids learn something, they have fun. They spend time with their parents, who they see as their heroes. 

In my opinion , those activities could make these kids more inquisitive. This will extend to their education and therefore to their labour outcome. They ask for new information, because their parents have thought them to be curious by doing these things in their quality time. It’s another way of stimulating your kids for college. Not directly by saying ” now you have to study”, but indirectly by wanting them to know more.

If they ask the question: "what are we doing today?" I guess the correct answer is: “Today, I am going to tell you about the dinosaurs” or something like that.

Carol Tijtgat

Sources:

(1) http://www.pbs.org/parents/supersisters/archives/2009/07/quality-time-vs-quantity-time.html

(2) http://www.myupperroom.co.za/my-blog/quality-vs-quantity-our-.html