How Much Family Time Works for You?

Well, ideally, I would say that once a week (or every other week) M. and dad each get a night or day out with friends (grabbing a drink, going to watch the game, going golf etc), once a week M. and dad go on a date and each weekday evening the family eats dinner together. Each child does one sport or they take turns doing a sport so 2-3 nights a week someone has a sport to attend. Then on the weekend maybe it is a mix of activities - with mostly all-together time but maybe Dad runs to Lowes with son and M. runs to get groceries with daughter. In our house we wait until my hubby comes home from dinner and we all eat together on the weeknights. After dinner Dad gets some time to "veg out" and we either watch a family friendly show together or sometimes Dad will play video games with the kids. Daddy brushes teeth/washes the kids' faces and then I usually join them as he reads the bedtime story. On the weekends it is reversed and I brush the teeth and read the bedtime story. One night a week my daughter has dance and I take all 3 kids to the dance class and my husband picks the other two up from the dance studio on his way home so they don't have to sit through the whole hour. That is our only extracurricular right now but my son is starting basketball soon. 2-3 Fridays a month hubby grabs a beer with his work buddies at the pub down the street from our house right after work but is still home by about 7:30. 1-3 times a month I go have drinks or dinner with a girlfriend, or for awhile I was playing bunco. We go on date nights where grandma will come and watch the kiddos 3-5 times a month. On the weekends, we either go somewhere as a family, or get things done around the house which sometimes involves one of us running to this store or that store. Or, sometimes my husband will golf with his friends in the morning but that is only like once a month. I think that our schedule gives us a great blend of "family time," "individual time," and "us-time."

well we are in that situation - both of us work, days. we have one almost 6 year old son.

i allow him to do one activity at a time. right now we are in his first few weeks of kindergarten - so that is "activity" enough imo. he's adjusting to that so i don't feel we need to do anything else.

i guess he and i spend a LOT of time together. every evening. most weekends, unless he is spending the night at grandma's. my husband has his "man cave" set up out in the garage. so with college football season just starting, we will see him a lot less. but he does spend some time out there during the week too.

but if i ever need him, to spend time with us, or just our son, or help with something, he's there. all i have to do is ask.

the three of us almost always eat dinner together.

i get my "me" time in the morning before they get up. i get a great workout, facebook/mamapedia/pinterest time :) whatever.

usually on sundays my son and i do church, grandma's house.

i guess we probably spend a lot more time together than most families. but we choose that. so it works for us.

I agree that as much as possible is the idea for us! Our kids are still little (almost 3 and almost 5) so we aren't into "real" school yet, homework, tons of sports/activities, etc. But, I expect that my husband is home for dinner 4 weeknights most weeks. He plays rugby and goes to practice one day/week and then has games on Saturday. So during the season our Saturdays are not what I'd want them to be but am flexible for him! We go to church basically every Sunday and spend the rest of the day as a family or if we're lucky get some time for just us and our family members might watch the kids. Fridays and Saturdays are good for activities like festivals, boardgames, parks, etc. I go out with my friends probably 1-3 weeknights during the month.

Well my husband bikes Sunday afternoon, Tuesday evenings and Thursday evenings. I get time with my friends on Friday or sometimes Saturday depending on what we are doing. We play Frisbee Golf for about 2 hours as a family any day that one of us does not have an activity planned. I usually clean house on Thursdays since hubby is out. I get off work at 2 so that gives me plenty of time to hang with my son. We eat dinner together when we can. So I say an hour a day maybe during the week and then more on the weekends since work isn't involved.

It varies on a day to day basis.
The key being, to be flexible.
But keeping to our kids bedtimes.. otherwise the next day is fussy.
And it also depends, on which Spouse is tired/burnt out/having PMS or needing more off time or family time. And per the kids needs at the time.
Typical.
But everyday, there is time with the kids. By both parents. Toggling it or all together at the same time.

Oh and did I mention, just spontaneous times of carving out those "family times" too?

I want as much family time as possible, especially in the evenings with the kids. So, I would expect both parents home at dinner and family activities planned for the evenings.

When I was working full-time I used to exercise at lunch and my husband exercised early in the morning. We would each get some "personal" time on the weekends, but not much. Usually, our "personal" time was in relation to our volunteer responsibilities at church.

Now that I'm home full-time, I do all my household and personal responsibilities (errands and exercise, for example) during the workday, so that we have family time when I husband gets home in the evening. And my husband gets his exercise in immediately after work or early morning on the weekends.

This is a very difficult question to answer, as there can be so many variables. If you have a child in sports, family dinner every night becomes almost impossible.

Also, is family time just considered parents and children? What if the entire family goes to grandparents for the afternoon, to me that's family time. What if a child's friend joins you for dinner, to me that's still family time.

In our case, hubby works retail so he's not home most nights for dinner. He also works all day (10+ hours) on Saturdays.

So to answer in a very general way...
Not counting weekday breakfast, I would expect a minimum of 6 family meals, all 4 of you.
Evenings (includes weekend evenings) at home, a minimum of 3. That would include eveyone in the house from 6pm to the next morning. OR at least 5 where no one is gone for more than 1 1/2 hrs.
Satuday and Sunday - from wakeup time to dinner time (16 hours), 8 of those would be family time.
I would say each spouse should get no more than 6 hours per week for "me time", taking a class, shopping, dinner/lunch with a friend, attending/watching a sporting event with a friend, etc.

We have 4 kids ages 6-14. I work FT but only have to go into the office 3 days a week. I also have part-time teaching/tutoring job some evenings and weekends during much of the school year. My husband is self-employed with inconsistent work. Sometimes very busy, sometimes no work. He is also taking two classes, one which is one night a week. Each child plays a sport and I have several volunteer commitments. OK so with that lay of the land...

Usually only one of us can be home for dinner on any given day. And often if we are both home with the kids, my husband will work through dinner and eat afterward. That used to annoy me but it is what it is. So the expectation is that my kids sit down with at least one parent every night. This fall there will be a 6 week stretch where neither of us is home on Thursdays but I'll cook dinner before I leave and the kids will sit down to eat together. Bedtimes follow the same conundrum where many nights only one of us is home.

It's the rare evening that we're all in the house before 8 or 9 PM. If it's not me teaching or my husband in class, then it's soccer practice for one, boxing for another or hockey for one or two. We usually divide and conquer for those nights, with one taking two kids one place and the other taking two kids another or one at home with whoever can stay home while the other one does multiple drop offs and pick ups. Our Saturday mornings are dominated by soccer and little guy hockey, Saturday afternoons are for boxing and Saturday nights are for big guy hockey. Sundays are for church and Sunday school for the little guys, sometimes hockey, and Sunday evenings are church and Sunday school for the big kids. I we get any true "family" time it's Sunday afternoon (going on a outing or watching a Patriots game at home) or late Saturday afternoon, when we all try to tackle some chores like yard work or leaf raking. We also usually have one of us do grocery shopping and the other go to the laundromat over the weekend and that's not a family event either.

So...my husband and I squeeze in our own things around the logistics of managing work and kids' commitments. This means that he usually plays hockey and then goes out for a beer afterward on Friday nights while I stay home with my little guys (and sometimes the big kids and some of their friends). I try to jog with a friend or get a bike ride in early Saturday or Sunday morning and go to the gym sometimes either before or after dinner if we're both home and no one has to be somewhere. When things get really nuts I go to the gym early in the morning but that's not something I can sustain. I go out with friends once or twice a month.

I should add that summer and the four months a year that my kids don't play hockey are a totally different routine and we spend lots of time together then, with both of us home for dinner and bed (and swimming or going to the park) most nights and lots of weekends entertaining at home or just lazing about in the yard. But during the school year, it's catch as catch can.

In that age frame, I expect dinners, weekend time, like Sundays church, lunch, park or beach or whatever. Bedtimes for the little ones is a must, with a story or just talking. It's that special quiet time where you can find out who your kid is becoming, what they think, who their friends are...etc. Saturdays would be errand day and we would all go wherever, or mom does errands and dad stays home, or vise versa. Afterward a movie night perhaps. Sometimes Saturday was playdate time, friends would visit or I'd drop off for an hour or 2. I did this when my 3 were younger and am glad I did, because it instilled in my kids that family time is important. Now, they are all over the place, my youngest is a teen, and I'm lucky if I ever get to see any of them.

My situation is different. I am a SAHP and my children are 2 and 5. So both my husband and myself read stories at bedtime every night (except when he has a late class on Wednesdays). We also have dinner together virtually every evening. On the weekends we sometimes go our separate ways but more often than not we are together as a family.

For your above situation I would say at least 4 meals together per week. Likewise with bedtime. And at least one family activity per week.

Example: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday everyone has dinner together. On Sunday everyone has brunch together. Monday through Thursday mom and dad read books to the 4 year old at bedtime. Everyone plays mini golf together Sunday afternoon. That still leaves time for a Tuesday activity for mom. A Friday activity for dad. Saturday open for everyone's individual activities. Plus evenings after the 4 year old is in bed for parental "me" time.

I am a SAHM. My husband works evenings Monday to Friday. The boys and I eat dinner together during the week. They have activities three nights a week after dinner. They may go to a friends or have a frined over to play one schoolnight. I do homework with them and send them to bed. The boys either will have a friend over or go to a friends for dinner and a sleepover one day on the weekend. I might go out with friends twice a month on the weekend (shopping, lunch, dinner or a movie). My husband is a homebody. I take the kids out on the weekend and give him some time to watch sports alone, but he rarely goes out. We always eat a nice dinner as a family on Sundays, and spend Sunday evenings together. My husband and I go out to lunch together once a month while the kids are at school. When my husband did work a daytime job, we all ate dinner together.

I am at home and mu husband works. I simply jog when they go to bed each night, and 3 days a week use the gym. Husband does not go out with buddies ever, he's tired!

During the week we usually have at least one activity per day. The kids are 6, 4, 3 and 1. Sometimes 3 in one day! I find it difficult to be at home. Weekends we have bible and dance, and swimming.

The one thing I do alone is get groceries!