What Kids Say About Family Time

Most adults know that time with loved ones is important, but what do kids say? To find out, Thrivent magazine asked students at Salem Lutheran School in Tomball, Texas, to explain why they think family time matters.

Kindergartners said:

It is important to spend time as a family because:

“It is a safe place.”
“It helps you remember each other.”
“We have fun together.”
“We’re friends.”
“We love each other.”
“We are sweet and nice to each other.”
“It makes me feel happy.”
“We can talk about Jesus with each other.”
“It is nice to be with each other.”
“A family loves us.”
“It feels good.”
“They take care of you.”

When we’re together, we like to:

“Go to restaurants.”
“Go to church together.”
“Praise God.”
“Go outside at night and sit in the hot tub.”
“Play a family game together at night.”
“Celebrate Jesus’ birthday and our birthdays.”
“Play Star Wars together.”
“Go on airplanes to go somewhere we want to go.”
“Sit together and watch movies.”
“Spend time playing and swimming.”
“Spend time at Grandma’s house.”
“Watch ‘Deal or No Deal’ as a family.”

A few 2nd Graders drew “family time” pictures:

“Pizza Night” by Shelby, Age 7
“On Friday we have a pizza night. The pizza night is when you play games and you eat pizza and watch movies. In the morning we eat pancakes. After we eat pancakes, we get dressed and go play outside. We ride our bikes.”

 

“Wii Time” by Alex, Age 7
“Me and my family like to play on the Wii together. It is very fun. The Wii has a lot of games. Me and my family laugh and play together. It’s the best night ever. I love my family!”

 

“Weekend Dominoes” by Ethan, Age 7
“We play dominoes every Saturday and Sunday. My sister sometimes wins. And sometimes I win, too. Family time is important because it is good to spend time with your family.”

 

“Walking the Dog” by Hayden, Age 7
“Me and my family like to walk the dog. Every Friday night we watch a DVD and we eat popcorn. We ride a bike together. Why is family time important? Because we love each other.”

 

“Dinner and a Movie” by Gabrielle, Age 7
“One time we went to the movie dinner. We got to eat and watch the movie. The first movie we saw at the movie dinner was ‘The Bee Movie.’ It was fun. I love family night! The important thing about family is they love you very much!”

Other Grade-schoolers said:

“I love to do things with my family. When we go on trips, we like to hike and look at the beauty God has made. Family time is so important because you can talk about what’s going on at school and with your friends. I would rather spend time with my family than anyone else.” Katie, Age 8

“My family likes to go to the movies. We get candy and then see the movie that we’re going to see. It’s important to spend time with your family so you can give love, kisses and hugs.” Ainsley, Age 7

“Who are the best people on Earth? Why, it’s your family, of course! Now that’s why family time is so important. You don’t have to go on a million-dollar cruise ship to have family time. You can simply just eat dinner together. Family time is important to build strong relationships.” Chandler, Age 8

“Family is important! We wouldn’t be here without family. They’re the ones who teach us about God and His love. I also like to play with my family. But I think there’s something else fun to do: worship God. My family is a gift from God and it will always be special.” Kaelene, Age 9

“Having family time with my family makes me feel loved. A couple of things I like to do with my family is play Monopoly and go to the movies. I’m especially grateful to my parents because they feed me, buy me clothes and gave me an Xbox 360. I love my family.” Anthony, Age 9

“We like to play games, read and swim. Our family likes to go on trips. Every year we go to Wisconsin for several weeks to a cabin on a lake. We hike, swim, fish and go boating. It’s fun! That’s why I think God made them.” Nicholas, Age 9

“My family gets together with my grandparents and my aunt, uncle and cousin to eat dinner. This dinner is like Thanksgiving dinner but it happens twice a month. We eat, laugh, play and tell old stories.” Katelyn, Age 8

“My family enjoys sports. We plan triathlon races together. We travel to different places to race. On the first day, my sisters and I swim, bike and run in the kids’ race. On the next day, my dad races in the adult race. We all train hard together and sometimes we win. But, we always remember to give the glory to God.” Lillian, Age 8

“We play ‘Deal or No Deal.’ I get to be the case opener and I have a blast! I think spending time with your family is important because then you get together and have fun at the same time!” Morgan, Age 7

And Middle-schoolers said:

“I love it when my family and I sit down to eat dinner. We are able to relax and talk about our week, or how our day went. It means a lot to me that we are able to do this and do it as a family.” Matthew, Age 15

“I like to do fun things with my family, like going skiing on vacation and having family game night. Family time is important because I like spending time with them and I learn a lot of things with them. I have a good time with them because I always feel loved.” Michael, Age 14

“Spending time with my family is better than a million dollars. Family time is very important because we need to be together and talk about things. If we are too busy during the week, we need to be together and talk.” Matt (No Age Given)

“Spending time with and having the love of your family is worth more gold than all the riches of the world.” Chance, Age 14

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