How to Stay Connected as a Family: Tips for Families with Active Kids

Many thanks to Fruit Shoot® for sponsoring today’s story and for reminding me to look at all of the amazing things about being a mom of teenagers. All thoughts are my own.

I’ve got four very active teens between the ages of 12 and 17 (plus one older daughter no longer a teen). They’re all involved in after school sports, music lessons, youth groups, clubs, competitions (including barbershop singing and competitive cubing!) and more. We’re on the go all the time. And by “all the time” I mean that I feel like I live in the car between the hours of 3:30 and 9:30 PM.

Forget weekends! We are usually double and triple scheduled. There’s never a dull moment at our house! Sometimes it’s difficult to find times when the whole family is together, but we try to squeeze in as much family time as possible. Here are just a few tips that we have used to keep our busy and active family connected.

How to Stay Connected as a Family: Tips for Families with Active Kids

Calendaring is key – With 6 different schedules to manage, the only way to make it work is to write everything down on a calendar. Luckily, we have three drivers in the house right now, because we often have to utilize all of them to get everyone where they need to be!

Take advantage of the car rides – I often wish I didn’t have to spend so much time driving kids to and fro, but I’ve come to appreciate those car rides. Whether there are two of us in the car or all six of us, we try to make the most of that time that we have together in a confined space. Car rides are great for conversations!

Don’t give up on the family dinner – Even though finding a time when all of us are home at the same time, the family dinner is still an important daily tradition in our house. I might not cook a gourmet meal every night, but we always sit together at the kitchen table to eat our food together.

Sunday is family day – With so many things going on during the week, I really look forward to Sunday, which is a family day. We don’t go sports or clubs or play dates or errands. It’s all about church and spending leisurely time together as a family. I love that we often migrate towards the family room and sit around reading or chatting together, unplanned.

Utilize multiple communication channels – Now that the kids are teenagers, there are so many new ways to communicate with them. I embraced the texting trend several years ago and have found texting a key element to keeping the lines of communication open with my teenagers. But as much as I love staying connected through phones, texts, and social media, nothing beats face to face time.

What are some of your best tips for staying connected as a family?

It’s My Thing

Lately, I feel like there is so much pressure for kids to do everything…and not enough time for them to just be kids. As my kids have gotten older – with one child married, one graduating high school in a few weeks, one learning how to drive, and two still in middle school – I’ve wished that they could stay young and carefree and innocent for just a little longer. I miss lazy Saturday mornings of sleeping in and watching cartoons.

Fruit Shoot® has recently launched their “It’s My Thing” campaign, which “champions individuality, celebrates self-expression and empowers kids to indulge their adventurous sides and let their personalities shine.” I appreciate this goal so much, especially as a mom of teenagers and one soon-to-be teen. My kids are each unique – so much so that it continues to surprise me – and I love to celebrate their individuality.

We recently discovered Fruit Shoot® – a delicious beverage made with real fruit juice and no high fructose corn syrup. The design of each bottle – with a re-sealable sports cap – makes Fruit Shoot® perfect for families like ours that are constantly on the go! It’s an added bonus that we LOVE the way they taste!

What Makes Fruit Shoot® so Amazing?

• No artificial flavors
• Made with real fruit juice
• No high fructose corn syrup
• Varieties made with real sugar, as well as no sugar added
• Ergonomically designed for your child’s hand
• Re-sealable sports cap

Fruit Shoot® comes in several delicious flavors:

• Regular flavors made with real sugar (no high fructose corn syrup!): Strawberry & Raspberry, Berry Burst, Pink Lemonade, Orange & Mango
• No sugar added flavors (no high fructose corn syrup here, either!): The NEWEST flavor: Fruit Punch, Wild Berry Grape, Apple

Which flavor would your family want to try first? We LOVE Strawberry & Raspberry and Orange & Mango and can’t wait to try the newest flavor – Fruit Punch!

Connect with Fruit Shoot

• Find out where to buy Fruit Shoot near you with the Store Locator.
• Visit the Fruit Shoot Facebook page.
• Learn more about Fruit Shoot HERE.