Parenting: Technology Helps Families Make Time for Togetherness

With the help of technology, families can take control of their hectic schedules and free up more time for togetherness.

(NewsUSA) - When back-to-school time rolls around, the hectic juggling of family schedules begins. Between buying books, running errands and adjusting to new routines, maintaining a regular family life is anything but easy.

With time occupied by work and school, after-school sports and homework, family togetherness often falls by the wayside.

Finding time to spend together as a family is easier when families develop a plan and use technology to their advantage to save minutes and hours. Here are some tips:

* Create a family e-mail list. Kids and parents should consider communicating their schedules electronically. It saves cell phone minutes and provides an easy, streamlined way to share information.

Working in conjunction with the e-mail list could be a family online calendar. For example, Google's Web-based calendar system is easy to use and even sends e-mail reminders.

* Buy books online. Shopping online can save you time, so you don't have to commute back and forth between bookstores. There are a number of Web sites where you can buy books cheaper than in stores. Try sites such as www.mbsdirect.net or www.bigwords.com.

* Take control of the TV. Television has long been a staple of the American family routine, but these days, finding time to watch your favorite shows is proving more difficult, sometimes impossible.

That's why digital video recorders are becoming more popular. DVRs can capture programs digitally and store them for later viewing, so you can make television work around your schedule. Services such as satellite provider DISH Network frequently offer affordable packages that combine programming and industry leading DVRs, saving you both time and money.

* Do homework together. When kids have homework that requires Internet research, parents can participate, working with their children to track down resources for papers or projects. This way, parents and their kids not only spend time together, but they also have the opportunity to learn from each other.

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