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Seventy-three percent of American kids would like more opportunities to bond with their family, according to new research.
But the survey of 2,000 school-aged children (aged 6–17) found that they aren’t alone: Seventy percent of parents would also like more chances to spend quality time together.
Luckily, moms and dads searching for inspiration don’t have to look far, as the survey pinpointed the top activities children want to do more of with their folks.
Commissioned by Red Robin and conducted by OnePoll, results revealed the top activities were spending the day at the beach, playing sports in the yard and taking a day trip to a museum or amusement park.
Also making the list were playing board or card games as a family or going out to dinner together.
For parents looking to make the most of the rest of their summer, other activities on the list were creating arts and crafts, hiking in the woods and cooking meals as a family.
When it comes to connecting around the dinner table, kids say they’d have more fun with their family if they were allowed to decide the order of the meal, i.e. dessert first (59 percent), could order for the entire family (52 percent) or if they were the only ones allowed to ask questions at the table (32 percent).
In good news for parents, the majority of children surveyed consider their family to be close (90 percent), with more than half of those (56 percent) specifying a “very close” bond.
That shows that even though 34 percent of children don’t think their parents understand what it’s like to be a kid today, it doesn’t affect the strength of their family connections.
Even when asked about their friends, children were more likely to feel connected to their family than their peers (49 percent vs. 14 percent).
Sixty-nine percent of kids surveyed would like more one-on-one time with their mom, while 72 percent felt the same about their dad.
The survey looked beyond the activities children wanted to do more with their parents, and also looked to find the adults’ perspective.
While parents enjoy activities like hiking, helping with homework and playing games with their children, it all comes down to “anything where [their children] are enjoying themselves and laughing.”
TOP 20 ACTIVITIES KIDS MOST WANT TO DO WITH THEIR PARENTS
1. Go to the beach
2. Exercise
3. Play sports
4. Go to the pool
5. Go to the movies
6. Play at a park
7. Camp
8. Take a day trip (zoo, museum, amusement park, etc.)
9. Play video games
10. Go shopping
11. Go out to dinner together
12. Hike
13. Go to an event (sporting event, concert, etc.)
14. Spend time together in the car (driving to school, appointments, extracurriculars, etc.)
15. Watch movies at home
16. Make a meal together
17. Eat meals together at home
18. Play board games/card games
19. Create arts and crafts
20. Have them help with homework/schoolwork
TOP 10 ACTIVITIES QUALITY-TIME PARENTS DO WITH THEIR CHILDREN
1. Eat meals together at home
2. Help their children with homework/schoolwork
3. Watch movies at home
4. Bath time/getting ready for bed
5. Make a meal together
6. Read bedtime stories
7. Go out to dinner together
8. Go shopping
9. Play video games
10. Driving their children around (to/from school, appointments, etc.)
