Family Time: The Rumbold Family

Life can become extremely busy and making time for family can become tough. Family time is not only extremely important, but it is vital for young ones to learn good character and morals. The Rumbold family doesn’t spend enough quality time together. They are a family of nine people, six biological children with an adopted brother from China who is deaf. It becomes very difficult for this family to spend time together because their ages range from the oldest being nineteen years old, all the way down to the youngest being eight years old. Their schedules are all different as they are all in different phases of life. The oldest is in college, three of the middle children attend Tremont High School, the deaf child attend Woodrow Wilson, and the …show more content…
Though over time the idea of family time has become “…a romanticized version of family life through its emphasis on the importance of traditional, two-parent families that enhances their collective well-being”(Dale). Every family is unique and has different opinions of what spending time together looks like. “Even when the concession is that there is a diversity of family structure and experience, family time is still held out as a central ideal”(Dale). Although it is still often the goals of families to spend quality time together, like the Rumbold family, it often doesn’t happen. Families on average spend about eight hours a week together and often times it is spent in front of the TV with no communication (Mcaan). It is no wonder there is often miscommunication within families, especially the Rumbold. If most of the time they do spend together amidst the busy schedule is in front of the TV then there is no communication. Because there is less communication between the older children and the parents, then the younger children will only follow that as it is the example they see on a regular basis. On the weekend families are able to see each other more, about two hours a day on average (Mcaan), but during the weekdays it shrinks to about thirty-six minutes a day due to the busy schedule of work and other activities (Mcaan). The demands of …show more content…
There are many benefits to eating a meal together as a family. Children of a young age develop a bigger vocabulary due to the family conversing during meal time (Sifton). They are being exposed to more words as they listen to their parents and other siblings talk with each other. Another benefit is children are less likely to become obese (Sifton). Children model their parents eating habits and by eating together as family consistently children develop good habits and learn how to eat healthy. Another important aspect is not allowing cell phones out at the table during mealtimes. The no phone policy at the table is an area the Rumbold family does well in. By not allowing phones to be out it helps create a more conversational and relational time together. Although the Rumbold does the no phone policy well, they do not sit down and eat together often enough. This is an area in which they can improve