What is more important? Family time? Or free time? If I had to chose, I would say family time. In my house, family is an important aspect of life and a big influence on relationships with your family members.

When my sisters and I were younger, we did not spend a lot of time together, so we felt like people who lived under the same roof rather than like sisters. It was a pretty awkward situation.

Once we started spending more time together, all three of us grew closer and our bond grew stronger. We were happy to be around each other and did not fight as often.

Spending more time with family does not just influence relationships, it also influences other aspects of someone’s life.

“Children’s academic success is associated with having mothers who frequently communicated with them… [and] children whose fathers spend time with them doing activities tend to have better academic performance,” said familyfacts.org.

Along with affecting your academic success, spending more time with family also lowers violent tendencies which, in a way, makes sense.

Being around people who love you and want to be with you automatically makes a person happier and feel loved,which can lead to less violent tendencies. But when you are unhappy, there is a greater chance of violent outbursts.

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“As a mother, I firmly believe that family time is important. I like the bond I have between my daughters and how close we are. I also believe that having free time is important too,” said Sara Stauffer, SHS parent.

While family time is important, I think that having a bit of free time is a good thing. Free time gives students-especially stressed out ones- a chance to decompress and have a bit of fun, or just take a break.

The problem is finding a good balance between family time and free time. Watching TV or playing video games all day is too much, but so is spending so much time with your family your enthusiasm about it becomes forced.

The solution is finding the perfect balance. Play board games, wii, or go out with family, but make sure you leave a little time in the day for yourself.

“Family time is essential, and family dinners in particular can have many positive effects on children/teens, but I also think it’s important for moms, dads, spouses and teens to have some time alone to pursue something they enjoy and recharge.” said Bonnie Stephenson, SHS counselor.

No matter what age, family time is one of the most important things for a person to have in their lives. It can help boost self esteem, avoid violent outbursts, and help you do better in school

So the next time you are at home and have nothing to do, consider asking your family if they want to play a board game. It could make a world of difference in your life.