Family activities can bring you and your growing kids together in your new home. Whether you are a mom with dependent little ones, or your you have older kids in search of independence, your new home can offer plenty of opportunities for activities, game night, movie night, outdoor time, work time, and more. Your kids may grow and need you less and less, but you can still make moments that matter at home.
You buy a house, but your family makes it a home.
Maybe you’ve heard the expression from the famous Greek philosopher Plato, “a body is just a shell… of the soul.” The same could be said about a house. The structure itself is there to protect from the outside elements, but the inside is what breathes life.
A new home can be the new heart of your family.
Even with busy schedules, a new home brings new opportunities for excitement, a safe central meeting place, brand new rooms to make your own, and welcoming family spaces that everyone can enjoy together.
Start over in your new home. Who knows, maybe you'll finally get the kids to the dinner table on time!
A floorplan made for your family's fun.
The right floorplan can meet your unique family's day-to-day needs and encourage positive interactions. Chores, meals, homework, dog-washing, or hosing down the patio can all bring loved ones together.
Woodside Homes are built with families like yours in mind, with rooms that define quality time—a game room, a kitchen with an island big enough for all the kids, and open spaces (indoors and outdoors) where crafting and doodling, gaming or yoga happen on a regular basis. From birthday parties to on-demand movie nights, shared family time is priceless, but it doesn’t have to stay within your property lines.
Take the fun outside!
Before you consider purchasing a new home, explore the community. Find new places of interest for the whole family. Cruise through the neighborhood and witness for yourself what it would be like living there. Are there dog parks? Is there a community pool, grassy lawns or jogging trails, and courts for pickleball or basketball? Family activities that don’t require a car ride give you more time to play and less time getting there—for the win.
Investing in home ownership is investing in family
Deciding to purchase a new home can offer a lifetime of rewards— A strong family foundation to build on, long term stability for your children, and memories you can cherish for generations.
For working moms, the household balancing act can be intense as you try to be all things to everyone. Something’s gotta give. You tell yourself it’s not about the quantity, but the quality of time spent with the kids. Deep down, you want both. Career demands coupled with parenting responsibilities can leave you feeling stretched thin, and then there’s the guilt creep. With a new home, you can shake it off and enjoy your day-to-day, knowing there are brighter times ahead with family and friends.
Give your children the gift of stability and emotional security.
Children thrive on predictability—the comfort of the same bedroom, the familiar creak of the stairs, the fresh out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie smells. Owning a home makes it happen, providing personal stability for you and your family, and a safe place to land. But there’s more to it than that.
Consistent housing contributes to a child’s sense of security and routine. If you don’t own a home yet and are currently renting, it’s hard to feel like you’re in control of your own destiny.
A landlord can be slow to make any necessary repairs. As the end of your lease term approaches, you wonder if rent will increase. If the real estate market is doing well and selling the property would prove lucrative, the owner could ask you to move, leaving you and your family to find somewhere else to live. For a child, this kind of uncertainty creates stress and anxiety, adding to homelife, school, and social instability.
A new home lets you focus on what matters.
Your kids look to you as a parent to provide a safe, secure, and consistent environment. Without it, emotional and physical wellbeing are at risk. Families who own their homes tend to stay in one place for longer periods, creating a sense of continuity and familiarity. Children thrive in homes they can take root in—a place where they feel supported and stable. In a new home, children are more likely to feel grounded, sooner, and connect deeper to parents.
In turn, when you know your children are well-adjusted, more time can be devoted to family activities and building memories instead of solving problems.
Housing stability can also impact kids’ behavior and overall childhood development. Think of how your day is impacted when plans change unexpectedly, with little time to mentally recover. Research has shown that children of homeowners tend to perform better at school. Having consistency in housing, without disruption, helps kids focus on learning.
For a child, knowing what to expect each day helps them anchor to the family and strengthen trust in their environment, which is no different than you.
There’s comfort in new familiar places
Familiarity in the household routine creates a sense of safety. It could be how their day starts and ends, as well as the in between that sets them at ease. Everyday activities, like mealtime or bedtime routines, help children build memory and organizational skills.
A framework for behavior, routines also give children ways to learn what to do or not do, and assist in setting expectations, by example. If you’ve ever been around a five-year old who’s been told to put the Legos away and brush his teeth, that’s a fun transition in the making, right? If the ask is done around the same time of day, there’s consistency in that which can soften the blowback, reducing tantrums or meltdowns. Repetitive tasks also help kids learn healthy patterns and grasp the cause-and-effect of situations and consequences to their decision-making.
In a new home, play time could result in less drama. Young children will know what to expect in a dedicated entertainment room—its purpose is spelled out for them. And with more space to pick up toys after the games are over, clean-up can be fun too.
Family that plays together, stays together
New surroundings and experiences can be challenging for everyone. Change can be hard but by going at it together, as a family, those new faces, places, and activities can be your next big adventure and what you’ll be talking about in your social circles.
You never know, your friends and family might follow along and make the bold move into a new home. In case that doesn’t happen, adjusting to unfamiliar surroundings can be a group effort because the change in address will affect you and your children differently.
Unless your kids are natural born actors or future salespeople, moving to a new community will likely dampen their social skills. People do better with an awareness of their environment: at home, school, work, and the immediate neighborhood. If your new home purchase allows your little ones to stay in the same schools, the transition won’t be too upending.
However, if you decide to purchase a house in an area outside of the kids’ current school zone, in their minds, it could mean starting over. The thought of that to a 10-year-old or teenager is daunting. The quicker you can help them reestablish social ties, the better.
Shared spaces indoors and outdoors bring people together.
New homes built by Woodside offer community touches that help welcome families to the neighborhood. Shared amenities like parks, playgrounds, or community centers, can bring families together, provide an informal way to connect with neighbors and forge friendships, simply by participating in group activities or special events.
Too shy to dive in to socializing? You can keep things low key until you’re more comfortable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the outdoors. Discover relaxation or the art of play in your own backyard, where patios and decks become lounge living at its finest. Experience outdoor spaces for children to explore, laugh and let imaginations run wild.
A dedicated home office adds convenience and efficiency.
Homeownership can benefit the head of the household by enhancing job performance. The same stability your children feel from a new home brings confidence into the fold of your career as well. If you’ve ever wanted to work remotely or consider a hybrid role (part time at the office and at home), having a Work + Space feature is ideal, one of many Living Well Solutions Woodside Homes offers.
Flexible floor plans allow you to enjoy your home longer, because it can adapt to your changing needs. From dedicated home offices, or multifunctional rooms that transition from work to play and back again, a home that works with you supports your success. With designer touches that serve as tasteful storage and useable spaces like nooks, or lofts, with built-in desks and shelving, how you work maximizes productivity. Besides, working at the dining room table is so…10 years ago.
While dedicated workspaces may initially be intended for you and you alone, added enjoyment also comes in having that time to focus on tasks, put them aside, with energy leftover to give your family the attention you all crave.
Unplug and reconnect with loved ones.
With digital technology and the increasing use of artificial intelligence, people of all ages are connecting faster than ever before. But real emotional connection within family can provide personal identity, the glue that holds you together.
Owning your own home helps you remember who you are in a place that helps reinforce your unique cultural and familial values. With much of the day spent on computers, cell phones and tablets, moms can feel as though they are competing for undivided attention of loved ones—and your kids would likely say the same about you.
A new home would be the center of your world, where identity and culture are rooted, and original stories are told. Celebrating family traditions and hosting special occasions, like you remember from your childhood, strengthens personal identity in a way that posting on Instagram can’t.
A place where your family members can be themselves.
Pick any day of the week and it’s likely full of SMH moments. Your children will always surprise you with what they say and do. But the best is when you catch glimpses of yourself in them. Maybe it’s the dimple in the left cheek when she smiles, or your boy’s wacky widow’s peak that mirrors Dad’s. As your kids get older, their personality is undeniable. Home ownership allows the freedom to express themselves, authentically.
When your daughter is “all grown up,” and wants to paint her bedroom walls a black-and-white checkerboard because her boyfriend is fixated on Nascar, you might cringe at the thought. While you’d like to answer her with a hard “No” the attitude in response isn’t worth the aggravation that the household will have to endure. That’s the beauty of having a home, your home. Checkerboard walls can be covered with primer, but the memory shared with the entire family is just one of the many that are one-and-only you.
Make your house a home one step at a time.
A new home purchase takes a village, every person in your immediate family. Even the kiddos can help with the move in and the ongoing maintenance. Homeownership is a shared responsibility, and taking care of the investment draws everyone closer.
Delegating chores helps make the household an all-hands-on-deck ecosystem. We all know teamwork makes the dream work, and the same goes for taking care of your home. You can incentivize the efforts of watering plants, sweeping the porch, and cleaning the clutter from under the beds with extended time in the game room, or a visit to the community pool.
After a long workweek, Moms and Dads could also use a boost of motivation to scrub the shower or scrape the barbeque grill. This is where having the convenience of a wine room down the hall comes in handy.
These shared tasks bring the family together, in laughter and the occasional whine or two or nine. Think of it as a healthy outlet where productivity leads to play. The process will include laughter, bickering, tears, and conversations you’ve wanted to have, but never did.
When your home has so much relaxing places to offer, why leave?
There are days when 24 hours isn’t enough to get the to-dos done. For every moment you wish you had more time, there’s 100 more you’d rather have relaxing somewhere else.
A new home can be your sanctuary, where daily stress melts into “aaahhh” or “ooommm”. It’s important to include a place just for these moments, to revitalize and restore from whatever the world dished out.
Working hard has its just rewards and it’s ok to put “me-time” on the calendar. Woodside Homes provides exceptional ways to enjoy peace and tranquility through Soothing Spaces. You deserve a personal oasis—a freestanding tub or extra-large shower, or temperature-controlled floors that allow comfort and warmth to wash over you.
What are your favorite family activities?
You are not alone! Fear doesn't have to stop you from discovering the benefits of homeownership, because you, your family, and the experts at Woodside Homes are here to help. Communicate with loved ones openly and discover a plan that works for all of you. Strengthening family bonds can start with your new home.3
A home is more than four walls: it’s the place that holds your secrets, hopes, dreams, and wishes for a better future. You and your family can be a positive force in a new home community. Together, expand your horizons, attend local events, join charities, and participate in school activities. Grow your network of friends by making new ones.
Children tend to mimic their parents, and through your involvement on a wider social scale, they can step out of their comfort zone more easily. Being part of something bigger than yourself starts with homeownership. From breakfast chatter to bedtime chats, these are the family moments that strengthen connections.
What is a home? Owning a home offers a safe place for your family to thrive and grow, to live for today and plan for the future. It is the home base which offers stability and builds memories.
To find your place to call home, visit Woodside Homes to schedule a virtual appointment or onsite model home tour. Start the conversation with a sales counselor who is happy to help you increase time spent with family through homeownership and can guide you through the various home purchase options.
*https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/good-thinking/201505/the-truth-about-children-of-working-mothers
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2014/04/08/after-decades-of-decline-a-rise-in-stay-at-home-mothers/
https://time.com/4241071/working-mom-impact-kids/
