Welcome back to Parents R Us! Today I want to talk to you about something that I feel is important, and something that many families have forgotten - family time.

Today we all lead busy lives. Think about your own life. How many things do you have to do every day? Sure, you do all the important things for your kids. You feed them, clothe them, put a roof over their head, but how much time are you spending with them?

It's easy in a hectic world, especially as your children get older, to have that family time together. However, building those family ties is important. Family is forever!

Here in our house, we have a special family night about once a week. Now I can't say that there haven't been times when the situation called for family night to be put off, such as when sickness hits, but we do our best to make this a weekly routine.

The choice of activity varies. Often we spend time watching a good family movie. In fact, last week we watched "Bedtime Stories" together, which ended up being a pretty cool movie for the family. There are other times where we play games, or sometimes we invite over extended family for a nice dinner and chat.

With parents and kids going a million different ways these days, too many times families forget to spend time together. Then as kids grow up, parents suddenly wonder why their kids basically shut them out of their lives. It's because those family bonds were not tightly build during time together.

Years ago before computers and cell phones, families spent more time together. They enjoyed each other's company. Now families text each other or leave an IM. While new technology is great, there is nothing that will ever take the place of quality time with your kids.

Take the time out to spend time together as a family. We've forgotten today how important family really is. Spending time together can help. No matter what you do, try to spend one night a week having special time together. You'll never regret it.