Columnist Rebecca Hagelin: “Do you know your family? You may think that’s a silly question. ‘Of course we know each other,’ many parents would reply. ‘We live under the same roof. We see each other daily. We go on vacations together. How could we not know each other?’ Yet, in an important sense, many parents and their children are almost strangers. The time many families spend together is crammed with wall-to-wall activities. Mothers and fathers ferry their kids feverishly about – a play date here, a practice there, not a moment to spare – tethered by cell phones and sustained by meals on the run. You can’t really know your children if all of your time with them is spent running to and fro in a frenetic whirlwind. Genuine intimacy is impossible under such conditions. … [I]t’s critical to stop and reflect on what might be missing in their lives – the most important physical ‘thing’ to their development: you. Family time makes a huge difference.”