Children need out attention. Not the attention we can give them as we stir a pot on the stove, but our full attention. A child must know that the parent is listening. Has her full attention. They must not feel like you don't pay them any attention.
Parenting requires many skills and they are not taught in parenting school. We learn as we go. Some we remember from our parents. Occasionally we see other parents practicing a habit that we happily adopt as our own. Quality time is important. Here are three things we can do with our kids to increase the bonding:
1. Play with them
Pull out a board game, get comfortable and roll the dice. Kids don't want to play that? Move to their turf and play a video game with them. If there's nothing in common that you like at the beginning, pick a pet game and adopt a pet. Feed it and play with it. Soon you'll come up with other games that you can all play on. Don't forget the old saying - a family that plays together, stays together.
2. Spend Time in Nature
Leave your digital devices behind. Just go for a walk. If you have a long weekend, sped time at a national park. Can't leave home? Just sit out together and look at a tree. Get an indoor plant. Get the kids to climb a tree and swing from a branch. Kids like to collect rocks and twigs. Even as they do this, it's a good opportunity to explore the world around us - how things grow, the environmental impact of what we do, nature's mysteries, cycle of life and interdependence of various life forms on Earth. This also helps children understand how important it is to live cooperatively within a family and outside.
3. Give them Space
Teach them well and as they grow step back to watch them negotiate the world around them. We help them walk, bu once they walk we step back and let them walk on their own, all the while making sure that they don't go into areas they are not prepared for. It's the exact same in other facets of their life. As parents we prepare them to live their life, we cannot live their life for them. They might make mistake and we might be tempted to stop them by bringing up their past failures, but we have to grow in our parenting and step back. Sometimes you have to be the wall between other well meaning people who want to stop them, and your child.
Always remember, don't talk as you stir. Stop the stirring. Attend to the child. Listen to them. The stirring can wait. Just don't forget to switch off the stove!
Parenting requires many skills and they are not taught in parenting school. We learn as we go. Some we remember from our parents. Occasionally we see other parents practicing a habit that we happily adopt as our own. Quality time is important. Here are three things we can do with our kids to increase the bonding:
1. Play with them
Pull out a board game, get comfortable and roll the dice. Kids don't want to play that? Move to their turf and play a video game with them. If there's nothing in common that you like at the beginning, pick a pet game and adopt a pet. Feed it and play with it. Soon you'll come up with other games that you can all play on. Don't forget the old saying - a family that plays together, stays together.
2. Spend Time in Nature
Leave your digital devices behind. Just go for a walk. If you have a long weekend, sped time at a national park. Can't leave home? Just sit out together and look at a tree. Get an indoor plant. Get the kids to climb a tree and swing from a branch. Kids like to collect rocks and twigs. Even as they do this, it's a good opportunity to explore the world around us - how things grow, the environmental impact of what we do, nature's mysteries, cycle of life and interdependence of various life forms on Earth. This also helps children understand how important it is to live cooperatively within a family and outside.
3. Give them Space
Teach them well and as they grow step back to watch them negotiate the world around them. We help them walk, bu once they walk we step back and let them walk on their own, all the while making sure that they don't go into areas they are not prepared for. It's the exact same in other facets of their life. As parents we prepare them to live their life, we cannot live their life for them. They might make mistake and we might be tempted to stop them by bringing up their past failures, but we have to grow in our parenting and step back. Sometimes you have to be the wall between other well meaning people who want to stop them, and your child.
Always remember, don't talk as you stir. Stop the stirring. Attend to the child. Listen to them. The stirring can wait. Just don't forget to switch off the stove!
