How To Spend More Quality Time With Your Child
Many parents struggle with not finding enough time to be with their kids. While it’s difficult when you’re busy, you have to stop using your schedule as an excuse. There are ways around it and useful ideas that will allow you to find a good balance.
Your first step is to prioritize and move your child higher up on your list. Be honest with yourself and understand that you can’t do it all. You’re going to have to get organized and focus on what’s most important in your life. Give yourself some time to adjust and make modifications as you go.
Drive them to & from School
A great opportunity to strike up a conversation and get a little bit closer to your child is to drive them to and from school. Even if you sit in silence some days, at least they’ll know you care about and support them by offering to drive them around. Keep trying and come up with topics to discuss the night before. Eventually, you should be able to get through to your child and start to grow a stronger bond.
Plan Weekend Activities
Use your weekends wisely. Get your errands done, but also set aside quality time for your child. Ask them to hold a time slot for you and come to the table with ideas for what you two could do together. For example, fun attic has a lot of different game, activity and sporting ideas for you to choose from. If this is what they select then it’s a great excuse for getting the whole family involved. If not, another idea is to go see a movie or if within your budget take a weekend getaway or an overnight stay at a resort or hotel once in a while.
Cook Dinner Together
Ask your kid to pitch in and help out with dinner. While they might groan at first, it’s possible they’ll begin to enjoy cooking and want to do more of it if you’re working as a team. Make it fun for your child by asking them to do some of the grocery shopping with you and to select the recipes. Cooking can be a very relaxing activity, and it’s also a chance to talk and get to know your child better. Recognize what their cooking strengths are and assign them tasks that complement what they’re good at.
Go Shopping
It’s unlikely that your child will turn down a trip to the mall on your dime. See if they want to go shopping with you to pick out new outfits for school. This will give you multiple opportunities to start up a conversation and dive deeper into certain subject matters. It’s possible you’ll have a lot of fun together, and you can go shopping more often as a way to spend quality time with your child. Learn ways to be frugal so you aren’t going over your budget.
Conclusion
Time with your kid isn’t about checking off a box. It should be quality moments that help you two better connect. Don’t worry if your child isn’t that receptive at first. Keep trying and go with what’s working, and you’ll soon recognize a breakthrough in their attitude and demeanor.
