How To Spend More Quality Time With Your Child
Today is the time of technology. The evolution of technology has changed the society. All over the world, people use and benefit from modern technology. It provides tremendous opportunities and plays a significant role in almost all fields of human life. However, excessive usage of technology has its drawbacks as well.
Many people do not realize that technology effects the society negatively. Technology has weakened the relations among family members. Busy with diverse devices, family members these days do not have such convivial atmosphere as they used to in the past. Before the invention of these devices, family members used to sit together and play games together.
It is high time now for parents to understand the importance of spending time with kids.
Your children need to spend meaningful time with you. They need to see who you are and how you live your life. So, do not become a parent who is full time busy on social media, or engaged on laptops for office work. Our kids are growing up so fast. Their growth isn’t going to wait for our business or work to end.
Depending upon your children’s ages, you must find out one or two hours a day during the week, to spend with them. You must focus on turning those minutes into memorable moments.
Few things you can do to have a quality time together are:
1) You may go for a Nature Walk. While walking you can ask your child, how was his/her day. Any difficulty or anything of concern, that your child wants to share? This will really work, just try it.
2) An afternoon at the movies. You can watch a kid’s movie together and have a well spent afternoon.
3) Dinner at a restaurant. Previously, whole family used to sit together for dinner and discuss about their day spent. Due to work pressure, this is lost somehow. I hear from kids that “Papa” is either working on laptop or on mobile while at dinner. Or “mamma” is busy on whatsapp or any other social media. We must avoid these things. (It might be important, but nothing is important than our kids).
4) Quality time can also be spent in the car on the way to ballet practice, dance or swimming classes, etc.
5) One cannot slow down the time. But, can definitely find out ideas to optimize the time you spend with your kids. Before you go to sleep, you can peek at them, while they are still tucked into their beds. You can have a story-time before you go to bed. This way you can spend time together, you can enrich their vocabulary, you can teach them a moral lesson.
6) Another way to spend time with them while teaching them about tools and life at the same time is, home improvements. The attic, the basement, and the crawl space are all classrooms for learning how things work and how to safely fix things.
7) Make and eat meals with your children whenever possible.
8) Its good to get involved by knowing what your children are doing at home.
9) If they are young enough: You may ask them: What books are they reading? What shows are they watching? Are they browsing the internet safely?
10) Education plays a big role in the lives of young children. You must be involved in it.
11) Dropping them off at school, volunteering in the classroom or for extracurricular, attending field trips, and having open communication with the teacher to know the class performace, asking about the areas of improvement, etc. are few things that you can do to make your child feel that you care.
12) Plan a craft or activity, read together, or set up a family game or movie night.
13) Get involved with your kids by letting them know you are always there for them.
By doing any of the above, you will have so many opportunities to communicate with your child. It will also help you to develop a closer relationship with them and strengthen your bond.
The best part is that they will love having you more involved, especially as young children.
You should be a present parent who is always available to talk, offer support, and guide your child through life’s major changes and challenges. It gives them such a comfort, knowing that you are available to listen and love them unconditionally.
My son is 5 years old. I, despite of my busy schedule, always take care that I spend atleast one hour daily with my son , helping him in doing his homework and also to play with him. We play cricket, hide and seek, flash cards, with building blocks. At times, he designs petrol pump using blocks and arranges his few cars and scooter/bike in different lines (as he sees at petrol pump), and asks me or his father to be “petrol pump wale uncle”. We all enjoy playing it. We go to the park and play. I everyday ask him, how he spent his day at school? Did he missed me when I was not at home? I always say him “Love you”, when I go out of home and also before we go to sleep. I just love when he shares about all his activities he did throughout the day in school with his teachers and peers and also at home.
Kids may not be perfect every time. By giving them what they need to succeed and also to yourself what you need to feel as a successful parent, hopefully one day you will greet their departure with a profound sense of satisfaction.
I hope you enjoyed these ideas and will definitely follow some or the other, for getting more involved as a parent.
