Many parents equate loving their children with quality time. In actuality, children equate love WITH time, so, quality AND quantity time fills their love tanks.
It isn’t possible to fulfill that need to the brim everyday. But it is helpful to your relationship with each of your children to carve out some purposeful one on one time.
Sound impossible? To accomplish this, try taking one child out on a solo “date”. This does more than just fill their love tank. It builds bonds, opens doors of communication and helps you really get to know your child’s personality, hopes and dreams.
In households of multiples, spending this one on one time is extra important. Besides showing the equal importance of each child, it’s a great way to accommodate special interests/hobbies that may not be shared by other siblings.
Fun time activities include: garage sale-ing, bird watching, fishing, sculpting, and roller blading are just a few activities that come to mind. If money is tight, a long drive to a special scenic overlook or a long walk would also suffice.
As your children get older, this one on one time grows in importance. By creating the lines of communication when they are young, paves the way for free flowing communication during possible tumultuous teen years. Though they might not recognize it, they need a parents guidance during this time.
It’s easier to talk freely during these times if the road of open communication has already been established. If you haven’t done this with your older child, don’t fret. It’s not too late to start and can be a great way to share an interest, find common ground and start talking and listing with one another.
(NOTE: Author fully recognizes that not every child goes through tough and trying teen aged years).
Who knows what you’ll discover about your children and even yourself!
