What can you do to strengthen your bond?
1. Make time just for them
Kids are smart. Too smart. And despite what they HEAR they are paying the most attention to what you DO. How do you show your child you care? One thing i know works for our little one is time spent. Create new memories of just you too. Go on an adventure walk. Sit together and tell jokes. Read stories. Whatever it is make it clear to them that you are making this special time just for them.
2. Talking about feelings
Talk with your child about how they are feeling. Often kids have a hard time connecting a feeling to an event. Help them navigate by asking specific questions to help them understand what they are feeling on why. Ask them how they feel about certain experiences. Ask them what made them feel that way. Children will feel listened to and in turn their experience validated, which is a big part of bonding with your child.
Explore together ways they can deal with their feelings. If they are feeling angry, you might suggest going and jumping on the trampoline or kicking a ball together. Maybe they might like to listen to some music or doing a drawing or reading a book together. This would also be a great time to introduce mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises.
Talking with your child about their feelings and helping them find ways to express their feelings in a healthy way, will help your child learn valuable skills that will serve them well for their entire life and give them a sense of power. Most of all, give your children the sense that you will love them no matter what. You may at times be disappointed with their behavior, but you will always love and accept them for themselves.
3. Play
Play is a child’s way of learning, of trying out different ideas and understanding their experience, and above all, it is fun! Playing is one of the easiest ways of bonding with your child. Play can help your child to:
- Relax and wind down.
- Release positive creative energy, and have some control and sense of mastery in their lives.
- Express their ideas and understanding of themselves and the world around them.
- Help them to make sense of their experiences.
- Try out different ideas.
- Build their capacity for creativity and imagination, which helps to provide a foundation for their problem-solving skills.
- Learn how to interact with others, and build their expressive language skills.
How to be a kid again — Where do I start?
Playing with your child does not need to cost money and does not need to be difficult. The main aim for playing with your child is to have fun and enjoy each others company. It will give you a chance to relax, be creative, use your imagination and give you the opportunity of strengthening your relationship.
It can be as simple as saying yes to their request for you to join in one of their games, or offering to kick a ball outside, pull out the play-doh or drawing materials, or bake a cake. The list is endless. Another idea would be to do something that you enjoy together. This might be taking your remote control car to the bike track, going fishing, going to the beach and building sandcastles, doing some craft, baking or listening to some music. Chances are they will love it too! They will enjoy your company and might even gain an appreciation of your interests.
Above all, enjoy each other. Laugh, be silly and have fun.
