Do you wish you could spend more intentional time with your children? Is it hard for you to have quality time with your kids?
Moms are busy.
There are countless activities vying for our intention. So how do we spend intentional time with our children when we have so many other commitments?
Here is my secret… make the most of the little time that you do have.
Check out these tips to help you spend more intentional time with your children.
Check out these tips to spend more intentional time with your children. #positiveparenting #parentingtips Click To TweetSchedule your time together.
I know I’ve said this before, but in order to spend time with our children, sometimes we just have to schedule it! Assess your day and see where you can include pockets of meaningful time with your children.
- snuggles first thing in the morning
- talking while eating breakfast together
- a 20 minute playtime with their choice of activity
- conversation at the supper table
- play a cooperative board game
- reading a book on the couch
- conversation and a story before bed
- a dance party
Make the most of routines.
Look for windows of time in the day that you can include your child while getting tasks done. Routines are an unavoidable part of our days – use them as opportunities to connect.
- make dinner together
- play a simple game while driving them to school / extra-curricular activities (i.e. I-Spy, Would You Rather, etc.)
- talk about their day while cleaning up the dishes from supper
Make a date.
Try to have a one-on-one date with your child at least once a month. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy either. Here are some simple date ideas:
- go out for hot chocolate or ice cream
- visit the library and read aloud a book or two
- paint your child’s fingernails and toenails
- play at the park
- have a picnic
- take a nature walk
- attend a pottery / painting event
Set ground rules.
If you want to make the most of the time you spend with your children, you may want to set a few ground rules for yourself.
- Eliminate distractions. If this means putting your phone in a drawer, do it!
- Set a minimum amount of time to spend with your child.
- Focus completely on your child during this time.
- Listen more. Talk less.
- Smile and laugh!
- Let your child know that you enjoyed the time you spent together.
Need help?
If you need additional ideas for how to spend intentional time with your child, you can check out this post which lists 30 delightful ways to connect with your child.
Whenever I feel like I need some parenting encouragement, I read through and complete a few exercises from my Becoming a Deliberate Mom Workbook.
I often forget how far I’ve come in my parenting strategies. I feel rejuvenated after spending some time reflecting on my growth and celebrating my progress.
Reflect:
How do you spend more intentional time with your children? Are there specific times that work best for you to connect? Do you have a favourite activity that you like to do with your child?
Well said, Jennifer. Great tips to follow to preserve the relationship between Parents and Children, especially for working Parents. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks! I’m delighted that these tips resonated with you.
Love your advice and not going to lie as I can definitely use help in this area, so can’t thank you enough for sharing with us here today. Happy Tuesday now xoxo :)
I’m delighted that this advice was timely for you Janine. It takes effort to spend more intentional time with our kids, but it’s worth it.
Putting the phone away is key! We all are so distracted with it these days. I’ve been working to be more intentional with my time with my kids and I can see the difference it makes.
The phone can be such a trap (and a time sucker)!
Being more intentional makes a huge impact on our children – so glad you can see the difference it makes too.
I need to revisit the idea of daddy/daughter dates. When my girls were young, we did these monthly. They’re now 19, 16 and 12. Beautiful ideas here.
Those dates are precious aren’t they Eli?
I’m delighted that these ideas resonated with you. Thanks for sharing!
We just got these fun “Dinner Games” from Chick fil-A in one of our kid’s meals, and we’ve been playing them each night when we eat. My girls LOVE this. Being intentional during the day is always good, and on those frazzled days, some extra time during the bedtime routine is always nice, too. :)
Dinner games are great! It’s such a perfect time to connect, isn’t it? You always make me wick we had Chick fil-A here!
The dates. The dates are so great! I LOVE one-on-one time with them. And in this day and age, it helps to be informed and take them to age-appropriate movies and just.. talk.
Dates are amazing. That one-on-one time is precious and the conversation is priceless.
I needed this post today. I’ve been trying to do this more and more with Madison. This is her last year before heading off to Kindergarten and I’m trying to be more intentional with her and spending quality time with her as well, even if it’s just going to the park and doing things one on one. She loves it and so do I.
I’m delighted that this was timely for you AnnMarie! This intentional time is precious for our children and for us.