Spend quality time with your child
May 06, 2007
IT is holiday time. Everyone is busy with different activities. Your children’s presence at home does not much difference to you, since you still leave home early and return late.
By Jamesa Wagwau
IT is holiday time. Everyone is busy with different activities. Your children’s presence at home does not much difference to you, since you still leave home early and return late.
Will this holiday end before you get an opportunity to hold a close talk with your child?
Maybe the only communication your child has heard from you are orders of ‘don’t spoil that!’ or ‘ensure that the utensils are cleaned before I return!’
Difficult as it might seem, time spent with your child is not a luxury but a developmental necessity. You need quality time to bond with your child if you expect him or her to develop into a well-rounded individual.
Psychologists believe that children who are well bonded with their parents engage in less risky behaviour and have a stronger sense of self.
Many parents talk of being ‘too busy’ trying to earn a living, but what amount of money would be worth the future of your child?
The problem many face is not lack of time, but knowing how to spend quality time with the child.
Do you know how to spend quality time with your child? Let us share tips that would make the time with your family worthwhile:
Have family moments: Family moment is a time when the entire family sits together to share good moments and have fun. It is a time to unwind, tease each other or laugh over interesting experiences.
Depending on your schedule, you can have it either daily, once or twice a week. In some homes, family moments involve family prayers while in others it is a weekly day out.
Sharing dinner: Chances are that you will not have lunch with your children if you are working. Considering that your children will soon return to school, how about having dinner with them every night while they are still around?
Just count the number of times you have had dinner with your family this holiday to assess how well or badly you are doing. Just like famous author, Jesse Jackson once wrote:
“Your children need your presence more than your presents.â€
Keep in mind that childhood is an opportunity that is passing away and your child will not be one forever. Use the opportunity while it lasts.
Shared household chores: Sharing an activity is a powerful tool for cementing lasting family bonds.
There are so many activities that you can share with your child. Indeed, even instructions on how to carry out tasks make more sense to the child when you are practically involved, than when you are detached.
Shared tasks and fun moments provide your child with fond memories, more than anything else.
Create time for each child and offer your undivided attention: No child likes to be treated as part of a group.
According to child psychologist Alvin Rosenfield in his book The
Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap, family time is a key component to responsible parenting. It should not be sacrificed in the name of ‘earning a living’.
Let your children know that you value time with them as much as you value time for your job, or other commitments. Quality time and mutual interaction lay a strong foundation for a lasting family bond.
If anything, a child recalls more fondly the time spent together than birthday gifts. Be there for your child.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032
IT is holiday time. Everyone is busy with different activities. Your children’s presence at home does not much difference to you, since you still leave home early and return late.
Will this holiday end before you get an opportunity to hold a close talk with your child?
Maybe the only communication your child has heard from you are orders of ‘don’t spoil that!’ or ‘ensure that the utensils are cleaned before I return!’
Difficult as it might seem, time spent with your child is not a luxury but a developmental necessity. You need quality time to bond with your child if you expect him or her to develop into a well-rounded individual.
Psychologists believe that children who are well bonded with their parents engage in less risky behaviour and have a stronger sense of self.
Many parents talk of being ‘too busy’ trying to earn a living, but what amount of money would be worth the future of your child?
The problem many face is not lack of time, but knowing how to spend quality time with the child.
Do you know how to spend quality time with your child? Let us share tips that would make the time with your family worthwhile:
Have family moments: Family moment is a time when the entire family sits together to share good moments and have fun. It is a time to unwind, tease each other or laugh over interesting experiences.
Depending on your schedule, you can have it either daily, once or twice a week. In some homes, family moments involve family prayers while in others it is a weekly day out.
Sharing dinner: Chances are that you will not have lunch with your children if you are working. Considering that your children will soon return to school, how about having dinner with them every night while they are still around?
Just count the number of times you have had dinner with your family this holiday to assess how well or badly you are doing. Just like famous author, Jesse Jackson once wrote:
“Your children need your presence more than your presents.â€
Keep in mind that childhood is an opportunity that is passing away and your child will not be one forever. Use the opportunity while it lasts.
Shared household chores: Sharing an activity is a powerful tool for cementing lasting family bonds.
There are so many activities that you can share with your child. Indeed, even instructions on how to carry out tasks make more sense to the child when you are practically involved, than when you are detached.
Shared tasks and fun moments provide your child with fond memories, more than anything else.
Create time for each child and offer your undivided attention: No child likes to be treated as part of a group.
According to child psychologist Alvin Rosenfield in his book The
Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap, family time is a key component to responsible parenting. It should not be sacrificed in the name of ‘earning a living’.
Let your children know that you value time with them as much as you value time for your job, or other commitments. Quality time and mutual interaction lay a strong foundation for a lasting family bond.
If anything, a child recalls more fondly the time spent together than birthday gifts. Be there for your child.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032