Have you been looking for new ways to connect with your kids this year? Because we know parents are super busy, often balancing between work, home life, and child care, we’ve put together this list of 5 simple ways you can bond with kids of any age.
1. Cook a meal together
While you might think cooking with children will only distract you or create a big mess, cooking with children is a great way to bond and create exciting memories with your child. It’s likely that regular cooking experiences will boost your child’s confidence and may even inspire a love of cooking as an adult. Plus, you are creating a peaceful space for your kid to share what’s going on in their life and showing you care about spending time with them.
2. Express interest in their life
A great way to show your child you care about them is to show interest in their life. This might mean expressing interest in their passions (even the ones you find boring) or creating opportunities for your child to use their creativity and playfulness with you. Try asking questions and learning about their passions, friends, school life, etc. Tip: Avoid criticizing or dismissing things that do not pose a threat to the child so that they continue feeling safe to share with you.
3. Validate their emotions
You might think that validating your child’s emotions will end up spoiling your child, leaving them overly sensitive or unable to receive feedback, but it’s actually the opposite. In order to teach your children how to appropriately and safely regulate their emotions, you need to first help them understand what they are feeling. Acknowledging their feelings as real doesn’t mean allowing your child to break boundaries or act in an unsafe way. It just means that their feelings will be understood and accepted and that you will support them in learning to self-regulate their emotions and behaviors safely. This is a great way for your child to feel loved and secure in their attachment to you.
4. Learn your child’s love language–and use it!
Do you know your child’s love language? Gary Chapman identified five possible types for both children and adults: physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and gifts. If you can determine what your child most values, you will be able to make sure that they feel loved and avoid miscommunication. Avoid making assumptions, as variance in type is common even among family members. Tip: Try creating a special surprise for your child in line with their love language and see how they respond.
5. Create a new family tradition
Family traditions can be a great way to show your child love, as they often involve spending quality time together and include something fun to bond over together. If you need inspiration on how to create a new family tradition, we’ve written a whole article on that here.
What other ways do you show love to your children? Please leave a comment below so everyone can benefit!
