life can get really busy. work, laundry, social networking. we spend a lot of time with our kids homeschooling or with homework, teaching, bringing up and disciplining. with all this time with them i forget that none of it counts as "quality time" "emotional deposits" "relationship building" whatever you want to call it.
"mom, come have tea time with me." -ok after i fold the laundry, and look at the kitchen! i don't have time right now. i need to clean the house first. plus i have a ton of emails to answer. on and on my list goes.
sometimes we just have to stop. literally stop everything and just play, snuggle, talk, listen, have tea, and engage with our children. the house can wait, the dishes will still be there when you're done, the emails will still be in your inbox, the laundry can wait, but my children are growing up fast - they cannot wait day after day to finally spend time with me. it's ok if the house is a mess, orders are waiting on my desk, laundry is getting wrinkly - really it's ok.
i have the hardest time stopping.
sometimes holidays and special occasions make it easier. though doing something special together just because has an even great impact. the nice side effect that comes from spending one on one time with my kids whether it's a quality 10 minutes or couple of hours, is they are happier, better behaved children because they aren't competing for my attention. this makes the time i am working, folding laundry, and answering emails a whole lot easier :)
find a few extra moments to engage with your child today.
plan something special this week for one on one time. a picnic a walk, a snuggly movie...
write them a note, "meet me for tea and cookies at seven o'clock thursday night. love mom".
what will you do together?
xoxo,
Great advice. My toddler has just whizzed off to nursery with his dad and I barely had time to say good morning to him today before slumping back to sleep with my 6 week old (who has been feeding and waking through the night...) and now my 'to do' list is far too long (finalising our mum's website www.Storyofmum.com and launch party, washing, planning toddlers birthday party, and I don't dare look into any dark corners of the house...) But when my boy comes home I will make time to play together, and we always eat tea as a family, and we will plan a special play mission for our next 'family day'... Who needs sleep anyway??
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice! I have five kids under 11, and believe me, if I don't MAKE time, it certainly won't make itself!
ReplyDeleteoh my word! i think you wrote this post just for me ; ) i have the hardest time stopping too, but i know i NEED to give more time to my daughter! thanks so much for this post!
ReplyDeletehave a great day! x0x0
this is great advice when your child is a teenager too! my daughter is almost 17 and we're both busy. we recently started a class on wednesday nights together and it's been nice to be able to count on this weekly time together. it allows me to check in with her and see what's going on with friends, how she's feeling about her homework, and just whatever comes up...so important! happy tuesday!
ReplyDeletei totally hear ya girl!! every day just goes by soo fast and sometimes i don't stop blogging and it's already almost 1am... like now!! haha
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