10 Things Kids Really Want You To Do With Them: At night time please come into my room, tuck me in and sing me a song. I love it when you tell me stories about when you were little like me. Hug me, kiss me, squeeze me. Talk with me – just the two of us. Do fun stuff with me, not with my sisters and brothers around – just me. Please give me healthy food so I can grow up strong. Playing outside is one of my favourite things to do, please let me do it lots…I’ll wear a hat…I promise. Watch TV or movies with me. It’s even more fun if we snuggle together under a blanket. Talk with me about everything. Remind me what I am good at, it makes me feel special. Plan future exciting things with me so we have something to look forward to. Tips for parents: When possible as kids come home from school, ignore phones and computers and share some undivided time to catch up on each other’s days. It only needs to be a few minutes so children feel heard and valued. Steal moments that are usually boring and make them fun. Play games in queues, traffic, waiting rooms. Plan ahead and book ‘dates’ with each child – it will give you all something personal and fun to look forward to. Try to eat with your kids, even if your hectic schedules only mean you have afternoon tea together, make it worth it. A great tip we found is instead of saying “in five minutes” when a child asks you to do something with them, say “I can do that with you for five minutes”. Get your children involved with daily tasks and jobs such as groceries, cooking, doing the gardening and cleaning/repairing the home. It gives them a sense of importance and involvement as well as teaching them many life skills.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 02:16:53 +0000