Life is getting busier now that kids have gone back to school. After-school activities, lunch bags, homework and playtime leave little room for extra energy. Suzanne Collins, a licensed psychologist with Little Psychological Services in Florence, shares three tips with parents and caregivers for how to make the time they spend with children count:
Put the phone down and engage.
You knew this was going to be No. 1, didn’t you? Sorry, but it’s the truth.
“I think a lot of parents forget that it can be really easy to spend quality time with their kids,” Collins said. “All you have to do is be with them and be engaged.”
And, that doesn’t mean you have to take your kids to the movies or Kings Island. In fact, Collins said, that often doesn’t end up serving as quality time. What your kids crave most from you is one-on-one time spent doing the activities you’re doing.
So, the next time you’re making dinner or cutting the grass or weeding the yard, get your child involved. (An added bonus is that he or she likely will love it!)
“If you start getting your kids involved in those kinds of activities when they’re younger, they’ll enjoy it,” Collins said. “If you wait to start until they’re older, they’ll view it as a chore.”
Use the car as a time to interact with your kids.
Many times, Collins said, parents view the car as a time to catch up on phone calls: “It makes sense because the kids are contained, right? I get it.”
But, actually, it’s a huge missed opportunity to spend some undistracted time with your kids.
“The complaint I hear most in my office from tween-aged kids is that their parents are always on the phone, especially in the car,” Collins said. “They want to be engaged. They want time with mom and dad.”
Do things with kids that they enjoy.
It may be hard, but don’t say “no” the next time your daughter asks you to play Barbies with her.
“You don’t have to enjoy it,” Collins stresses, “but they’ll love that you did something they like to do.”
So often, she added, we tell our kids to go play with each other because they can, of course, and they’ll have fun doing it, but, really, what they’re missing is time with mom or dad.
It may be hard, but putting in the extra effort with your kids now will bring you closer together, which, you probably already know, will pay dividends when they get older.
Looking for a family-friendly activity? Click here to see our list of local activities.
