How to Enhance Your Relationship with Your Children

Having a loving family is the most important thing in any child’s life. Healthy family relationships not only give them happiness but they also make them feel safe in today’s scary world and prepare them for independence later down the line. But when we have our jobs and chores, spending quality bonding time together seems to take the backseat sometimes, which only harms not only the child but the entire family. So, make sure you are nurturing a healthy relationship with your little ones – the following tips will help you in that.

Communication is key

Just like in any other relationship, communication is very important in nurturing your relationship with your child. It is not only about telling them you love them – which you should; it is also about listening to them carefully so that they know that you are always there to hear them out, no matter what problem they have. This way, you not only nurture trust between the two of you, you also teach openness to your little one which will help them a lot in their future relationships in life.

Let them help out

Sometimes, we just want to finish tasks as fast as possible and the little helping hands only hinder us in that. However, leaving your children out of “adult” tasks can be disheartening for them. Show them that you trust them by allowing them to help out – you can always delegate some easier tasks to them and they will feel proud to have helped you. In fact, this approach can also turn boring tasks into fun teamwork projects that will give your little one a sense of achievement while boosting your relationship at the same time.

Spend quality time playing together

While life is not all about fun and games, for children, this is a way to get to know the world and develop their skills at the same time. If you put aside some time to actually play together, the whole process will become much more meaningful to your child and you two will have the best bonding experience while also having fun. Find some cool toys that boost creativity such as model railways and get all the necessary model railway suppliesto spend some quality time building your own world. Your child will appreciate it so much.

Develop a bedtime routine

Routines are very important in our lives and the same is true for your child’s bedtime routine. Other than the obvious part where they get themselves ready for bed, you should consider introducing a ritual that will follow them throughout their entire childhood. Be it a bedtime chat where they can share their anxieties, a bedtime story where you share something interesting that happened to you or even reading from a storybook, a little bit of quiet snuggle time will do wonders for your relationship.

Hug them

Family therapists have already pointed out the immense importance of hugs for your child’s development: “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” So, make sure you grab every opportunity to show your little one you love them by giving them a hug. It will not only ease their worries and make them feel safe, it promotes health, self-esteem, empathy and even makes them smarter in the long run. To think that a simple gesture such as a hug can do so much for your child!

Make them a priority

We are all busy, but you cannot expect to have a great relationship with your child if you do not put the effort into it. And putting in the effort will oftentimes require you to make sacrifices. It is very important that you make your child your utmost priority. They will feel it if you are not devoting your undivided attention to them and they will also feel it if you believe they are a priority. So, put some of those pending tasks aside for the time being and spend some time with your child instead.

 

Parenting is certainly the toughest job you will ever have to deal with, and a day only consists of 24 hours. Still, if you make the needs of your children a priority, you will always find time to enhance your relationship and bring up healthy and independent individuals.