Growing up isn’t easy for anyone. As a parent, you struggle to keep the household together and stay current with your children’s happenings. Kids, on the other hand, are also going through their own growing pains and trying to figure out how to deal with life’s ups and downs.
One way to help cut any tension is to get closer to your kids and make a promise to yourself to be closer to them. Not having the time or being too busy are only excuses. You have to make being a bigger part of their lives a priority. Have practical ideas in mind to implement, and by doing so, it will help you reach your goal. See ways to get more involved with your kids.
Cook & Gather for Family Dinner
Invite your children to cook a meal with you. Let them help every step of the way. Pick the dish, go to the grocery store and prepare the food together. Select a night everyone will be home and available to sit down as a group for a family dinner. Cooking the meal will be a great bonding experience, and you can continue to talk and catch up while you eat. Make it a regular occurrence and use the activity as a way to grow closer to your kids.
Coach their Sports Team
Get more involved with your kids by coaching one of their sports teams. Pick an activity you and your kids both enjoy and offer to help manage the group. Come to the table with good ideas related to drills and ways to increase comradery amongst the kids. One thought is to use the Custom Center online to order custom patches for everyone on the team. There’s always room in the world for another well-designed patch. For groups, clubs and organizations around the world, custom patches are powerful symbols of affiliation. Group members display their patches on jackets, vests, shirts and uniforms with great pride.
Invite them on Walks
Exercise is good for you and an activity like walking helps promote an environment to start an engaging conversation. Invite your kids on walks with you and see how quickly the words start flowing. Let them choose a path in the neighborhood that they want to explore and be there with them as you embark on a new journey outside. Inviting them along to get fresh air also makes the experience less lonely for you. It’s okay to walk in silence too, sometimes just being together is enough.
Attend School Functions
All it takes to get closer to your kids is to show them you care. You can tell them all you want, but it means a lot to them when you show up at their activities, hobbies and school functions. Stay on top of it by keeping a calendar related to school functions, so you have no excuse not to attend when the date rolls around. You’ll likely enjoy yourself and will get to meet other parents who struggle with the same obstacles as you do.
Schedule Time on the Calendar
You’re busy, and your calendar fills up fast, so that’s why it’s up to you to make sure you set aside time during the week and on weekends to spend time with your kids. It’s important to establish these moments with your kids and help keep them out of trouble. Create a regular family game night or a day that’s designed for you and your children to play and have fun. Make it a point to mark down who, what, where and when, so there are no hesitations when the time comes to be more involved with your kids.
Volunteer Together
One way to spend time with your kids and help your local community or school is to volunteer together. Sit down and talk to your children about the benefits of volunteering and why it’s important. Entice them to want to help out by letting them know you’ll take them out for ice cream or a movie when you’re all done. Check out a bake sale at the school or go serve food at a local shelter. It’s a great opportunity to teach your children responsibility and get closer to them.
Practice Work-Life Balance
It’s going to be difficult to get more involved with your kid’s lives if you’re always working. Be home for your kids when they return from school if possible, or at least shortly after. Set boundaries at work and home to enforce strict limits on your availability. Make spending quality time with your kids a priority, and you’ll find it’s easier to do so when you’re committed. It’ll be nearly impossible to juggle working late all the time and being a parent who’s available to build deeper relationships with the kids. You can’t have it all, so pick and choose wisely where you spend your time.
Ask the Right Questions
You’re the parent, and it’s perfectly okay to ask questions about where they’re going and who they’re with. Don’t let your kids make you feel uncomfortable or bad for wanting to pry into their business a bit. Make it a point to meet your children’s friends and parents, so you know who they’re hanging out with and what they’re up to. Being too busy to have these sort of talks or looking the other way may come back to bite you in the end. Involve yourself with what your kids are doing and be aware of their interests and how they’re spending their time when you’re not around.
Conclusion
As the parent, it’s up to you to initiate conversations and activities that are going to help you become closer to your kids. Don’t be afraid to keep trying if you’re finding the process difficult at first. Building better relationships with your children takes time and patience. Keep letting them know that you’re there for them and show how much you care by inserting yourself in their life. These are ways to get more involved with your kids.
