As January begins, and we begin to set goals and visions for the year ahead, there are some incredibly important people to consider in making these goals-our children! The best way we can do this is to commit to a year of present parenting with our kids. Less distractions, more interactions.
This post is the kick-off to my Present Parenting Series and the theme is “Opening our Time.” What does it mean to open our time? It’s expanding the moment we are in by being fully present and engaged in it. If our children are in that moment with us, it’s stopping to be fully present in the moment with them. This can be through unstructured or structured play, time spent outside, building a puzzle together or doing artwork. It can also simply be through conversation.
When we open up our time to our children, it means putting away any distractions that are in front of us, like our technology, our to-do lists, and closing the never ending tabs that are open in our brains. That can be really hard to do as a busy parent! But the time we give to our children through presence will inevitably enhance their lives for the better. It will create better connections, and result in better behavior in the long-run.
It’s important to learn the art of mindfulness as a parent and have the ability to free your mind from thoughts as you simply observe your child in the midst of their childhood! If this seems difficult, I have found that simply observing my children without thinking about anything else is the key to truly experiencing my time with them.
There are many ways to open our time to our kids. Here are some of the ways we can do this:
- Observe them playing. No judgement, and no changing anything they do (as long as they aren’t in any danger). One of the core themes of play therapy is to let a child lead their own play ideas without the need to tell them how to play. When I took my own son to play therapy, he would begin a play idea and ask what something was. His therapist’s response was always, “What do you think?”
- Do something with them. I love doing art with my children. It shows them that I still honor creativity as an adult. We love to color and paint. Puzzles are also a fun way I connect with my son, who often needs something to challenge him (otherwise he may find his enjoyment in challenging me!)
- Have conversations. I like to interview my kids daily by asking them open-ended questions. This helps us reflect on their days and gives us talking points to connect further.
- Plan engaging activities with them. We love finding things to do together, whether it’s finding a park we haven’t been to, going to the museum or zoo, or going on a nature walk. These quality time activities allow us to explore together and make special memories.
There are so many ways to open our time to our children. We can practice this daily and over time, we will begin to see the fruits of our labor with children who feel more seen and more connected.
Here are some goals for January:
Daily: Be fully present with your kids for at least one hour (no distractions).
Weekly: Try a new activity together like a puzzle, science experiment, or craft. Some of my favorites are below.
Monthly: Take them somewhere fun like the zoo or museum! Go out and explore together.
Product Spotlights of the Month:
Perfect for letting your kids create a picture book and write their own stories.
I hope you will join me this year in being more intentional and present with our children! Please comment below and let me know your goals with your kids and what you hope to try this month!
Thanks for reading and I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors!
