The day-to-day work involved with motherhood is hectic and draining. No matter how hard we try, or how much we plan, our days never go quite like we expect. Problems arise, frustrations ensue, other activities take the forefront … and before you know it, it’s dinnertime and you haven’t accomplished half of what you set out to do that day — especially when it comes to spending quality one-on-one time with your kids.
But the good news is, tomorrow is a new day and regardless of what life throws your way, there are easy things you can do to help facilitate the relationship between you and your children. It only takes a few minutes a day, so you can fit in these bonding activities at anytime. The results will leave you happier and closer to your kids … and who doesn’t want that?
So take a few moments and indulge in some of the activities below. Your kids will love it, and despite what negative things happen during the day, you can pat yourself on the back for making the effort towards creating a healthy and close relationship with the little ones in your life who mean the most.
Keep It Indoors
- Have a sock snowball fight
- Color a giant picture together — only color for 10 minutes then pull it out and color more the next day!
- Take selfies because there are never enough picture of us with our kids
- Throw glow sticks in the tub and go “night swimming”
- Have a jumping jack or planking battle — see who lasts the longest
- Play a quick board game
- Break out the play dough… you will survive!
- Make giant paper airplanes
- Dance and mop the floor with wet socks
- Read a story together!
- Have a puppet show!
- Snuggle up and watch their favorite show
- Have a family dance party (Pandora has some nice stations for this!)
- Build a fort in the living room
- Finger paint
- Make a board game or create an interactive game
- Make recycled crayons
- Make puppets (from paper bags) and masks (from paper plates)
- Learn how to fold origami cranes
- Start a scrapbook
- Make homemade silly putty
- Act out your favorite book…dress up like the characters, make up songs based on the story line or create a related craft
In the Kitchen
- Savor a spoonful of Nutella or whatever your favorite scoopable is!
- Let the kids plan and make dinner
- Make homemade popsicles
- Play tic-tac-toe… with food!
- Make homemade ice cream
- Bake cookies for the neighbors
- Host a tea party for your dolls and stuffed animals
Take it Outside
- Go for a walk around the block… or parking lot if you’re like me
- Dance in the rain (and do a rain dance if it hasn’t rained in a while!)
- Have a water-balloon fight
- Eat dinner outside on the patio
- Play Red Rover
- Make sun tea on the deck
- Hula hoop
- Have a jump rope contest
- Make an obstacle course
- Decorate your driveway with sidewalk chalk (make your own for an extra project)
- Blow bubbles
- Catch fireflies
- Play hopscotch
- Fly a kite
- Make s’mores and sing campfire songs in your backyard
The goal is to spend dedicated, quality time with your kids each day doing something fun you both will enjoy! There’s no wrong or right way to approach it, just as long as you are active and happily involved in the moment.
Even if it’s only 15 minutes, use this time to focus on your family. Forget about your cell phone. Forget about the unread emails in your inbox. Block out the ever-growing list of things you need to do. It can wait, I promise!
At the end of the day it’s not the material things that mean the most, but the time we spend growing and cultivating the relationships with our children — despite the daily chaos. So sit down, breathe in the moment and enjoy the simple and fun times life has to offer. You’ll be glad you did!
