Today’s parents are left with little time and almost no energy to spend quality time with their kids. The parents then go on a guilt trip for not giving the required attention. This is then compensated by giving material gifts to the kids thus worsening the situation. When you give material gifts to your kids, they learn to bribe the parents and learn to manipulate things in their favor. Thus a foundation is laid for a relationship that is weighed only on satisfying the material needs of each other. This not only hampers the mental well-being of the child but also threatens the future relationship between the parent and the child.
Here are 5 easy tips that may help the busy parents of today to create a strong bond with their children:
Play together- Any indoor game or outdoor sport, at least thrice a week for an hour each goes a long way to recreating a close bond with your child. Weekends and Holidays can be planned on a priority basis which not only puts the child feel important and loved but he also looks forward to the exciting D-Day.
Ask a lot of questions and listen to your child- Asking a lot of basic questions like:
Who’s your best friend?
Why do you like him?
How would you like to spend time with him?
Who’s your favorite teacher
Why do you like her?
Avoid advising, suggesting, or providing any kind of guideline to the child. Just enjoying his answers and equipping him/her for the challenges in his life through storytelling or by giving live examples and together learning from real-life situations, thus imbibing good habits, and disciplining together, makes your child feel the strongest back behind him.
Empathizing with the child- Just listening to the child without any judgment helps the child to vent out his pent-up feelings, thus giving him the clarity to think. He feels important and a strong bond is also created. Also, understanding his feelings, conveying this to him, and sharing your thoughts and feelings makes you his/her best friend. The child’s self-esteem rises to heights and he feels valued and confident.
Create rituals together- During a festival or some celebration time, you can cook together, and decorate the house together. On usual days, you can read a story together each night, watch some good television or a football/cricket/hockey match together. This ensures a quality relationship with the child and he doesn’t get distracted by irrelevant things.
Setting Boundaries, consequences, and rules together- The child must be made aware of the importance of discipline, good productive habits, and good manners. Through mutual consultations and negotiations, rules can be set and consequences (reprimanding) can be decided. Thus the child will understand the importance of rules, and consequences and will act accordingly.
This is an authoritative type of parenting and ensures close, eternal, secured ties with your child.
Wishing you a ‘HAPPY BONDING’ with your child