Enjoying Time Together, Building Relationships with our Children

This week at St Mary’s, we celebrated Family Week. A time to slow down and spend some quality time together. Spending time and doing things together with your child helps to build your relationship, and can be done through everyday activities.

Spending special time with your child is good for their development and wellbeing, it boosts their confidence and gives the opportunity to:                                

• give your child your full attention
• send the message that your child is the most important thing to you
• see the world from your child’s point of view
• find out more about your child’s likes, dislikes, worries and frustrations
• give your child some guidance, talk to them and listen to them
• be a role model for your child.

When you and your child spend enjoyable time together, it can help your child feel happier and more relaxed. It can also help your child build resilience for the teenage years. That’s why it’s so important to lay the groundwork early on.

Sometimes you can make special time and have fun as part of your everyday family life. Here are ideas:

• Make a special after-school snack together
• Go shopping for groceries together and let your child help to make decisions, pay for things and have conversations with shop assistants.
• Eat meals together as a family and chat about your day.
• Make car trips fun by playing ‘I spy’, ‘spotto’ or ‘Who can see the next car with a number plate that makes a word?’ You could sing along to music together too.
• Read books or tell stories with your child at bedtime.
• Play board games like ‘snakes and ladders’, dominoes and simple card games. This helps your child learn to take turns and play fair.
• Spend time making things together, like drawing a picture or making a collage from photos cut out of a magazine.
• Make time to go to the park together – walk or ride a bike there, if you can.
• Give your child the chance to practise skills and get better at things like climbing and catching a ball.