Each season of motherhood brings its own set of challenges and blessings. Then when you add multiple kids in the mix things are often amplified. When our kids are babies, they go where we take them and they do only what we let them do. However, as they get older and get their own interests, they still go where we take them. Yet now they have more to say about where they go and what they do.
From school to extracurricular activities, our kids’ often all over the place, and schedules are filled. Thus filling our schedules as well. Then when you add friends in the mix, our kids’ time and our time is stretched thin. We see our kids daily, but often the only time we spend with our kids is getting them from one activity to the next. This lack of time can cause us to become disconnected from our kids.
This disconnect is something that I have experienced from time to time. With three daughters that have vastly different interests and personalities, I often feel like I am on a never-ending cycle of ‘ok what’s next?!’ There are days when I spend hours in the car shuttling my girls from one activity to the next.
As moms and we move from one activity to the next, we have to make sure we are being mindful and intentional about the time we do spend. Connecting with your kids doesn’t have to take a lot of time or stop them from doing the activities they love. It just means you have to be intentional. So to help you do just that, here are five ways you can reconnect with your kids today.
1) Reconnect With Your Kids By Making Family Meal Time A Priority
No matter how busy you are, everyone needs to eat. So why not take this time as an opportunity to reconnect with your kids. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of life, taking the time to share a meal with your family is so important.
It allows both you and your kids to take a pause and devote a little time just to sit together. It also shows your kids that spending time with them in the midst of all the busyness of life is important to you.
And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works
of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and
seriousness of your teaching.
Titius 2:7 (NLT)
Being a good example for our kids is so important. So taking the time to put the phone down, close the laptop, and sit together to share a meal can be one of the best examples of love we can show our kids.
With everyone’s schedules, you may not be able to eat dinner with your entire family every night. Yet, you can find at least one or more days a week that you can sit down together to share a meal. It does not just have to be dinner either. Depending on your schedules, you can even do breakfast or lunch.
My husband travels a lot for work, so sitting down for dinner as a family every night is not always possible. And even when it is just my girls and I, we do not always have an opportunity to eat together. So for us, we try to do a big breakfast one day a week so we can reconnect. What you eat and when you eat doesn’t matter, it’s the time you spend together that counts.
2) Connect With Your Kids With The Game Play ‘High-Low-High’
High-low-high is a game that my girls and I love. You simple go either back and forth or go around the table telling each other your highs and lows of the day. You start with a high or something you enjoyed that day. Then you share a low or something you did not like that day. And finally, you share another high.
It is a great way for you to learn things about what happened in your child’s day and to share yours. While also providing you the opportunity to ask your kids questions and learn new things about them. We often play this at dinner time, but it can be played at any time during the day. This game is more about reconnecting with your kids than anything.
3) Reconnect With Your Kids By Doing A Family Devotional Together
Sharing your faith as a family is a great way to reconnect and spend time together. Taking time for yourself to spend quiet time with God is important, but so is sharing some time with your kids to show them how important it is for them to do so as well.
Train up a child in the way he should go,
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)
Taking the time to do a family devotional helps to point your kids to God while also spending quality time with them reconnecting.
There are so many types of family devotionals out there that. So finding the right one for your family just takes a little time. We have done daily family devotionals and once-a-week family devotionals. There have also been times when we have switched back and forth between the two.
I have found that when we are going through different things as a family or one of my daughters is struggling with something, devotionals have been such a blessing. They have helped us to come together as a family and grow in our faith together. Taking the focus off of us or our problems and putting our focus on God. Reconnecting with God and with each other.
4) Connect With Your Kids By Having Family Fun Night
Having fun with your kids is a great way to reconnect. Life is busy and stressful enough, so it is so important that we are scheduling time to not just get things done, but to have fun. Family fun nights are a great way not just to reconnect, but to also unplug.
Taking time to take a pause from all the busyness is so important for you and your kids. Whether you take out some board games, plug in your favorite gaming system, or pop in a good movie. Whatever fun you chose to have, just make sure you make a habit of doing it at least once a week. And if you need any ideas, check out a few of my favorites here. All of these are fun ways to reconnect with your kids you can do today.
5) Reconnect With Your Kids By Scheduling Dates With Your Kids
Family time is great, but your kids need one-on-one time with you as well. Especially as your kids get older. It can often feel like you have less and less time with them and they share less and less with you. So in order to make sure you are connecting with and spending the time with your kids, start scheduling dates with your kids. Date nights are not just important for your marriage, they are important for your kids too.
Your kids will share and connect with you in a special way when it is just the two of you. You will be amazed by how reconnected you feel with your kids after a simple trip to Target and your favorite ice cream shop. Or any of the places and things you and your kids like doing and visiting.
With multiple kids scheduling these dates is not always easy, but it can be done. So to help you out, check out this family date chart my family uses. This will help you start scheduling your memory-making dates today.
As much as I wish this was not true, before we know it our kids will be grown and out into the world. Therefore it is so important that we take the time now to be mindful and intentional about the time we spend with our kids. Taking time to not just be present, but connected. And with these five tips, you can reconnect with your kids today and have fun while you do it.
I’d love to know which one of these simple ways to connect with your kids
you are going to try in the comments!
These are great ideas. I definitely need to start date nights with the kids. I also like the high low high conversations at the dinner table.
You and your kids will love the dates and high-low-high, Brittany.
I love this list. I need to do more individual dates with my kids. My oldest definitely needs time alone with me. Devotional time happens once in a blue moon. I need to make that more of a regular occurrence in our home.
It is definitely not always easy being the oldest, Ashley, so I have to remember that alone time is even more special for them.
We try to eat dinner together almost every night (of course that doesn’t always happen) but lately since we can’t go anywhere it’s been a lot easier. My kids know they can’t watch tv or have their devices at the table. I need to start scheduling more dates with each of my kids. When we have done that, it’s been so much fun!
We have the no technology at the table rule too, Patrice.
Great ideas for connecting with our kids that aren’t in front of a screen. I’ve enjoyed doing craft and cooking with my son.