6 Ways to Spend Quality Time with Your Child

Spending time with your children is something you, as a parent, like doing more than anything else. And it’s the same for your little ones. Every minute they spend with you is precious to them, and even the most mundane thing you do together might seem like an adventure to them. So here are some great ideas for spending quality time with your kid.

Cook together

All children love spending time in the kitchen with their parents, especially if you let them help you. This doesn’t mean you should give them a knife to chop onions, but they can get you stuff from the fridge and help you stir. However, what they’re really crazy about is kneading. When you bake cookies, let them have some dough that they can shape whichever way they want. And if your children are small, you can always get them some plastic dishes, so that they can mimic everything you do.

Read to them

Reading stories to your children can be a wonderful activity, especially if the weather’s bad and you’re looking for an alternative to playing outside. Make sure everybody’s comfortable and snug, maybe make a cup of hot cocoa or tea and pick a nice story or a comic book for a rainy day. The sound of your voice will be soothing to your child, and they’ll probably add some comments of their own to the story you’re reading. Encourage their imagination by asking what they think will happen next in the story, and when it’s finished, use questions to guide them towards the moral of the story.

Play sports

Whenever possible, get yourself and your child outside and play sports. Install a basketball hoop in your garden and play with them, make goals out of stones and play football, or simply play catch. Even throwing and catching a Frisbee is a good idea, as long as you’re active together. If you live in a flat and don’t have a garden, go to the nearest park or a playground. The place doesn’t matter as long as you’re playing together. This way you’ll make your kid really happy and create great memories for them.

Work out

If you have a workout regimen, try including your child in them. Maybe there are some exercises they can do, too. And if not, there are other awesome ways you can be physically active together. For example, you can go roller-skating or cycling. And if your kid is small for that, you can always get a front-mounted child’s bike seat, so that they can ride with you and see everything you do, while you have your eye on them. However, just to be on the safe side, get some protective equipment for you, and especially for your little one.

Theme nights

This is a great idea for spending quality time, since you can include your whole family. Make these family nights a weekly thing. Choose a day, preferably during the weekend, and have a different theme every time. For example, have a movie night. Make popcorn and pick a film you’ll all enjoy (you can’t go wrong with an animated feature). Another option is game night. There are some interesting and even creative board games you can play, and if you can’t think of any, simply play Uno cards. Turn your living room into a campsite, or if the weather is nice, take it outside. Build a campfire in your garden, roast marshmallows and tell stories to make it feel like real camp.

Make them laugh

Pretending your hand is glued to the cupboard door or that you’re tripping over make-believe obstacles in your own living room can make your kid laugh until their belly hurts. You can impersonate a funny character from their favorite cartoon or TV show, and not to mention the giggles they’ll have if you claim you can’t find something that’s standing right in front of you or pretend you’re clumsy and keep dropping the same object over and over again. They will link the pleasant feeling they get this way to you and they’ll always remember how you made them laugh.

The more time you spend with your child, the more you’ll bond and the more they’ll know that they can count on you to be there when they need you. There are so many ways you can spend time with your kid, some of which we’ve described above, but if you lack imagination and need more ideas, turn to the one person whose imagination can’t go dry – your little one. And, above all, don’t forget to listen to them. What they’re saying might sound silly and insignificant to you, but it’s important and serious to them.