Spending time with your child is a way to bond, and you don’t have to break the budget to have fun.
Leading child and adolescent development specialist Dr. Robyn Silverman believes that spending time with your child is important for their development, including allowing your child the opportunity to learn, be heard, and connect with their parents. It is imperative to put aside uninterrupted time. You should not feel rushed or stressed when spending time with your child. In this way, you both can enjoy the time together, and your child feels they are an essential part of your life.
There are many ways for a parent to spend time with their child that don’t involve spending a lot of money. Here are some fun ways to bond with your child:
- Play board games. Children love to play games, and spending an hour or two once a week playing board games is a great way to bond with your child. Games can also be a good way for children to learn skills like counting, managing money, or learning strategies.
. - Cook or bake. Children love learning new skills and helping mom or dad in the kitchen. Plan a simple recipe or bake a batch of cookies together; this is an opportunity to do an activity together and spend time talking to each other.
. - Go to the local zoo or aquarium. Some local zoos or aquariums offer one free admission day per month to people who live in the area; this is a wonderful way to spend a few hours with your child to learn about animals and nature together.
. - Visit a museum. Some museums also offer free admission to residents one day a month. Museums are educational and fun to share with your child.
. - Get active. Spend an hour or two with your child bike riding, walking, or going to the local community pool and swimming. Kids love being active and enjoy it when parents join in.
. - Go bowling. Every kid loves going bowling, and it usually is an inexpensive way to spend an hour with your child. It doesn’t matter how well you bowl; your child will enjoy seeing how many pins they can knock down.
. - Create something together. Do you have a skill such as painting, woodwork, or scrapbooking? Children love being involved in creating something, especially if it is a hobby their parent enjoys. Spend some time working on a project together and watch your child learn a new skill.
. - Volunteer as a family. Do you volunteer for your local church, food shelf, or homeless shelter? Let your child come along to help when you volunteer; this not only teaches children to become active in the community, it also allows them to share in an activity that is important to you.
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Spending time with your child helps create a bond that will stay strong throughout their childhood and beyond. Plan to take some time each week to enjoy an activity with them.
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