Are you spending time with your children?

Are you spending time with your children?

I felt I should blog on this topic after spending time watching my two week old daughter this evening. She is so beautiful, very gentle, always throwing her little hands in the air calling our attention to the fact that she is hungry. Children are a wonderful treasure and they should bring joy to our hearts all the time. We may find ourselves extremely busy, running different jobs to pay the rents, mortgages, debts etc. it shouldn’t stop us from spending some quality time with our children.

OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR HERITAGE. No matter how tight our schedules are, LETS SACRIFICE SOME TIME TO BE THERE FOR OUR CHILDREN. Let’s show them that we care, let’s raise them up properly, it’s not one person’s job to do so and if you are a single parent I salute you.

I will be dedicating a post to hardworking single mums/dads because it’s not easy being one and they need all the encouragement the can get.

I believe it’s possible to create time for your children, no matter what you do. It’s about making a sacrifice and assigning a high level of priority to them. Young boys need their fathers, girls need their mothers, children need parents, they need suitable role models. If you don’t raise your children up properly, they most likely will be raised up by the streets, thugs, internet, friends and grow possibly picking up habits/behaviours which aren’t in line with your family values.

Spending quality time with your children focuses on:

1. Showing them love, care and concern.
2. Making them feel accepted.
3. Imparting discipline and family values.
4. Building their self esteem.
5. Giving them the assurance that you are there as a parent to guide, help, monitor, provide for them.

Below are a few but simple tips to spending time with your children:

1. Have breakfast/lunch/dinner together.
2. Do household chores together e.g. laundry, dishes, go shopping for groceries etc
3. Tuck the little ones to bed at night.
4. Plan family events and holidays together.
5. For those who have come of age, get to know who they are dating and offer advice were necessary.
6. Go fishing.
7. Help with their homework. It’s a shame if parents don’t feel concerned about their child’s homework.
8. Talk about how the day was for them.
9. If they like video games, play against them.
10. Participate in sports with them e.g. football, basket ball, rugby and occasionally watch the games with them.
11. Take long walks with them.
12. For those who have an interest in cooking/baking, practice with them.
13. For those who have a flair for fashion & beauty, be their models.
14. For those who have a passion for singing, acting or have any specific talents encourage them.

Spending time with your children is giving them hope for a brighter tomorrow, it opens a door for positive relationship.

Are you spending time with your children?

Ayo Olaniyan is a certified Unitive Life Coach. He is also an Accredited Professional Counsellor with the Counselling Society. If you would like to enquire about personal and professional one-to-one coaching sessions, or to invite me for a speaking engagement, please complete this form.

Tagged as: care and concern, encouragement, family values, little ones, quality time, role models, single parent, spending time with your children, young boys