Fostering Relationships in Our House

In our house putting our relationships first looks like:

Making sure that I spend 1:1 time with each of my children, if they want it. This week I have researched how to detangle doll hair and create a Barbie salon with my five year old. We conditioned and combed out the hair of eight Barbies before they returned to Barbie World Life. I have sat in the garden and painted watercolours with my eight year old and read ‘Poo Bum’ with her every day. I have set up my own minecraft account so that I can play online with my twelve year old and he has added me to his realm.

Asking others in the house if they need anything when I am making myself a drink or a food.

Listening to stories that my eldest tells of things that he has seen on the internet and looking at every cute kitten picture or video that he wants to share with me with my undivided attention.

Spending a few minutes late in the evening looking at new Roblox games or structures built in Minecraft that my eleven year old has found or created.

Apologising when I mess up.

Making going to bed relaxing and enjoyable even when we are all tired at the end of the day. If I’m honest daddy is better at this than me but the difference between ending the day with tears and going to bed feeling loved is important.

Leaving what I am doing and going to the bathroom with my youngest every time she asks me to.

Finding something we all enjoy doing and creating time in our day or week to come together. We enjoy going on walks together, going to the woods to play or catching Pokemon using the PokemonGo app. We enjoy eating take-away’s together and having a film night. We also enjoy board games and card games. This last week we have learnt a new card game called ‘Garbage’ and have played it every night together for a week.

These are just a few examples of how we foster relationships and connect with each other in our family. The key is choosing to do things that make your children smile.

What can you do to make your child smile?