8 Ideas for one-to-one time with your kiddos

I love having a big family, I was talking to a friend the other day about how different life is with five kiddos to when I just had one. I never expected/planned to have a large family – but I can’t imagine having a tiny brood now! It’s funny how even having one less child in teh house makes it seem so much quieter – and on a Wednesday when it’s only Baya and I home for a few hours it is so odd – we miss the noise and chaos!

Life with a big family is hectic. With two at college, seemingly endless groups and activities to fit in, homeschooling, my work, time when some of them are with their Dad, our weeks are a never-ending whirlwind with never a quiet moment.

One thing that I make sure always happens is some one-on-one time with each of them. This can vary week to week, some weeks we have more time, some weeks hardly any. It might look like a movie night, or a trip to the shops, a chat on their bed at the end of the day or a quite time curled up reading a book together. However it looks, making sure they all get some time alone with me is vital.

Whether you have a tribe or just a couple of kiddos, giving them some special, private time with a parent is a great way to strengthen your bond and connect. It’s important to me that they all know how important they are. That they matter, and that I am never to busy to spend time with just them.

You an tailor your time to suit your child, find something that they love that you can connect with. Here are eight ideas for one-on-one time with you kiddos

READ – reading together is a great way to connect. Whether it’s looking at picture books with your toddler, to a chapter book with older kiddos. My six year and I are currently reading the Series of Unfortunate Events books. He loves having me read to him, we usually curl up in the cuddle chair in the playroom when Oren is having a nap and read a couple of chapters every day.

PLAY – Spend some time playing the games they love the most {even if they’re not your idea of fun}. Beastie loves to play draughts or Mancala with me.

MOVIE NIGHT – with my tween/teenagers a weekly movie night is their favourite thing. We often pick a TV series we can watch together and watch a couple of episodes each week. It’s lovely to have a shared show to watch and talk about, and we find ourselves chatting about all sorts whilst watching.

COOK/BAKE – mine all love to get in the kitchen and create something. We can chat, they can learn new skills and I get a kitchen helper. Win/win!

DATE NIGHT/DAY – take them on a ‘date’ – to a coffee shop, the cinema, a picnic, a bike ride, whatever they fancy doing. They love getting to do something ‘speical’ without anyone else involved.

ART/CRAFTS – my kids love it when we sit and create together. Sometimes we’ll work on our own projects or sometimes we’ll find something we can do together. It’s a fun way to pass on skills you may have such as knitting, crochet, jewellery making…

RUN ERRANDS TOGETHER – sometimes, on a really busy week when there just isn’t time to do anything, I’ll take just one kiddo with me while I run errands. It might not be exciting but they love the undivided attention and a chance to chat whilst no-one else is listening.

JUST LISTEN – what your kiddos wnat more than anything, is your attention. Sometimes it’s as simple as letting them talk and just listening to what they are saying. Beastie loes to talk to me about Minecraft and Pokemon. I havne’t a clue or interest in either BUT I’ll make time and listen to him, ask him questions, and show that I care about what he is interested in.