My 5 Tops to creating intentional connections | Enriched Children

It seems that the older I get, the faster the years go by.  When I was in Kindergarten I remember thinking
that weekends were actually summer holiday! Yup- that’s how slow and long they felt.  Now, the weekend
seems to pass by as quick as a gust of wind.

Along with these days that practically disappear on us comes with little time to sit with our children and
connect with them.

The good news?  Connecting with your children doesn’t always mean an hour of research on Pinterest or
preparing an elaborate craft. It can be as natural as breathing!

Here are my 5 tops that are part of my every day in creating intentional and beautiful connections with
my three children!

1. More is Less

September seems practically distant now, but does anyone else recall (what seems like) all of your
friends posting photo’s of their kids after their first ballet lesson, swimming lesson or skating
lesson?  Hello mom guilt! I had only put my 4-year-old in pre-school two days a week and as
for my toddler and newborn...um...I just stay home with them!

Having lived abroad where there are no swimming lessons or hockey teams to play on, I witness the
beauty in having “nothing to do.”  The beauty of a mother and child simply enjoying one another at
home or out for a walk. Beautiful deep connections that can’t necessarily be created when you are
racing your child from school to piano lessons to karate and then straight home to bed.

Our children have their entire lives to be busy and have jam-packed days.  From age 5 they are in
full days of school accompanied by extracurricular activities- and life just gets busier from there.
Right? 

Let your children have the few years they have now to have the freedom to spend lazy days with you
in pajamas, to cuddle on the bed all morning, read books with you, imagine and spend good ol’
“nothing special” unplanned and unscheduled time with you!

2. Show them that you Trust them

This one might be easier said than done.  Trusting another person isn’t always easy, especially when
that person is your child!  As parents, it’s natural for us to nurture and protect. Any Mama bears out
there?

But showing our children that we trust them and believe they are competent individuals creates a
different kind of relationship between us and them!  Of course, this is all within reason. I’m not
suggesting you let your 2-year-old cook alone on the stove!

What I am suggesting is after thoughtful teaching and guidance, to step back sometimes and show

your child that you believe in how capable and competent they are- and they really are!

3. Ditch the Phone

No brainer right?  But how easy is it to lose time over thoughtless scrolling through Facebook feeds,
the next Pinterest idea for your home makeover, or filling your Amazon cart with stuff you’re “going to
buy”? 

Now, don’t get me wrong- as parents, we are on all day long and do need those times to zone out
and rest but be careful. It’s easy to get caught up in our electronics and miss precious moments with
our kids that we can’t get back.

Recently, my 4-year-old was asking his Dad to play with him.  He added, “you can bring your laptop
along.” In all fairness, my husband is a full-time student right now and has papers up to his ears, but
due to this, he is on the laptop a lot. Our children notice when we are glued to our electronics and
not them.

4. Do what THEY want

How often have you caught yourself preparing an activity for you and your children to do together
but after all the thoughtful prep and time it still
fails! Sometimes we engage our children in games or
activities that we think they ought to do but really have no interest in whatsoever.  

Personally, I love crafts.  My 2 and 4-year-old boys couldn’t be more opposite.  The thought of
beading or scrapbooking doesn’t come close to the fun smashing their monster trucks would. 

It’s also easy to find ourselves comparing (I know this is rarely intentional but easily sneaks in).

Perhaps some age mates of your child already know every planet or can write their ABC’s, whereas
your son or daughter is nowhere close to doing either of those!  You might find yourself indirectly
gearing activities with hidden motives.

Can I suggest you follow your children’s lead?  What are they interested in? Develop activities from
there! Or make your parenting days even easier and just be with them playing whatever it is they are
into at the moment!!

5. Touch

Perhaps one of the best things we can do as parents (in my opinion) is to “touch.”  Take time to cuddle
and snuggle your children. Tell them you love them with kisses and hugs.  Enjoy storytime as your
kids sit on your lap or fall into your arms. Wrestle, play- whatever might work best for your family, take
that intentional time to be in contact with one another and show your children how much you treasure
them!