10 Fun Ways to Bond with Your Child Every Day
Fun Ways to Bond with Your Child
Childhood should be filled with special memories. The kind of memories we talk about as adults saying, do you remember when we ….? The kind of memories that will bring a smile to your face 20 years later. The special memories we have with our children today builds a bond that grows over time.
We all have “everyday” activities we must complete like work, house cleaning, preparing meals, helping with homework. Every day cannot be a “fun” day at the Disney World. But we can make every day activities fun and grow the bond we have with our children.
You are probably thinking how will I make every day boring activities, fun activities that will build a bond with your child. Let me show you…
10 Every Day Activities Transformed into Fun Bonding Moments
1. Sing Together in the Car
When you sing in the car, you sing loud and with lots of animation and feeling. Take turns. Let everyone sing their favorite part of the song. Of course, only do this when you are stopped at 2 minute stop lights, not when you are driving in traffic.
Singing songs together is a great way to build fun memories.
2. Playing a Game Together
Pull out the Monopoly board and get competitive. Who will buy Boardwalk and Park Place first? Playing Scrabble? Who will come up with the most ridiculous “real” word and get the most points?
You can also have a tournament week. Whoever wins the most games during the tournament week is the winner for the week.
3. Visit Your Child at School For Lunch
Surprise your child and show up for lunch one day. They will be so excited and it will be a special memory of the day mommy visited for lunch. Take their favorite lunch, probably a McDonald’s Happy Meal right?
4. Watch Your Favorite Movie Together
Going to see a movie at the movie theater has become a special treat for us since movies are so expensive it costs our family of 5 about $60-$75 to go to one movie if you include tickets, popcorn and a drink.
But, we have lots of family movies nights. We turn out the lights and watch one our favorite movies on the family TV. Sometimes (if I didn’t just vacuum) I will let the kids have popcorn too!
After the movie, talk about your favorite characters and what you liked and didn’t like.
5. Cooking and Baking Together
My daughters love to help in the kitchen. They like to help make dinner and dessert (especially anything with chocolate). Letting your children help with dinner preparation is a great way to teach a life skill (cooking) and you can share special time together.
6. Taking Silly Selfies
Who doesn’t like to take silly selfies? It’s so much fun! Make some silly poses and funny faces and snap away. Even a serious person like me has fun taking selfies.
7. Family Devotions
It’s important to sit down every day and have family devotions. It’s a time when everyone in the family can learn a spiritual truth from God’s Word. Taking a few minutes for family devotions will help instill in your child the importance of studying God’s Word every day.
8. Doing Homework
No one likes doing homework especially not me. I spend so much time helping my son complete his 5th grade homework I am confident I could easily pass the 5th grade again (tests and all).
Make homework fun. If your child has trouble with spelling, play Words with Friends to practice spelling skills (but don’t let them spell 3 letter words every time). If your child has math difficulty or can’t remember his math facts, play a game that requires adding or multiplying.
One of my favorite parts of homework is discussing the ideas from the textbook and adding more context and helping my children understand the “why” not just the “what”.
9. Arts and Crafts Projects
No one will ever say my art or craft projects are great, but children love to do art and craft projects with their mom. Try simple projects for gifts on Mother’s Day or a birthday.
We have also built 2 volcanos and grown crystallized rocks. What projects have you done?
10. Family Favorite Treat Night
When I was growing up, we frequently (almost always) got a “treat” after church on Sunday night. Sometimes we would go as just our family and sometimes we would go with friends. I remember these special nights and the special treats (it was usually ice cream).
Once a month or every so often plan a family treat night with your children. It’s not lunch or dinner, it’s just a treat to have fun. You could have a “favorite” place to go or try new places.
Our children grow up quickly and we only have limited time to make special memories with them. Even every day activities can be fun. Remember to add some silly selfies, let your children help make dinner, always sing really loud in the car. Laugh every day and fun. You will build great memories along the way.
If you would like more ideas to build a deeper bond with your child, be sure to read my guest post at My Love For Words that shares more ideas for bonding with your children.
Your turn…
What every day activity do you turn into a fun bonding experience? How do you make special memories with your children every day?
I love these! I always try to do something with my daughter daily–like taking silly selfies or even reading a book. It’s a good way to bond with her and cherish these fleeting “small” years we have as parents. Thanks so much for such a thoughtful post to share with us on #SHINEbloghop! It’s so lovely of you to join us 🙂
Hi Maria, making special memories and bonding with our children is often about the little things we can do every day.