When you watch TV adverts for baby products or hear many parents speak gushingly of their family life, it’s easy to assume that a life with children is pure bliss. Days filled with laughter, exciting family activities and pride in the various milestones each child reaches as they grow. That is true…but also not the whole picture. Any parent will tell you that while parenting is one of life’s most rewarding experiences, it is also among the most challenging. Here at Baby Blooms, we’re not in the business of making you feel worse about life than necessary, and in fact we wanted to share a few tips from experienced parents about how to enjoy time with your children, no matter what happens or how you feel.
1. Play their games. Throughout childhood, children constantly have to learn from their parents and while that is essential for your child, when you play their games you actually learn with and from them. Especially when your child gets a bit older, they’re likely to play with toys or games that you have never experienced before which means you will have to learn. Having your child teach you is fun for both of you and will keep your activity time fresh. Avoid allowing a ‘generation-gap’ to widen between you and your child, get stuck in!
2. Eat nice things. We all want our kids to have perfect health so we naturally make a real effort to get them to eat healthily, even if achieving the 5-a-day is a daily battle. While that is important, we all need to enjoy ourselves too, and have something to look forward to. Some parents like to schedule themed meals to look forward to, especially on the weekend. Having a ‘Pizza Night’, ‘Chinese Night’, ‘Indian Night’ or even something simple and delicious like an ice cream sundae or popcorn with a great movie, will bring you closer together.
3. Work with your child to discover both your talents. We all have many things that we are naturally talented at, but sadly many of our talents we haven’t yet discovered. While your child is growing up, doing fun activities together may well show you what your true talents are, maybe it’s that you are a natural with arts and crafts, or a far better cook than you ever imagined. In the process, you can see what your child is naturally good at and nurture these skills. Finding your talents will bring greater joy to your family relationships and benefit your child enormously.
4. Treasure these moments. Parenting does have its challenges but remember that each day with your child is a precious memory that you need to treasure. Before you know it, your little one will be grown up and you will be remembering the happy times you had earlier in their life. So instead of allowing the daily stress of parenting to rob you of enjoyment, try to just pause for a few moments each day, and allow the simple joys of parenting to sink in. Laugh with your child, learn with your child and don’t forget to take photos to remember these special moments.
