5 Easy Ways to Connect With Your Kids During Quarantine
Do you ever feel that even though you are with your children All. The. Time. these days that sometimes you don’t feel like you are connecting? Like you are all just wandering around in your own little worlds?
Connecting with kids is such an important thing. And I don’t mean like a friend—I mean like a parent. A loving, nurturing, disciplining, compassionate, interested parent. Children need to feel heard and loved. Did you catch that? They don’t only need to be heard and loved. But to feel heard and loved. Each of these ideas provides an opportunity to do just this.
As you continue to build that intentional relationship, here are some ideas for connecting with your kids during quarantine…. Or whatever stage of staying at home you are in at the moment…
1. Spend One-on-One Time: This one used to feel heavy and difficult for me. With so many kids 😉 and limited time, I used to stress about how this was even possible. Once I realized my all-or-nothing mentality, I decided that one-on-one time doesn’t *always* need to be a child-selected activity. What if I snag a kid to join me when I go pick up the curbside grocery order? Or come help me clean out the pantry? This hits two birds with one stone—allows me to check a task off of my to-do list AND allows for time together. This desire for connection suddenly felt much lighter with this realization.
2. Give Car Seat Kisses: I have two girls still in car seats. I have intentionally created the habit that each time I buckle them into their car seat or unbuckle them, I kiss their forehead and say “I love you”. This is a small act that I hope will be foundational in my kids’ self-concept. That they were knitted together by a loving Creator and that this love continues on through their parents.
3. Engage In Their Interests: This one can be hard, y’all. So hard. Sometimes I have so many other things on my mind that I really, really have to intentionally put those things aside, and LISTEN. Even if I am bored to tears, I listen. Being able to put other thoughts aside and allow them to teach me about their world and their perspective is an ongoing intention of mine. Brooke loves to craft and create, so we paint, make bookmarks, and wander through art supply stores together. William loves Minecraft, so I let him teach me about it, show me videos, and “worlds” he has created. Hannah loves to bake, so I invite her to make pancakes and muffins with me, when they are on the menu. And sweet Charlotte loves outside, so as often as possible, outside we go.
4. Implement A Nightly Family Ritual. We do a “nighttime question”. All of us pile on the master bed, get cozy and someone chooses a question that we all answer. It isn’t always a deep, emotional question—typically dependent on how tired us parents are… 😉 And this definitely looks different for each family. What do you do or want for your family? There are tons of ideas, depending on the feeling that you want to create. I love for my children to go to sleep reminded that they are deeply loved, and a significant part of our family. Other ideas? Storytime. Light a candle during your read-aloud book. Have family prayer time, each person having the opportunity to offer prayer requests or gratitude. Read Scripture together—even allowing the budding readers in your family have a go at it. For littler kids, put on music that you love and dance around for a few minutes. Have a tickle fight. The goal here isn’t perfection—offer yourself a lot of grace for the times it doesn’t go the way you desire or it doesn’t happen at all! The idea is that you have this opportunity to love on your kids right as they go to sleep, helping them feel safe and seen.
5. Plan a Family Trip. This is one of my favorite things to do with my kids. We love to sit around, dreaming up trips we can take. The concept of looking forward to something in the future that we will enjoy together provides a sense of joy and truly transforms our desire to spend time together. During these discussions it is really important to me that I get input from every child. In most families there are dominant children, but this is a perfect opportunity for each child to voice their opinions and feelings. And I don’t know about you, but during this COVID-19 quarantine time, my family sure is ready to create some adventure! Since things aren’t opened up quite enough to get out there and do it… we sit around and plan and dream together!
What would you add to this list? How have you been connecting with your kids during quarantine?