You are with your child every single day of the week, but much of it is about helping your child prepare for school and driving them to and from school. Sure, you find time to read them stories in bed, but your child needs to spend more meaningful time with you, and vice versa. Remember, your time with your child is limited, and it won’t be long before they leave the nest to go to college or become independent.
The best thing you can do now is to spend quality time with your child on weekends. It is, after all, the only time of the week when the both of you aren’t that busy. By quality, we mean more than just taking the child to the mall for fast food and a movie. Here’s how to spend an amazing weekend with your child.
Take your child someplace more grownup
These days, the local mall is the default location for taking your kids out for a good time. There’s nothing wrong with this per se, as the mall does have everything, from their favourite fast food places to mascots. However, it wouldn’t hurt to take the child someplace more grownup every now and then. A museum, perhaps, especially if your child shows some preference for old stuff.
For lunch or dinner, take your kid to a real restaurant. Aside from the good food, dining at a real restaurant also gives you the opportunity to teach life lessons to your child, like reminding him/her how you always tell her to not burp loudly at the dinner table or why you spend time teaching him/her about table manners. Taking your child to a restaurant is also your way of expressing that you believe in his or her ability to behave properly in public.
Give your kid a certain degree of freedom and power
Whatever you’re doing on the weekend with your child, make sure that you give him/her some freedom and responsibility. The need to hover over them all the time to keep them safe is understandably tempting, but you need to let go. However, letting go doesn’t mean completely letting go; Whatever freedom and power you allow your child, there should still be clear boundaries that they have to follow. As long as you show your child that you trust their decision-making skills, your child will feel that sense of responsibility and remember everything that you have taught them without being reminded.
Do some DIY with your child
Weekends with your child shouldn’t be all about going out somewhere to have fun. You can have fun right there in the comfort of your own home, and it doesn’t have to be all play. You can do a little work together, like painting the fence, changing a tire, baking a cake or any chores that you can do together. Working together with your kid is a great opportunity to teach him/her how to do household stuff and as well as about life in general.
Play your kid’s games
Kids today are all about video games, so take time to play with them on a weekend. Since kids these days are basically video game virtuosos, expect to have your behind handed to you most of the time, and this is a good thing. That’s because beating you repeatedly at something will give your child a glimpse of how human you are, and they will feel more connected with you, especially when you make them laugh at how lousy or clumsy you are as you play their video games.
Do it all with love at all times
Whatever you decide to do with your child on a weekend, always start and end with love. Whether you’re teaching your child which spoon to use at a restaurant or mischievously covering his/her eyes while playing video games in the hopes of ending your losing streak, make sure everything is done with all the love, kindness and attention you can muster.
Can you think of other ways to spend an amazing weekend with your child? Hit the comments for your suggestions!
