Today many parents struggle with fitting everything into their day. Parenting can sometimes feel like yet another burden! The problem is, this attitude is then felt by the smaller people in our families, and they can feel sad, or get aggressive and attention seeking.
What our smaller people need more than anything else is our time. If you can wrangle it, one on one time is best. Otherwise time just spent with them as a family group can be precious.
Below are some ideas for free activities to do with your children. Making time for this can build your family relationships and improve your well-being as a whole.
What you can do
One strategy is to try and make “special times” during the day, in bite sized pieces, so you can still do your chores and work around it. Give these special times names, and a place in the day, so that the children can anticipate them. After breakfast is cleared away, a special time! After the beds are made, a special time! Another after lunch! Before the evening meal is started! They don’t have to be long, fifteen minutes is enough. Stick to the routine, and it can give kids something to look forward to. And they will definitely look forward to it if they know they are going to get your undivided attention!
Have some ideas of what to do in this special time, and ask for suggestions. Be prepared to be surprised at what you might hear! One small person wanted to change his doona cover —
“I don’t like flowers. It’s too girly!” — in his special time.
Activities around the home
Reading is a basic one, possibly a book with chapters. You can then read one chapter a day. A certain age group love the familiarity of the same book over and over again. Listening to them read is another idea.
Dress ups, (collecting odd and colourful garments at garage sales or op shops) is enjoyed. Colouring in together, and don’t worry about the edges too much! Play board games, old favourites still going. Cooking together to make simple biscuits or scones. Telling your children stories about when they were younger, and look at some photos. Singing or dancing together, just put on some music you all enjoy.
Outside, plant herbs or marigolds in an old sink or few pots, water each day and watch them grow. Try a worm farm, they eat kitchen leftovers and make the green things grow better.
One special time could be story-writing time. They could make their own treasure island with pirates, writing and illustrating themselves, or the smaller ones can dictate. Shape it like a book, with title page and contents, that they add as they go.
Activities in the community
Visit community services nearby you and find out what they do. Try the library, the fire station, the police station, or the PCYC. Tell your smaller people what they do and how.
Look up the website of your local council and see if they advertise free local events, such as family days, markets, and festivals; as many do. For example if you live in Brisbane, take a look at What’s on. Local community centres often have family events.
If you live in a metropolitan area, look up what museums and galleries are around, as many will have free (and very interesting, even to little people!) exhibitions.
Spend a day in your local park, botanical garden, barbecue area or beach. Find somewhere you can feed the ducks. Ride your bikes together along some local, safe bikeways.
Why it’s important
These “special times” can be a way of connecting with the smaller people in your world. This is particularly important when bigger people are worried about jobs, finances or other life stressors. Children can sense when things are not quite right, even if you try very carefully to hide it.
Scheduling some specific time to reconnect can reassure them, and give them some security about what is happening. It will help with bonding the family together by allowing you all to focus on small unimportant things which are around the home. Things like finding all the different leaf shapes in the garden, or making instruments out of egg boxes, tins and jars. It’s about living in the moment and finding peace there.
Common barriers
You might find yourself having thoughts like, “this is just another chore to add to the list,” “I simply don’t have the time or energy,” “I can’t think of things to do,” or “it’s just going to cost more money.”
Try think sideways. Use what is around you, in the home or garden, town or park. The most important thing you can give your small people, as I said it before, is your time. It doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive at all.
So make the special times, book them in. Don’t answer the phone. Concentrate fully on the little people for that period. You will be rewarded by firmer relationships, and with kids that don’t nag, because they know they will have time with you. You’ll find you have a happier family all round. Go for it!
More information
Also take a look at:
