Children don’t need more things. The best toys a child can have is a parent who gets down on the floor and plays with them.
- Bruce Perry (American Psychiatrist)
Some quick suggestions for you to have quality time with your child.
Daily Chores:
- Involving children in the day to day activities make them feel responsible and they love the time that they spend with you.
- Start or end your day with you brushing and helping your child brush his/her teeth. Talk to your child about the ABCs of brushing teeth. The result will be shiny teeth and lots of laughs!
- Stay fit. Working out together is definitely the best way to spend quality time together. Set aside 5 to 10 minutes every day as exercise or stretching time.
- Eating together is another wonderful routine; while you role-model the eating etiquette.
- Importance of choosing healthy meals
- Chewing food before swallowing
- Finish chewing before you talk
Your children are sure to love the undivided attention they get during these special mealtimes.
- Even before mealtime, setting up the table for the meal can be a fun bonding activity to do with your child. It’s a simple way to show your child the joys of working together as a family.
- Sorting the laundry into dark and light colours, passing the clothes pin while drying the clothes on the line, placing the folded clothes back in the cubby space can be fun.
Role Play:
During their growing years, role playing plays an important part of your child’s life. It helps children to make sense of the real-life environment around them by pretending to be a doctor or grocery shopping or driving. Role plays also helps build a child’s confidence and empathy. Spend a few minutes of your day with your child pretending to be someone, i.e. if the child wants to be a doctor, then you are the patient.
Even pretending to be your child and allowing her/him to be dad can help share lot of emotions and feelings that may not be conveyed during a conversation.
Try it out!
Reading:
Reading is a very simple and an enriching activity for both you and your child. It helps you bond with your child and calms them down. Reading also builds your child’s imagination, improves their communication and listening skills. It also promotes improved concentration which is an essential skill to have.
Pick a book along with your child. Lie on a bed, sit on the couch or let the child sit on your lap and read. Turn pages and allow the child to share the thoughts. Read the story with tones and actions. Make it fun. Be prepared to read the same story for days.
Here is a list of some categories of age appropriate books to look out for while shopping for your little ones.
- 0-1 yr - cloth and foam books with single picture
- 1-2 yrs - small board books with single words and pictures, such as vegetables, fruits, first words, shapes, colours, etc.
- 2-3 yrs - picture board books with small phrases and single sentences
- 3-4 yrs - hard bound books and board books with short stories
- 4-5 yrs - hard bound books or early readers level 1
- 5-6 yrs - early reading series level 1
Games:
Who doesn’t love playing games? You have limitation of outdoor time. Not to worry. Play indoor games. These games are fun, exciting and appealing to your little one.
- Hide and seek in the comfort of your home
- Making music with vessels filled with water
- Popping bubbles
- Pillow fights
- Thumb / arm wrestling
- Playing with blocks and matching and sorting toy cars, beads or flowers
- Age appropriate board games
Set some time aside to play any age appropriate indoor game with your child and your child is sure to look forward to this time.
So, remember to spend that
one on one time with your child every day and walk away with galore of memories
and laughs. We leave you with a quote
from Winnie the Pooh: “Any day spent with you is my favourite day. So, today is
my new favourite day.”
