Time with Children
- At October 09, 2015
- By CGMontessori
- In CGM BLOG
- 0
“ Gotta get up, gotta go work, then I come home and I gotta go to bed, cause I gotta get up… and do it all over again…”
The Bottle Rockets
Sound about right?? The daily grind can get exhausting. It takes a toll on us, and our children. They, believe it or not, feel some of the same stress of “do it all over again”, day in and day out. We ALL need a break.
Being in the education field for 7 years or so now, I look forward to fall and spring break! But I do understand the other side to this, finding child care for those breaks. We know these breaks can be a burden or a daunting task to find childcare while your children are not in our care…but we all need a break.
Just as my mother would say, it goes by fast. In a blink of an eye, each year they celebrate a birthday. With that comes new growth, new milestones, new challenges, and they are moving out and headed to college before you know it. Your children need you in their life. When you add up all the time your kids spend here, asleep, at friends’ homes, with babysitters, at camp, and otherwise occupied with activities, the remaining moments become especially precious. There are only 940 Saturdays between a child’s birth and leaving for college. That may sound like a lot, but how many have you already used? And the older your kids get, the busier their Saturdays are with friends and activities.
Playing with your child, helps build and deepen your relationship with them. Run, skip, walk, play ball, play in the sandbox, swing, have a tea party, and just hang out with your child. For the older child, find out what their interests are outside of school and participate in those activity with them. Draw, paint, read, play basketball or throw the football. Don’t wait for your child to ask and interrupt your “Facebook” check, or your “last email for work”. Surprise your child by seeking them out and asking them to join you in the activity. This sends a message that you are genuinely interesting in them and want to spend time with them.
If you are just unable to take time off work, try to get some family members, other close friends or loved ones to spend time with your child. They can all make these relationships and attachments grow as well. It takes a village to raise a child, and including some other family members or close, loving friends is always helpful for you and your child.
We are all busy, and need to make that green, but your child is going to remember the memories you make with them, not the money you make.
Have a great fall break, and go enjoy your child.