A lot of times I post kids crafts and activities that we’ve done around here. I hope you’ve been inspired to do some creating with your kids, even if you haven’t done exactly what I posted about.
Parenting isn’t just about crafts though.
And it certainly isn’t just about blogging! It’s about time. And I’ve been tring to incorporate more of it with my kids.
Mom Time.
Over a year ago I had this feeling that I needed to spend more time with my kids. I laughed to myself at first, because I’m a stay-at-home mom. “I’m with my kids all the time, how can I possibly spend more time with them!?”
Then I started to pay attention. Two of my kids were in school. The time we “spent together” in the morning was breakfast and chores and getting ready for school. The time we “spent together” after school was homework, piano practice, dinner, dance class, piano lessons, meetings for me for church or PTO, their reading-to-self, you get the idea.
Then my son was still home with me all day. Our time “spent together” was me cleaning the kitchen or doing other things around the house, blogging, running errands, while he played in his room, or watched a movie or had to come with me to the store.
Of course all these things have to get done, but I realized that all the time I thought I was spending with my kids, I actually wasn’t. So there had to be something I could do.
I started doing Mom Time with the kids, one on one, and tried to do it at least once a week (more with the one who’s not in school)
Here’s how it works: One of my kids gets my undivided attention for a set amount of time (say 30-45 minutes—set a timer!) and they help decide what we will do. It could be reading together, playing with cars, doing a craft, writing a story, painting nails, building a castle with blocks, etc. Not complicated, usually free and usually not leaving the house.
We talk, work on our activity, and I don’t touch my phone! They know that I am theirs for that time. If your kids have phones (and if they do hopefully they’re much older than mine 😉 then make the same deal with them!
It helps to get help from the other kids/ your spouse so that you’re not having to get pulled away by anyone else’s needs.
Like I said, this is a routine I need to start back up again, and the kids always love it so much. Do you have any tips for spending time with your kids when you aren’t distracted by other things? I’d love to hear!
And I’d love for you to keep up with me on Instagram or Facebook. If you try Mom Time, let me know how it goes!
Find fun activity ideas here to get you started:
I also sometimes go back and read my better mom series, just for a little kick in the pants 🙂
Leave a Reply