Like adults, no two children are alike. Therefore, children need to be treated as individuals. With three children in our family, it is hard to find one-on-one time to talk, listen, and nurture each child’s personal needs.
In our house, we schedule one night out of the week to spend with one child alone. On a rotating basis, each child gets one night out of the month. While siblings go to bed, the child has a special date with mom and dad. It is in these special moments between parent and child that children can get the one-on-one time they need.
Share a Special Treat
Sitting together with a bowl of ice cream is a great opportunity to just talk to your child. It is at these moments that I find out things about what makes my little girls tick, what they like, what they think, what happens in their little world that impacts them. A treat seems to do wonders at pulling this information out of them without any effort of my own.
Play Games
Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory Game, and puzzles are great to play with your child. It is a great opportunity to teach being a good sport and enjoy some laughter and conversation. Another idea is to get on the floor and play with blocks or with little people just like they do.
Bake Cookies
Baking in the kitchen is easier with only one rather than the whole caboodle of children. It is easier to give instructions and to make the process fun without getting frustrated. Working in the kitchen teaches home economics, work ethic, and creativity.
Paint Pictures
Sitting with a child while they paint is great for telling stories together. “This is the rocket spider,” my child says, painting a red rocket with a smiley face and eight legs. She tells me an amazing adventure story, an opportunity I never would have had with her sisters in the room.
There are many other art projects that would be frustrating to do with younger kids, but your older children would enjoy. This is a chance to gear it to your child’s age level without toddlers getting into everything or to give the toddler a chance to do what toddlers like to do.
Read Books
