How to get closer to your child today

Guiding our kids and keep them moving through the everyday routine is part of our job description as parents. This means setting limits, denying requests and correcting behavior.

At times we can be emotionally generous such that our kids find it hard to see us as “negative.” Most frequently, love, affirming interactions create a positive balance in our relationship account making our kids give us the benefit of the doubt. Hence, creating such positive interactions with your kid is very important.

Research indicates that for us to maintain a healthy and happy relationship that can deal with normal problems and everyday stress, we require at least five positive interactions to each negative interaction.

Therefore, our relationship balance is likely to break if we become short on positive interactions. This is when the kids will start developing an attitude and become ignorant.

Since life is busy, you don’t require anything more in your to-do list. All you need to do is create some daily habits that will build your relationship with your kid. You don’t have to worry because after 30 days their actions will become a habit.

Below are things you can start doing today to build a closer relationship with your kid:

1. When each child wakes up, snuggle is the first thing you should do to them.
2. Sit with them doing breakfast and ask how they are doing and what they are planning for the day.
3. Do not shout at your kid, you should rather empower him by helping him make a chart with photos of him undertaking different tasks and let him be responsible.
4. Put a love note into her lunch box.
5. When your kid doesn’t want to go to school, acknowledge how he feels: “You wanted to stay home today?”
6. You can sing together as you drop him off or as you wait for the bus.
7. When saying goodbye to her, don’t forget to tell her that you’re looking forward to seeing her in the afternoon and also waiting to hear about her day.
8. When you leave work, be ready to know its family time and nothing else.
9. Do not switch on your phone and music when your kid is in the car after school, but give her time to tell you how her day was.
10. When your kid gets into a fight, do not be quick to take sides, listen to both kids and teach them how they should live with each other.
11. When he has wronged you do not shout at him but give him a shoulder to lean on and let him know that you are compassionate and will always be there.
12. Encourage her as you help her study for her spelling test.
13. Laugh at her jokes.
14. Ask her any interesting questions during dinner.
15. Play with her before bath time.
16. Pay attention to her stories, how she interacts with other children in her class.
17. If you are having a hard time getting him to bed, you can reconnect with him and use that warm connection to get him tucked in.