There are 5 hours you have once you get home from work. You have approximately 7 hours of errands, chores and prepping for tomorrow. Oh, and don’t forget to squeeze dinner in there somewhere. How do you connect with your child on busy days?
The inner dialogue begins, ” I have to get this stuff done! Hopefully I have time left to play with the kids before bedtime”. Or, “I miss the kids from being gone all day! I’ll try and squeeze this stuff in after they go to bed and hopefully I won’t be up too late”.
Neither voice sounds satisfied.
Getting things done and figuring out how to connect with your kids on busy days is possible! As a result, I’ve learned that my children place so much value in something simple like being included!
How to Connect With Your Kids on Busy Days
- Grocery shopping is the perfect way to connect with your child! Depending on the age of your child, you can have them in the cart and be the official list holder or you can assign them the task of putting the items into the cart from the shelf. Use the time when you are pushing the cart along to sing a song together or ask them to draw out their shapes on the list. Including little games and duties for them not only involves them but it gives you a chance to reinforce encouragement and praise!
- Laundry. Who doesn’t need extra hands helping with laundry? My little ones are 1 and 3 so involving them in this regular task looks different. I give my 1 year old a basket with a few items he can play with. This let’s me have a few minutes to actually put away the laundry! However, in his little eyes he is 100% helping Mom with laundry. I will ask my daughter to separate her clothes into pile and brother’s clothes into a pile. Letting her be the pretend driver of the laundry basket bus has her giggling all over the house! She is my go to helper for getting the basket in each room for delivery. Lastly, don’t forget to let them push the button to start the wash!
- Opening the mail. When you are 3, you just want to participate in whatever is going on. Assign all the junk mail and advertisement flyers to your child. Have them open everything and then sort them into piles. Who can open their envelope the fastest or put it in the recycle bin first brings in a little fun and is a great trick to use if they start to lose interest in the activity but still want to be with you. This always gives me enough time to open the important mail and I usually can squeeze in getting a bill or two paid during this time.
- Cleaning doesn’t discriminate against age. There is something in the cleaning category for everyone! At 1 we are focusing on putting the toys in the basket and books on the shelf. At 3, my daughter is capable to clean up the toys independently. She helps me push a vacuum and enjoys getting to clean windows with me, as long as she is control of her own rag 😉. Every night we tackle cleaning the living room up together by making a game out of it!
- Getting the mail is a great way to connect with your child! I used to get the mail before pulling into the driveway from work. Now I let them come with me. We often race to see who can get to the mailbox first. Involving them in this task is a double win for me because you get a few extra minutes of fresh air and we get to practice the importance of staying on the sidewalk!
- Dishes has been a lot of deciding what I can handle with the amount of splashing to be honest! Remember, this is about how we can include them in our routine, not necessarily make it perfect (reminding myself here 😊). I pull the high chair by the sink and put a small amount of water on the try. This way my little guy can “wash” his spoons while big sis gets to stand at the sink and help rinse dishes.
- Cooking or prepping any kind of food in the kitchen just needs a little tweaking! Depending on their age, there is an endless number of things they can do! I like to pick recipes we can make together.
- Getting ready for the day I will ask the kids, “should mommy wear a skirt or pants today”. Simple, but it makes them feel included in my morning routine. They love to play at my feet in the closet while I’m rushing to throw something stain free on! As a result, it is a few more minutes we get to spend together.
How to connect with your child with these 3 steps.
I’m sure by now you’ve found the theme; my trick for including my children in just about anything:
- Engage with them
- Assign a “special” task just for them
- Be intentional about encouragement
If you’re thinking that this sounds great and you want to connect with your child, but are rolling your eyes because including them in these things means it is going to be a) messier and b) take longer, you are correct! However, the thing that outweighs everything else, is the fact that they are WITH you. Using these tips will help to connect with your kids but I do caution you to not fill up your time chasing the to-do list :).
At the end of the day, especially when you’ve been busy working all day, all our children want to do is be with us. No need to stress about it anymore, just starting use these simple tips to connect with your child!
Share in the comments below how you like to involve your child!
