There’s nothing quite like the relationship between a parent and child. In some cases, however, this mightn’t be as great as you or your child want. It could be relatively strained, and you mightn’t be as close to your kids as you could want.
To get around this, you’ll need to know how to strengthen your parent-child relationship. That doesn’t need to be as complicated as you could think. If you want a positive relationship with your kids, all you could need to do is follow a few specific tips and steps.
Seven of these would be perfect, as they’ll have more of an impact on your relationship than you’d think. You and your kids will feel closer together without feeling like anything’s being forced. It’s worth a hard look at what each of these are.
How To Strengthen Your Parent/Child Relationship: 7 Top Tips
1. Eat Meals Together
The more time you spend with your child, the better your relationship should be. One of the easier ways of doing this is by having your meals together. While they might have lunch at school, breakfast and dinner are more than appropriate times to spend time with them. It lets you talk to them and actually have a conversation. When you’re doing this, encourage everyone to put any phones or other distractions away, and you can build a better relationship with them than you’d think. Consider it the first step you should take in improving your parent/child relationship.
2. Teach Them Something
One of the easiest ways to have a better bond with your kids is to have something in common with them that you both enjoy. If you don’t have one of these already, you could teach them something you love and think they’d love. Whether you want to teach kids to surf or want to show them how to make a table, go for it, as long as it’s age-appropriate.
Even learning something new with them could be a great way to strengthen your relationship with them. While that means investing some time in it long-term, there’s no reason not to do it. You’ll have a much better relationship with your kids before you even know it.
3. Play Together
Playing is vital for a child to grow. It plays a role in their development, ranging from language skills to how they express emotions. Make sure your child learns these in a healthy and age-appropriate way. Taking the time to play with them makes sure they learn these the right way.
At the same time, it’ll strengthen your relationship with them. They’ll associate you with positive memories of when you were playing with them. Your bond will grow because of it, so there’s no reason not to take the time to do this.
4. Create Rituals
As should be obvious from taking the time to play together, spending time with your child is essential. It’s one of the most essential ways to strengthen your parent/child relationship. That shouldn’t just be every once in a while, and it shouldn’t be limited to just playing with them.
Sometimes, it’s worth having a few rituals you engage in regularly with them, and there are countless options to choose from. Even something as simple as reading a bed-time story to them every night could be more than enough for this. Make sure it’s regular so you can actually strengthen your bond with them.
5. Set Boundaries & Rules
Children need boundaries so they can learn about the world around them and grow safely. They need guidance for this, which should always come from their parents. Setting boundaries and rules isa key part of this. Talk to your children about your expectations and how they should behave.
Make sure they properly understand them, and what the repercussions are should any boundaries or rules be broken. Be consistent anytime your child breaks these rules, and make sure they’re age appropriate. While they mightn’t like these rules and boundaries, they’re an essential part of growing up.
6. Listen To Them
The key to making any relationship better is communication. It’s one of the fundamental aspects of a relationship, whether you’re related to someone or not. As part of that, you’ll actually need to listen to your kids. You shouldn’t dismiss what they’re saying just because of their age.
Acknowledge what they’re saying and show them that you hear what they’re saying and understand them. By actively listening and empathizing with them, you’ll deepen your bond with them. They also wouldn’t have a problem coming to you with any problems in the future, which is always a wanted benefit.
7. Be Available
To have a bond with your child, especially a close one, you’ll need to actually spend time with them. As mentioned above, listening to them is a great way of doing this. But you’ll need to actually be available when you’re doing this. Removing any distractions, and making the time to focus on this is vital.
Your child needs to know that they’re a priority to you, so make them a priority. If you’re constantly checking the phone or looking at the TV when they’re talking to you, then they’re not going to feel that way. Put away your phone and turn off the television, and spend time actually being there for them. Even as little as ten minutes a day could be enough for this, but the more, the better.
How To Strengthen Your Parent/Child Relationship: Wrapping Up
Nobody wants to have a terrible relationship with their kids, but figuring out how to strengthen your parent/child relationship can be difficult. No matter what you do, it could feel forced, and mightn’t be enjoyable for you or them. You’ll want to avoid that completely.
Thankfully, there are more than a few tips and tricks that’ll help with this. Setting boundaries and rules, actively listening to them, playing together, and even teaching them something can all be great for this.
With a little time and effort, you’ll have a better relationship with your kids. Why not put the work into this?
Growing up we always ate dinner as a family, every single day. It’s something I continue to do now with my daughter and husband.
ReplyDeleteAs I read through this article I realized my parents did everyone of these for my siblings and me! And, yes, their actions resulting in stronger bonds with their children then and now! Stephanie
ReplyDeleteBeing available is my most preferred way to be with my child and parents. That way, I know that we can do anything together and should any of is get stuck, we are able to assist out one another.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips for ensuring one has a strong parent-child relationship. Time and availability have been the biggest things to me that I see make the largest impact on my kids as they get older.
ReplyDeleteBoundaries and rules are so important! It's important to be caring and loving but to do that, boundaries also have to be set.
ReplyDeleteThese great tips to improving our parenting. Nowadays, we want to shield our children from harm when they are online.
ReplyDeleteYes, we all want to have a healthier relationship with our kids for the long-haul. Thank you for the tips.
ReplyDeleteThey say the most meaningful relationship a person can have in their life is with their parent or child.
ReplyDeleteI believe that sharing meals as a family is crucial. It creates a bond that people may not fully appreciate until later on. This daily family time is essential for building strong relationships.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a parent yet, but know that my parents did a lot of these mentioned and believe it has strengthened my bond with them! I plan on doing the same when my husband and I have our own.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not a parent and never plan to be, I read a lot of these and can't help but wonder how different my childhood might have been if my mother had access (or wanted access) to information like this.
ReplyDeleteSpending time with your child and doing things together is very important. These are great ideas. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete