Usually I schedule the kids’ dentist appointments all at once. It’s a crazy hour of choosing toothbrushes and fluoride flavors, riding the chair up and down, looking at the dentist’s diplomas, and choosing prizes from the prize box. But it works.
This time, because of a conflict, I had to schedule our our nine-year-old’s appointment all by herself. While she was having her teeth cleaned, I stood there, talking with the hygienist and the dentist. We were gone from home no more than 30 minutes.
I feel guilty a lot that I don’t get to spend the “quality” time with each child that I would like. Life is full, and even though I have good intentions, I often don’t do a good job of it.
But maybe I’m trying too hard. My child is willing to have her teeth scraped in order to spend time with me. To have thirty minutes of my undivided attention. Surely I can do better than that!
- How can I give each of my children some of my undivided attention today?
- How can I turn my mundane activities into quality time with my children?
12 comments:
I LOVE this idea, Katherine. How can I be truly present in my child's life during everyday activities? Taking some individual time out for each child is a good thing, too, though it does not happen as much as I want it to.
Great reminder and encouragment!
Before I became a mom I was a high school youth leader with a 50+ hr/week full time job and a husband. I frequently took a teen along with me to the grocery store (or some other such errand) just so we could hang out. Other leaders laughed at me when I brought it up at a meeting but I had more than one post-graduate teen point back to our time in the supermarket as significant.
Whatever works.
Great thoughts Katherine. In our busy overscheduled lives in this day and age it is good to pause and asks ourselves this on a regular basis. Thanks for bringing it up!
My littlest one said to me the other day, "mom you never play with me." and it broke my heart because she's right. I rarely have enough energy to play, though we do spend a lot of time cuddling and watching movies.
I struggle with giving each child quality time, but at least once a year on their birthday my husband and I take them out to the restaurant of their choice alone. It's a special time where our undivided attention is on one child!
You are so right. I'm noticing myself, now that I have three kids, that quality time isn't what it used to be. Great reminder to me to do something about that.
Great post!
Laura
Thanks so much for this post! It is so hard with 5 to delibrately give them each truly undivided quality time each day. That is my goal for this Easter weekend and the upcoming week!
I have four kids, one of whom is a newborn. Tonight we were at the school's gym. I handed the baby over to dh and ran out to the basketball court and started kicking the ball around with my boys. My three year old looked up at me with wonder in his eyes, "you have time to play with us tonight mom?" Broke my heart. I'm sore in places I didn't know I had, but I'm glad I took the time to play with my kids tonight. Thanks for the confirmation and reminder that it IS important to grab a moment with each kid each day.
I was so good about spending "date" time with my kids when they were younger. It has gotten harder now with all our busy schedules. Great post.
Great questions to consider, Katherine, and I'll join you in pondering them. I especially love the idea of paying enough attention to turn mundane moments (a quick trip to the grocery store, picking up toys together) into something special.
You are so right...we make things harder than they have to be. Sometimes just TIME is as important as the "quality" part. Loved this.
wow! that was really profound. I am a firm believer that kids need quality and quantity. We have to be there for the moments small and big, good and bad.
I ask myself the same questions about the time I give each individual child.
I am reading a good book about how our focus, even in the mundane things, needs to be a time to point our kiddos to God and use that time to have a special one on one moment with them.
Thanks for the reminder and I hope you enjoy your kiddos in a special way this Easter weekend.
God bless!
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