Go Ahead And Play With Your Children!

 




Too many times as adults we get so caught up with the daily affairs that we forget to take time out to play with our children. For several weeks my daughter kept asking me to snuggle with her while we watched television, but as soon as I stopped doing whatever I was doing and sat down with her she began to fidget and tickle and wrestle. I would repeatedly tell her that fooling around wasn't snuggling and she would get upset with me. Now I admit that sometimes I'm not the brightest crayon in the box; so it took me a while to figure out what she really wanted was to play with me.



Once I had that figured out, I had to come up with a solution that would allow me to play with her but would also allow me a stopping point, because as every parent knows, kids never want the playtime to end. We decided that when she wanted to play with me she would ask and I would set the timer for a predetermined amount of time between twelve and fifteen minutes. Once the timer rings, playtime is over and no complaining or whining for more is allowed.



I have been finding that setting limits makes us both happier individuals. This works when we play boggle, one of her favorite games. I tell her in advance how many games I am willing to play (usually four) and we use a two minute egg timer run through twice to time each game. The same holds true for the bouts of hide-n-seek she recently asked me to play with her. I determined that we would each hide a certain number of times and then the game would be over.



I didn't realize it at the time, but setting limits is actually a wonderful way to help her learn about time management. It is also a way for me to remind myself of the importance of spending those quality moments with my daughter. When she is grown I want her memories of me to be those of taking the time to play with her and I want her to do that with the children that will someday be my grand babies.



So whether it's playing Bigger than a Bread Box, building with Legos, or coloring pictures together, take ten or fifteen minutes out of your busy schedule and play with your children. It makes them happy, it keeps you young, and you won't be sorry that you did!



So ends another episode of Kids Korner with me, Children's Author Aileen Stewart. Join me next week for another exciting episode same krazy time, same krazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal blog Aileen's Thoughts any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, and life in general. www.BooksByAmanda.com