"What Would You Like to Do?"
Copyright © 2003 Andrea
Simanson All Rights Reserved.
My 8-year old son, Jamie, loves to spend time with me. Even
today, one of his friends called to see if he
could come to his birthday party after school. Jamie had to think about
it because he had planned to
play a card game with his mom after school. "Mom, can we play on
Friday," he asked. "Sure," I said "I
can make that work!" His eyes lit up as he realized he would get the
best of both worlds (party time with
friends and alone time with mom).
I'll admit that I have to overcome the thought I have each
time he asks me to play with him. What's the
thought? "I'm wasting time when I play a game. I should be doing
laundry, doing the dishes, or cleaning
the bathroom. " I'm sure no one else ever has these thoughts . . .
But I know it's very important to him. The more I do it, the
more I like it and the more I realize it's worth
the investment in my son and it's so healthy for all of us!
Jamie loves to play chess or Phase 10 (a card game), he loves
putting together a puzzle, baking
anything and everything (especially macaroni & cheese or brownies),
and helping me with just about any
special project. Now, the special project part turns my crank, so I
have to be careful that it's not the only
thing I do to spend time together with my kids. Doing a project to a
child can often be interpreted as
"hard work." And what energizes me doesn't necessarily energize the
children. My husband and I are
both task oriented, and we've had to learn to be less so in order to
love our children the way they need to
be loved. We adore our children and take so much delight in them. It's
just that we tend to be task
oriented, which can be devastating to children, especially children who
are very relational.
Have you found out what it is your child really loves to do?
Is it sitting on your lap? Is it playing a game?
Is it reading a book? Is it working together on something? Is it "talk"
time? Maybe he/she has
expressed what it is, but you haven't really made time. They grow up so
fast and before long, they'll be
raising their own children. Take the time now, today, to invest in that
special way. You'll be so glad you
did!
Andrea Simanson is a wife
and mother of three children, and the website and ezine editor of
Successful Family
Chores - Putting FUN and ENERGY into everyday tasks.
For a regular dose of family organizational ideas, sign up for
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