I always have good intentions when it comes to spending time with and enjoying my children. For a while, I spent regular time with each of my kids individually, but then scheduling conflicts got in the way and I stopped having them. In fact, I still owe my third child a movie and treats night! I think it’s really important to spend time with my kids and actually enjoy their company. So often, my schedule (or perceived schedule) gets in the way of it. I’m too busy trying to keep the house clean or scrambling to make dinner or get to the store. I’m pretty terrible at keeping a schedule, but it’s clearly a discipline I need to work on, especially if it means that I can spend more time having fun with my kids!
While it seems like much of the day is spent correcting and training our kids, we really need to spend one-on-one time with them to really get to know them and see their hearts. How can we foster growth if we don’t know our kids well? Honestly, this is one of the (many) fears I have when it comes to raising my kids. I’m not sure I know them well enough at times! However, when these thoughts pop in my mind, rather than being fearful, I should be motivated to have quality time with them. As I mentioned above, one of the ways we like to spend time together is with a movie and treat of their choice (most often, a donut). While we don’t spend much time talking, we have some really great cuddle time. One of my kids really likes to talk at bedtime. I have to make sure to say goodnight to him last, as he often has very thought-provoking questions ready for me. At first, it was a struggle for me to allow our conversations to happen (I just wanted to get the kids to bed!), but after some time I got over it, and instead, I’ve started looking forward to them having these bedtime talks. I’ve really gotten to know him better, what he’s thinking, and where his heart is with these conversations. Our kids aren’t little for very long, and if we don’t enjoy them now, how will we enjoy them when they’re older? We need to be disciplined to make time to spend with them. Let the dishes go for now, leave the laundry to fold later (or better yet, schedule a date with your husband to watch a movie and fold it together), and come up with some creative ways to get to know your kids better. Time with our kids is short.
Love,
Emily
