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After posting about my middle child syndrome situation recently, I got a lot of feedback about giving each child one-on-one time. It occurred to me that the days that the kids are well behaved MAY be days that they get individual positive attention from me and/or Mike. That totally makes sense!
Every morning, I've gotten into the habit of giving each child my undivided attention for at least 15 minutes. It usually starts with Jason. He and I eat first and the kids tend to dawdle at the breakfast table, so while they are finishing up, I get down on the floor and play with Jason for a while.
Once the big kids are done eating, I read them their Bible lesson. It works out well - Jason plays happily on his own because he just got a bunch of attention from me. That gives the rest of us a chance to read our daily devotion book and go over some scripture memory verses together.
From there, I ask who wants to play with Jason first. Ryan usually wants to play with Jason while I spend time with Kaylin. Since we're on break from school, I'm currently using the one-on-one time as learning time. I have some flashcards that explain sounds and I go over different cards with each child. Kaylin gets the general alphabet sounds and Ryan gets the sound groups like sh, ch, ing, ough, ow, ed...and dozens of others. When the child gets burned out on learning (generally around 15 minutes) then we switch. I let them be the guide in determining how long we do the cards, unless they give up after a ridiculous amount of time, like two minutes.
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It's surprising how just 15 minutes with Mom fills their love tank for hours. All three kids will play happily once they get that positive attention first thing in the morning. The big kids get along better with each other, they want to play with Jason and they are creative in coming up with games and activities instead of wandering around the house bored or getting into trouble...it's been amazing!
The mornings have become so calm around my house. The kids are running and giggling and playing, Jason rolls around on the floor with his toys and is perfectly content for long stretches of time, I've been catching up on the household chores and have even been able to work out in the family room, uninterrupted, while the kids play around me. Seriously...amazing!
I even got this post typed while Jason napped and the kids played freeze tag downstairs!
Now, I don't expect that first 15 minutes to last the whole day, just a couple of hours while I get my own stuff done. Once my to do list is checked off, I'm able to fully engage with the kids and I'm not distracted by piles of laundry, dishes or errands calling my name. On that note, I was just told that {pretend} bees are attacking and that I have to hide. Gotta go take cover...
Every morning, I've gotten into the habit of giving each child my undivided attention for at least 15 minutes. It usually starts with Jason. He and I eat first and the kids tend to dawdle at the breakfast table, so while they are finishing up, I get down on the floor and play with Jason for a while.
Once the big kids are done eating, I read them their Bible lesson. It works out well - Jason plays happily on his own because he just got a bunch of attention from me. That gives the rest of us a chance to read our daily devotion book and go over some scripture memory verses together.
From there, I ask who wants to play with Jason first. Ryan usually wants to play with Jason while I spend time with Kaylin. Since we're on break from school, I'm currently using the one-on-one time as learning time. I have some flashcards that explain sounds and I go over different cards with each child. Kaylin gets the general alphabet sounds and Ryan gets the sound groups like sh, ch, ing, ough, ow, ed...and dozens of others. When the child gets burned out on learning (generally around 15 minutes) then we switch. I let them be the guide in determining how long we do the cards, unless they give up after a ridiculous amount of time, like two minutes.
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It's surprising how just 15 minutes with Mom fills their love tank for hours. All three kids will play happily once they get that positive attention first thing in the morning. The big kids get along better with each other, they want to play with Jason and they are creative in coming up with games and activities instead of wandering around the house bored or getting into trouble...it's been amazing!
The mornings have become so calm around my house. The kids are running and giggling and playing, Jason rolls around on the floor with his toys and is perfectly content for long stretches of time, I've been catching up on the household chores and have even been able to work out in the family room, uninterrupted, while the kids play around me. Seriously...amazing!
I even got this post typed while Jason napped and the kids played freeze tag downstairs!
Now, I don't expect that first 15 minutes to last the whole day, just a couple of hours while I get my own stuff done. Once my to do list is checked off, I'm able to fully engage with the kids and I'm not distracted by piles of laundry, dishes or errands calling my name. On that note, I was just told that {pretend} bees are attacking and that I have to hide. Gotta go take cover...
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2 comments:
I see a major difference in my childrens behavior when I have 'special time' with them as well!
Very good!!
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