Spend 10 minutes a day
one-on-one with your child , from birth through high school graduation.
Spending 10 minutes a day with your child, one – on – one, has amazing benefits for both you and your child. You will develop a stronger relationship over time and build important family ties.
Studies show that youth do better in school, have less anxiety, and are better able to cope with adversity . They become more resilient when things are challenging.
How will you spend your 10 minutes?
A Time to Play
10 minutes of playtime every day helps children and teens, and their parents, too. Play may seem simple, but it is surprisingly complex. For children and teens, play is essential for connection with others, for developing social skills and handling their emotions.
Playtime relieves stress and develops a warm and secure parent-child attachment. As you play, be sure to keep your focus on the kids, without thinking about your own to-do list, your job, or checking your cell phone.
The more you play over time, the better the results. By their teenage years, your children will have a strong connection with you, and a positive experience they can count on and helps them handle stress. So when teens have that break – up or that first fight with friends, they have more tools and perspective to deal with it.
Ten minutes of special play with your child is an amazing gift for you both.
For more information, click here.
A Time to Reflect and Repair
All children experience disappointment, frustration and failure. All children have moments of discouragement and self – doubt. In every family, there will likely be moments of anger and misunderstanding.
But parents that set aside some time every day (perhaps 10 minutes at bedtime) for a chance to talk with their kids can use this time to repair moments of conflict and misunderstanding. This may be the most important ten minutes of a child’s day.
Children learn invaluable lessons from these moments of repair. They learn that, although it is not always easy, moments of anxiety, sadness and anger are moments and can be repaired. Disappointments are disappointments, not catastrophes, and bad feelings do not last forever.