It’s funny how people seem to think that they have spent quality
time with their kids after work by bringing them out to the mall
for a lifeless and meaningless stroll only to come home with
nothing more than a whole bunch of stuff that they (or the kids)
don’t need. In fact, time has been wasted because kids don’t
NEED you to bring them out to the shopping mall to waste time.
They want and NEED to be with you.
It’s really funny because I used to think taking my kids out for
a very casual window-shopping trip was meaningful too until
someone pointed out to me that my kids were STILL closer to
someone else (their daycaregiver) when compared to me. I mean,
what is it with kids, anyway? I take them out, don’t I? I try my
best to give them whatever they want. I buy them presents, don’t
I? They have more clothes than me, don’t they?
But here’s the sad part….that’s not quality time.
Quality time with your kids is just staying home with absolutely
nothing to do, just lolling around on the carpet watching
‘Blue’s Clues’ or ‘Sesame Street’ together giving each other
nonchalant kisses and exchanging hugs (and repeated reviews
about the show). Spending quality time with the kids involve
nothing more than just CONNECTING with the kids, not spending
detached moments of dis-connectivity loitering through
unfamiliar places. It’s about spending time connecting with the
kids when you KNOW you’ve GOT SOMETHING ELSE BETTER TO DO.
I spent one whole Friday thinking about what to do with the kids
on Saturday and Sunday and end up with nothing. So, on the
weekends, we spent hours in front of the TV coloring bananas,
gorillas, and calculator on pieces of paper. We, then, took the
bicycle to the park and cycled around. Joshua got scrapes on his
knees and Jared was more than unhappy with the fact that his big
brother made more ‘sand castles’ in the park than he did â€" but
we all came home knowing that we knew each other better.
You see, spending quality time with the kids is all about
getting to know your kids. Making an effort to be there for them
when you know you CAN be doing something else with your life. We
know we can use that time to actually finish off the report or
call that important client up â€" but the most important thing
with quality time with kids is that we DON’T.
© Marsha Maung 2005 Please feel free to reprint this article
anywhere in your website, magazine, ezine, or other types of
publications for free. Please note that you should keep the
byline in tact and please provide links back to the web
addresses provided in the byline. Thanks.
Category : Music
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