It goes without saying that spending time with your children is critical to building a strong relationship with them. You’ve heard me say before that T-I-M-E is how your children spell love, and while spending time together as a collective family is important, it is equally important to spend one-on-one time with each of your children.
I know this can sound overwhelming as we are all juggling our roles as husbands, as parents, and professionally, so I want to offer up four ideas for how to turn some of your existing responsibilities into some one-on-one time with your children:
1. House and yard work.
Whether inside the house or out in the yard, bring your child along with you for some of your chores and errands. As our children were growing up, Saturday was a day for running errands and doing extra chores. Instead of Susan and I doing it on our own, we involved the kids. I’d take one child with me to the home improvement store. Later on, another child would help wash the car. We’d then go to the store and get an Icee together as a treat. Doing daily tasks together creates a natural setting for meaningful conversation while we’re getting things done.
2. Cooking.
I like to cook sometimes. Homemade pancakes for breakfast and something off the grill for dinner are my specialties. My son wanted to learn how to grill outdoors so he joined me and learned how to do it. It was fun way to spend a little one-on-one time together.
3. Drive-time.
Susan and I spent a lot of time running our children to their activities before they could drive themselves. I took our children to school every morning. I’m so thankful I did that as it gave me some great time to just catch up with my kids. Turn the radio down and strike up conversations with your kids. Check out these conversation starters if you’re looking for some ways to kick off meaningful conversations with your kids.
4. Business trips.
Over the years, I’ve been able to take each of our kids on a business trip with me. Over the Christmas break, Susan and I were able to get away with my daughter, Emily, who is a senior in college this year. I needed to go to Orlando for business, so we went together and stayed at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort and spent some impactful time together. This place was awesome and I hope to go back there soon for a family vacation. While we were there, we found out something that many people don’t know—even though it’s a timeshare, you can rent there for a few days too, and it is a very affordable option for families.
Do you have any ideas for spending one-on-one time with your children? Please share those ideas in the comments section below.