Spend Time Not Money With The Kids This Winter

Spending quality time with your children doesn't need to cost a lot of money. What's most important, is that you take the opportunity to bond with them. The time that you spend with your children will make them feel special and they will treasure it for a lifetime. Letting your children know that you are there for them, will create a lasting bond between you and your children.

The winter months can be rather dull for children since they are cooped up in the house more than they would like to be. This is a great time for you to let your children know you feel their discomfort by giving them some one on one attention from mom. It doesn't require a great deal of money to make those boring winter days stuck indoors special.

One simple and inexpensive suggestion would be to make a plan with your child to watch his or her favorite television program or video together. Too much TV is not always a good thing, however, to get through a winter day trapped indoors, it's a perfect activity. Shortly before you watch the program or movie you have selected with your children, ask them to help prepare some of their favorite snacks for the event. All children love to help mom mess up the kitchen a bit and especially if it means eating their favorite snack foods.

A couple quick and easy snack suggestions would be preparing smores, which happens to be my children's favorite snack food. Not only do they like to eat them, but they love making them. Another suggestion might be what my kids like to call roller coaster snacks. Simply take a leaf of lettuce, a slice of cheese, and slice of lunch meat and layer them and then roll them up to make a healthy, but fun treat. I find that the Kraft singles work best for rolling. Usually, while my children assemble the snacks, I pour the drinks because my children tend to spill easily. While having fun in the kitchen, be sure to monitor your children closely, especially if there is any heating to be done. Most often, if things need to be warmed up a bit, I prefer to handle that task myself. Always remember, Safety First when cooking in the kitchen with children. Your children will be delighted they were able to help you prepare the snacks and you will find they take their job seriously. In order to let your kids know that this is their special time with you, take the appropriate steps to make sure it's an uninterrupted time together. Turn off the phones, put the work away, and the cleaning can wait till after the big event. Once, the food is prepared, simply sit back and enjoy the show.

A few other winter time activities for you and your children might be to go through all those photos you need to organize and place them in photo albums. Your child will love to reminisce with you and most of all, you will bond. You may also let your children help plan the dinner menu one night and let them help prepare it with you. Spending time with your child doesn't have to cost a lot of money or be complicated. Most often just including them in a task you already have at hand is a special treat for them. For many children, it's not about what you are doing, but to know they have your attention. Take these moments to talk and most importantly, listen to your children. You might be surprised at how much your children will open up when they feel they have your undivided attention.

This article is written by Tammy Pinarbasi, Owner of the Parent Super Site, http://www.parentsupersite.com. You may reprint this article or use it on your website, however, please be sure to place a link back to this site. Thank You...

---

Lead with Love:How Mothers Can Use Their Greatest Strength to Manage Around Their Technical Weakness

My wife and I have been working on a video... Read More

Guide To Choosing Educational Toys For Children

In the last few years, parents started getting more and... Read More

How To Use Positive Child Discipline

I am a single mother of a 17 year old... Read More

Personal Responsibility: What It Means and Whose Job is It?

"How many times do I have to tell you to... Read More

Over-Indulgence And Over-Attentiveness - Two Dangers Parents Must Avoid!

We're all familiar with the over-indulgent parent. But there's another... Read More

Assertiveness: Key to Better Parenting

I have always been aware of my number one weakness:... Read More

Promote Physical Fitness for Your Child

If your child is to derive the benefits of physical... Read More

Delightful Defrazzlers

I will cherish this moment. I will not let it... Read More

3 Rules to Making TeensTechnology Work For You

Isn't the technology of today is amazing?! Between the speed... Read More

Boundaries - Why Theyre Needed

Imagine a child who lacks ownership of his own life,... Read More

Teenagers and Stress: What Parents Can Do to Help

More and more parents are expressing their concerns about how... Read More

Clean Slates and Fresh Starts

Hope, excitement and anxiety all wrapped up in fresh haircuts... Read More

Twin and Multiple Births are on the Rise

Did you know that the number of twin births have... Read More

Understanding The Report

"No thank you. Don't bother to send me the report... Read More

My Teenaged Parents

Frankly, as a single parent of young children, I struggled.... Read More

ADHD: A Dialogue With a Non-Believer, part two

Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read... Read More

Tips for the Classroom Teachers with ADHD Students

Thank you for all that you do in the classroom!... Read More

Family Meetings 101

Family meetings provide opportunities for feelings to be aired and... Read More

Some Thoughts on Counseling Goals for ADHD

What should the goals for counseling be when the patient... Read More

Handling Failure -- Teaching Kids How to Profit From It

There is nothing pleasant about failure, at least not at... Read More

Ten Terrific Ideas for Rainy Day Fun

It's been raining for a week and the kids and... Read More

How To Be A Bad Mother

As I sit here and reflect on the past two... Read More

Detox To Help Conception

Detox To Conceive.. If you're having trouble conceiving... Read More

When Kids Hurt Parents

The cruel callous remarks made by our offspring can sometimes... Read More

I WONT DO IT! Tips for Working with the Oppositional Child

"I WON'T DO IT!" "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"Whether parent or... Read More