7 Ways to Be Closer to Your Child

It’s every parent’s goal to raise a psychologically sound child who can reach for the stars when they grow up. A key to raising them right is letting them understand how much you genuinely care for them from a young age and to refrain from any sort of violence as punishment. When your children acknowledge how strong your connection is with one another, they avoid disobeying you lest they make you disappointed. Here are the best ways to assure your child grows up knowing you love them. 

Wake them up with a kiss 

It’s always these little things that make a difference. While some parents might think turning the lights on or yelling their kid’s name is the easiest way to wake them up, it might have some psychological negative effects on your child. They might grow up associating your voice or your presence with discomfort, while not being aware as to why that’s the case. 

Know how to chastise them 

The key here is guilt. Now, we’re not asking you to manipulate your child’s feelings, but resorting to physical punishments such as spanking and other so-called “light” beatings at any age could have some serious damage on their developing psyches. Instead, you can let them know their actions have disappointed you because you expect the best from them. The silent treatment will always work on any child used to love and support. 

Connect with them 

Specifying a time to ask your child how their day has gone and what they look forward to in the morning is essential in making sure everything is going okay at school. If they’re being bullied and they’re used to telling you everything after school, you’ll be the first to know. Encourage them if they want to participate in an activity they love and make sure you let them know how proud of them you are. 

Laugh at their jokes 

Children don’t have the mental capacity to form “good” jokes that entertain adults, nor do they find humour in any content that would normally cater to adults, and that’s something you must understand. That does not give you the excuse to flout their jokes, or even worse, tell them they’re not funny. This could result in your child feeling stupid or disliked, which is the worst coming from their own parent. 

Read them a bedtime story 

Assigning a time to read your kids a story does not only work to develop your relationship with them and make them more socially adept, but it also helps feed their imagination, critical thinking skills, and helps put their minds to practice. The child will typically grow to enjoy reading, and nothing comes bad out of voracious reading! This will also help you if your children are typically difficult to put to bed.

Know how to deal with their meltdowns 

Child tantrums could be one of the many signs of dangerous levels of stress. This is a valid sign if they’re old enough to go to school, but the tantrums might signal brat behaviour if they’re younger. Either way, lashing out at them is never the answer. You need to work on calming them down and letting them know everything will be okay. Ask them what’s upsetting them and work on fixing it, instead of sending them to their room right away without listening to what they have to say. 

Slip cute notes into their lunch 

It might seem like a silly thing to do, but you’ll see its effect in the long run. Childhood memories are pretty much glued to the human brain for good. Think of these little tokens as tools to shape your child’s perception of you. You’ll see that the more empathetic you are with them and the more you let them know you do care, thoughts of you will connote kindness and compassion, which will not only feed your mother ego, but will also help your children be emotionally fulfilled and more open to self-improvement.