Spending quality time with your kids is crucial for their cognitive development. After all, humans are primarily “social animals” that require a constant influx of responses from their community in order to thrive. It is your responsibility as a parent to “inaugurate” your child into this complex set of activities and dynamics but they all need to be masked, at least initially, as fun hangout sessions. With that in mind, here’s how to have a joyful afternoon with your kids.
Movie of the week
Since we live in the 21st century, the age of multimedia, your kids are bound to spend a lot of their time in front of the LCD screens of various shapes, sizes and levels of portability. Still, you can use this to your advantage by organizing the “movie of the week” afternoon with the entire family. The crucial thing is to create a catalog of films that will fulfill three parameters: first of all, they need to be “good films” according to your own experiences and tastes – i.e. you need to have seen them; second, it would also be good to check if the films are considered good by the wide community of reviewers plus whether they are something your kids might like; third, they need to be films that are suitable for the age of your kids.
Hiking through nature
On the other hand, even though your kids are the first generation that will have lifestyles which are fully integrated with the digital media from the earliest age, they also need to be in touch with nature. It is your duty as a parent to keep this connection alive, which should not be particularly hard because kids tend to gravitate towards the “playground” known as nature and it can be a source of countless fun activities for all of you. Remember that fresh air and lush greenery are crucial for the well-functioning immunity of both grownups and kids.
Introduce them to something that requires skill
You can use your afternoon together with your kids to introduce them to an activity that requires a certain skill. You can also try their driving skills this is usually a moment of great joy for your kids, as it tends to open a “window” to a whole new universe of sports and adventures. You can introduce the youngest kids to the sheer joy of basketball or show your slightly older kid that the cool and reliable cruiser skateboard is actually a great tool for acquiring an awesome set of skills. Each new activity will take some time to explain and demonstrate, but you can rest assured that your impressionable youngling will gaze on mesmerized. These sort of joyful afternoons tend to pass in the blink of an eye.
The utter joy of rewarding surprises
There are numerous occasions during the school year when your child has a chance to make you proud. Maybe it is not a matter of a singular occasion – maybe your child is consistently well-behaved and diligent for its age. When your child performs well, it can be really encouraging to surprise them with a reward, something that will make them light up and feel fulfilled. For example, you can do something as simple as getting them a Kinder Joy and surprising them with it during snack time. The sugar rush combined with the prospect of getting an interesting toy is always a winning combo. The rewarding surprise can also include a trip to your kid’s favorite amusement park, a restaurant, or something completely out of the left-field. Nobody knows your kids as good as you do, so the modus operandi is left to you.
Play a game
Of course, your afternoon can be filled with a lot of interesting brain-teasing games and competitions. You should definitely choose a few board games or trinkets your child responds to in order to create an interesting and diverse set of activities that will improve cognitive performance of your child.
The format of your afternoon activities with the youngsters depends, primarily, on the number of kids that are involved. If you have only one child, it will be much easier to engage in a set of activities your kid enjoys. However, if you have a couple of children, it can be a challenge to ensure everyone has fun in equal measure. Still, this is far from “mission impossible” and the active negotiation can actually become a part of the activity that can lead to a surprising set of special moments.
