One of the things that you want to do as a parent is bond with your child. It’s important that you have a strong relationship with your children so that they feel comfortable enough with you that they can talk to you about whatever is going on in their life. They need to be able to feel as though you’re not going to judge them, and as though you’re going to be there for them no matter what they say. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you can do to form a stronger bond with your child, so keep reading if you are interested in learning more.
Show Them You Are Always There
One of the things that you are going to need to do is ensure that they know you are always there for them, no matter what. This means that when they come to you with an issue, you need to do everything in your power to help them sort it. Or, if they don’t seem to want you to fix it, then just lend a listening ear. Do whatever they need you to do, and just generally be there, this is the best thing that any parent can do for their child.
There are going to be times where this is particularly difficult, but you have just got to find a way to make it through. You have to put your personal feelings aside at times, and do whatever you can to be there for your child.
Show Up When It Counts
We cannot stress enough just how important this one is. Showing up for your kids as much as you can and when it counts will mean more to your kids than you ever know. There are going to be times where you need to choose your kids over other things, whether that is other people or a work function or whatever. Of course, we’re not saying that this is going to be the case every single time, but when it counts, you have got to be there. You need to be able to be there at their sports games for example, or if they have something important going on.
If you do this, then your children are going to know that they are your priority. They are going to feel as though they are the most important thing in the world to you, helping their emotional development. It’s important, and even though there are times where it’s going to be tough to show up, you have to find a way.
Listen To Them When They Speak
One of the main problems that parents have with their children is that the children do not feel as though they are being heard. They feel as though their parents don’t hear a word that they are saying, and as such, don’t care about how they feel, what they think and so much more. This is a huge problem, and is the main cause of breakdown in family relationships, which is why it’s so important that you don’t let this happen to you.
When your child is speaking to you, make sure that you are hearing what they have to say. If we slow down and listen to understand rather than listen to reply, you will find that you are a lot more successful in maintaining your relationship with your kids. You might not agree with what they are saying, and that’s okay. You don’t have to agree, but you have to listen, and you have to try to understand. There will be times where it’s okay to give your opinions, and there will be others where this is not going to sort the situation.
Give Guidance, Not Demand
In life you are only going to be able to give your children guidance in order to help them on the right path. Parents or not, you have absolutely no right to demand things of them when they have their own life to live. Of course this is a little different as they are growing and they are learning in their younger years, but as they age it is no longer going to be appropriate to tell them what they can and cannot do/think.
Let Them Make Their Own Decisions
This is going to be a tough one for a lot of parents. You have looked after your kids since they came into the world, so letting them make their own decisions can be scary. It can be tough when you want to let them make their own mistakes but you also want to shield them from what happens when the mistakes are made. But, the thing is that you can’t. You can’t just make decisions for your kids for the rest of their life, and they need to learn how to do this.
Start with smaller decisions when they are younger, and then you know they will be ready for the larger ones as they age. If you have a child that you have fostered/that is staying with you, and you want to adopt them, you need to speak to them about this first. You cannot just jump in and make that decision if they are old enough to choose. Look into an adoption attorney, find out all of the facts, and then ask your child if they want to be a permanent part of your family legally.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you can try out if you want to form a stronger bond with your child. It can be tough to do this, especially as they get older, but it’s important that you work on this as much as you can so that you can keep your relationship as strong as possible. A lot of people struggle with this, but hopefully this article has helped you to get on the right path sooner rather than later.
