One of the most important relationships children can have is the one they share with their parents. A strong and loving parent-child relationship is critical to the health and well-being of children. This relationship is one of the most significant influences on a child’s life. It impacts almost every aspect of his or her development and future success. This is why cultivating a close and healthy relationship with your little one is so important.

The quality of your relationship with your child will lay the foundation on which your child builds his or her future relationships. Children who are connected positively with their parents are more likely to develop healthy relationships with the people around them. If you spend a significant amount of time instilling discipline in your child, be sure to spend just as much time working on cultivating a strong bond as well. 

Follow these tips to help you strengthen your parent-child relationship.

Ensure that children know how much you love them

Parents love their children more than anything. There’s no doubt about it. However, it’s extremely important that we tell them about this precious truth every single day. We can’t assume they know it.

Make it a habit to children you love them, even during random moments of the day. Remind your child that you love him or her, even if he or she has made a mistake or has fallen short of your expectations. Kids shouldn’t feel they’re only loved when they exhibit “good” behavior. Let children know they’re loved unconditionally, even if their behavior is challenging or when they’ve messed up. These simple words can have a tremendous and lasting impact on your relationship with your little one. 

Remember to show nonverbal forms of affection

Besides telling your kids you love them, it’s equally important to express your affection through nonverbal forms of affection. Connect with your child with gestures, like hugging or snuggling. 

For example, make it a habit to kiss or hug your little one in the morning or before he or she goes to sleep at night. Give a tight and loving embrace to show that you’re proud when your child earns a high grade on a school quiz. Make use of every opportunity to give kids a comforting touch, as this one of the best ways to let them know that you care.

Spend quality time together

Life can be extremely busy for families. Parents juggle so many responsibilities that eat up time in our day. Because we never run out of things to do and our list seems to grow each day, other duties often take precedence over quality family time. No matter how busy you are, be sure to make spending quality time with your child a top priority. 

Find fun activities that you can do with your little one. Whether you choose to read a book together or take a fun trip to the beach over the weekend, the important thing is that you carve out adequate time out of your busy day to spend time with your child and give him or her your undivided attention. In addition to strengthening your family bond, your time together can also help children exhibit positive behavior and cultivate healthy relationships with the other people in their lives.

Join children in their playtime

Who says playing is just for children? Adults can enjoy playtime too. Take time to join your child while he or she is playing. Whether he or she enjoys playing with building blocks, video games, or games outside, playing together is a good opportunity for you to connect with your child and strengthen your relationship.   

Listen to children’s needs and wants

Another important tip for cultivating a good relationship with your child is to learn how to listen to his or her needs and wants. Connecting starts with listening. Encourage open communication. Ensure that your little one knows that they can tell you anything by listening to what he or she has to say (both good and bad). Try to understand things from your child’s perspective. This will help you arrive at a common ground, minimize misunderstandings, and foster mutual respect. 

A positive parent-child relationship plays a tremendous role in shaping a child’s overall behavior, values, and personality. Therefore, if you want to raise a happy and well-adjusted, be sure to cultivate a positive and loving relationship in your home. 

For more tips on parenting, or if you’re looking for a child care center that focuses on each child’s holistic growth and development, please feel free to contact Young Scholars Academy. 

Deciding when to get rid of each baby item is hard. In your mind you have your goals, you hear certain family members opinions rambling on, the experts, your doctor, the list may go on. The best advice I can give is to go baby led on pretty much all things. Trust your gut on when you think it is time and start weening slowly in a way that gives the child the lead. It’s like giving options, but both options are ones that you like. Makes your child feel like they are a part of the decision-making process. Which is important; it’s human nature no matter how small the human.
I quickly realized this is how it had to be right before my daughter turned one. I wanted her off the bottles completely and using her pacifier less by the big day. I tried not to be pushy, but I stayed persistent. No matter how much I put milk into a cup she would refuse it. But at school she was beginning to drink with a cup only. I packed bottles and they stayed there clean for weeks. I was getting frustrated; and then one day she just took the cup from me, no fuss and we never looked back at the bottles again. It was like a flip of switch just when she was 100% ready, not when I was ready. It was only like two weeks after her birthday that this happened.

As for the pacifier I backed off a bit. We now only offer it at sleep times. She knows this. It works for all of us until she fires off a tantrum and goes to all the places she knows we hide them to tries to snag one. These are the times when we hold strong and don’t give in. This reinforces the parameters that we have set for the pacifier. We will move onto getting rid of it completely when we all feel that the time is right. I know this one is often the trickiest of all, but we will move forward and find other ways of comfort. Again, like with the bottles, she does not even have a pacifier at school, and she is okay with this. So, the day will come when she lets it go completely.

We have a highchair but rarely use it. Our daughter prefers to sit with us. She stands in the chair next to one of us and it works perfect for us. This one isn’t so hard. It’s mostly just a moving up step that goes with independence, which we really want to encourage appropriately at each age. Deciding when to ditch the crib is a big one for parents. This one can scare some because of safety factors. This one all depends on your child. Some children will roll off the bed and mess around purposefully. Some kids go right to sleep. You’ve got the crib climbers that just want a bed and the escapees that need to be contained in a crib. Then the decision of toddler bed or just plunging for the regular sized bed. These are all personal decisions and you deciding what works best for your child’s temperament.

Toilet Training! The most feared of all…

This is the most important one to make sure is child led. Give the tools and back off. As our little one has reached 18 months, I have made sure she has all the tools, but I have put zero pressure on any of it. We got her a potty seat, stool, and baby shark panties. We have showed them to her and put them in her reach. They are mixed into her playthings right now to just get comfortable with the items. Watch for signs of interest in seeing others use the toilet, use vocabulary, discuss what is going on “I am peeing in the toilet”. Be specific with words and body parts. The two main signs for potty training time are your child taking an interest and being able to communicate their needs to you. The less pressure you put on the matter they are likely to pick it up easier and faster than those that are pushed into it when they are not ready.

The best of luck to you and your littles as you journey from infants to toddlers and so on. It goes fast! Remember to savor it all, even the moments that you feel will never end…because they do. And one day it’s the last time it happens. Letting your children help make decisions about them is an important life skill, so start early and make your life easier.

Ms. Brooke
Lead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Curriculum & Literacy Coordinator

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday that kids love to celebrate! They really enjoy talking about leprechauns and their silly tricks! We like to do a variety of fun little activities for the kiddos and they are so simple, you can easily do them at home too!

Read How to Catch a Leprechaun- This is a book we read the week of St. Patrick’s Day. Its such a silly book to kick of the magic and excitement of St. Patrick’s Day for the kiddos! Amazon and Target both have copies for sale.

Making Magic Milk- Early in the morning on St. Patty’s Day, dye the milk green with food coloring. This way all day long the kiddos can enjoy the fun pop of color. Sometimes we blame it on the Leprechaun, sometimes we let the kiddos do it themselves! Either way, a silly way to brighten the day!

Make a Leprechaun Trap- Before St. Patrick’s Day, let your child create a Leprechaun Trap out of materials from around the house. We typically bring in a shoe box and let the kiddos design and decorate the trap. They love the idea of trying to catch the leprechaun and have a lot of fun building and working together to make it just right. At home you could use any type of recyclables that you may have lying around or can save ahead of time. Give your child some glue, scissors, green paper, straws, rubber bands, and any other craft supplies you have. Let them show off their creativity as you help plan and construct an awesome trap. This is such a fun project to work on together.

Setting Up the Trap- The night before St. Patty’s set up the leprechaun trap together. Before your kiddo wakes up, cause a little bit of a mess! The kids love this! Before our class comes in the room, I tip over chairs in silly ways, make things a little messy, and turn things upside down. I also add some gold glitter around the Leprechaun trap and leave out enough pretend gold coins for each of the children. This is really easy to do at home just to make the day extra exciting.

Go on a Clover Hunt- If you can, get out and try to go for a hike/walk. On your walk, have your kiddos try a clover hunt! This is just another easy way to add some excitement and celebrate St. Patty’s.
Hope you are able to do some of these fun St. Patrick’s Day activities at home! I just think it’s so fun to celebrate with kiddos, they really enjoy all of the magic!

Ms. Whitney
Lead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Curriculum Coordinator