Shining Stars Child Care Encourages Parents to Spend Quality Time with Children
Busy lives can interfere with quality time together, but Shining Stars Child Care stresses the importance of taking the time, however limited, to make a positive and meaningful connection. Childhood goes by quickly and personalities emerge from an early age – are you taking the time to get to know who your child is as a person?
“You have to get down on their level,” said Shari Rabehl, Shining Stars Child Care Director. Eye contact is something they stress; bend down and look the child in the eye to get their full attention – and offer yours. Chat with them and listen to what they have to say.
Something Shining Stars sees more often is the distraction of tablets and phones. It’s easy to get pulled into using these devices or offering them to children to keep them occupied. However, time with screens isn’t a substitute for one-on-one time. Make a conscious effort to limit screens and plan other simple activities that allow you to bond with your child. The benefits will be reaped in the long run.
Taking the time to spend meaningfully with the kids also produces many other benefits that they’ll carry through the rest of their lives. After all, parents are the main role models for behavior and how to treat others. By talking to them, and having them see how you talk to others, they are rapidly learning people skills, however subtle it may seem. By modeling being caring, considerate, and respectful in the way you speak with others, kids will pick up these traits as well.
Social relationships are vital for a child’s well-being as they grow up and navigate the world. Through quality time and modeling good behavior, kids will have the support system they need to go out fearlessly into the world, and change it for the better.
