100 Easy Ways to Connect with Your Children

Doesn’t it sometimes catch you by surprise how hectic our world has become?

We’re running all over the place, scheduled to the absolute limit of space and time. There are some days when I have been so busy it has taken me until 4 pm to notice that my kiddos still have a smear of breakfast Nutella on their faces!

It makes me worry. Life, for all of us, is only going to get busier and busier. And If I can’t even find time to really look at them for breakfast smears, how on earth am I going to stay connected to them as they grow up??

Thankfully, with just a little bit of intentional action, there are lots of easy ways for us to stay connected with our kids.

I’ve made a list of 100 of these. Many of them only take about 10 minutes of real, quality time, and some not even that. Doing just a few of these everyday will create a deep and meaningful connection that will keep us bonded together despite our hectic lives.

Bookmark this page and come back to it often to spark up some new ideas in your mind to stay connected throughout the year. OK, here we go –

1. Read together
2. Cuddle on the couch while watching TV
3. Say “yes” to something you’d normally say “no” to
4. Give them a hug
5. Draw together
6. Feed some ducks at a pond with them
7. Visit your local library and see what books inspire them
8. Build something with them – Legos, toy models, dog houses
9. Spend a Saturday together at a museum
10. Pick a day to leave work early and spend that time with them
11. Teach them how to make their favorite cookie recipe
12. Go to the park
13. Play a video game where you are on the same team
14. Take them swimming
15. Build a fairy garden with stuff from the dollar store
16. Play a board game or card game with them
17. Teach them the Cat’s Cradle yarn game
18. Listen to their favorite music
19. Leave messages in their lunch box or backpack
20. Learn about one musician they love
21. Journal with them
22. Do yoga together
23. Ask them about their favorite things
24. Have dinner together
25. Have a post-dinner dance party
26. Go out on a parent-child date
27. Show your child what happens when you put Mentos into a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke
28. Have a water balloon fight
29. Play catch
30. Hit the road for a weekend road trip
31. Have them clean with you
32. Watch a movie – at home or in a theater
33. Make a movie
34. Play dress-up or costume maker
35. Go fishing
36. Give them a compliment about something they struggle with or have been working on
37. Let them sit on your lap
38. Say “I love you”
39. Let them plan an outing for the whole family
40. Walk them to school
41. Have them explain Pokémon, or Little Pony, or Transformers to you
42. Share a secret
43. Tell them you believe in them
44. Write a story together
45. Go camping overnight together, even if it is in your backyard or in the living room
46. Go hiking away from technology
47. Take them to a concert
48. Enjoy an ice cream at the neighborhood ice cream shop or right at your dining table
49. Take lessons together where you both learn a skill
50. Have a bedtime routine where you do at least one thing together (brushing teeth, getting ready for the next day or reading together – they all count)
51. Be silly
52. Take them to a sporting event
53. Have a picnic
54. Go on a train ride
55. Get them to tell you about a book they read or a game they played at school
56. At dinner, go around the table and talk about what you are grateful for
57. Talk to them in the car, whether it is deep meaningful conversations or silly goof off topics, they all count
58. Make cards and decorations together for whatever holiday is coming up next
59. Tell them riddles and have them find some of their own to stump you
60. Help them throw a birthday party for their favorite stuffed animal
61. Invite them to a tea party (real or pretend)
62. Fold origami cranes together
63. Make these simple suncatchers
64. Tie-dye t-shirts in the backyard
65. Get everyone together for a family game night
66. Sit with them while they do their homework
67. Hold their hand when you are walking together (somewhere, anywhere)
68. Fold clothes together
69. Make up silly poetry together
70. Do some Mad Libs with each other
71. Build a Dungeons and Dragons adventure to play as a family
72. Find a nice path and go for a bike ride together
73. Tell them about someone from history and why you admire them
74. Make pizza together
75. Tell them one thing about them you think is awesome
76. Take them to the Renaissance Festival and spend the day speaking like knights and queens
77. Go fly a kite
78. Pick flowers and arrange them in vases
79. Make them breakfast in bed
80. Let them make you breakfast in bed
81. Talk about the pet they would get if they could get anything they wanted
82. Go to a flea market and find something to fix up together
83. Rake up some leaves and have your kids jump into the piles
84. Find a big hill and go sledding with them in the winter
85. Make a fleet of paper airplanes and see which one goes the farthest
86. Tell them about how you met their dad (or mom)
87. Tell them how happy you are to be their parent
88. Go to a pick-your-own farm and pick some fresh fruit – apples, strawberries, blueberries
89. Take some of that fruit and make smoothies, fruit salad or jam together
90. Go on a nature walk and pick up leaves and sticks to make into a hanging mobile
91. Make a bird seed feeder and see what birds come to visit
92. Help them learn to roller skate
93. Tell them stories from when you were a kid
94. Listen to a book on CD together
95. Watch them when they practice their instrument or sport
96. Paint their toes and have them paint yours (boys or girls, doesn’t matter)
97. Let them cry on your shoulder whenever they want, for as long as they want
98. Enroll in mommy-and-me class (music, swimming, Zumba… it’s all good!)
99.  Have them teach you about emojis

And the absolutely bestest way ever to connect with your child…

100. Listen to them. Honestly and earnestly.

So, there you have it. 100 different ways to stay connected with your kids. Even though it looks like a monster list, I know I have only scratched the surface. I’d love to hear some of your favorites.

What do you do to stay connected with your kids on a day-to-day basis?

Think it over for a bit and leave a comment below. Let’s put together the most awesome list ever that we can all come back to time and again!