Why is it important to bond with my child?
When you spend time with your child, you can help them feel loved and promote their self-confidence. For children, connection with their parents will help promote their sense of belonging and building positive identity and sense of self.
Relationship building is an important factor of human wellbeing. Thus, treating your child with kindness and respect will help teach your child how to have healthy relationships as they grow.
Building a strong bond with your child will give them a sense of safety and security. That means when they go through hard times, they’ll feel comfortable talking to you about their concerns.
Talking about feelings
Talk with your child about how they’re feeling. Ask them how they feel about certain experiences. Ask them what made them feel that way. Children will feel listened to, and their experience validated, which is a big part of bonding with your child. It will also help them to make sense of their feelings.
Together, you can explore ways they can deal with their feelings. If they’re feeling angry, you might suggest going and jumping on the trampoline or kicking a ball together. Maybe they might like to listen to some music, draw or read a book with you.
Talking with your child about their feelings and helping them find ways to express their feelings in a healthy way, will help your child learn valuable skills that will serve them well for their entire life and give them a sense of mastery.
Above all, your children should feel loved by you. Even at times when you feel disappointed by their behaviours, you should ensure they feel loved and accepted.
The importance of play
Play is a child’s way of learning or trying out different ideas and understanding their experience. However, most of all – it’s fun. Playing is one of the easiest bonding experiences you can have with your child. Play can help your child to:
- Relax and unwind
- Release positive creative energy and have some control and sense of mastery in their lives
- Express their ideas and understanding of themselves and the world around them
- Help them to make sense of their experiences
- Try out different ideas
- Build their capacity for creativity and imagination, which helps to provide a foundation for their problem-solving skills
- Learn how to interact with others and build their expressive language skills.
Playing with my child — where do I start?
Playing with your child doesn’t need to cost money nor needs to be difficult. The main aim for playing with your child is to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. It will give you a chance to relax, be creative, use your imagination and give you the opportunity to strengthen your relationship.
Playing with your child can be as simple as saying yes to playing one of their games, offering to kick a ball outside, playing with Play-Doh, drawing or baking a cake. The list is endless.
You could also suggest doing something that you both like to do together, like playing with a remote-control car, fishing, riding a bike, building a sandcastle or more. They’ll enjoy your company and might even gain an appreciation of your interests.
Above all, enjoy each other. Laugh, be silly and have fun.
For more children and parenting support
To learn more about our children and parenting programs or family support services, please visit our Family and Wellbeing page on our website. Our caring and compassionate staff support the emotional wellbeing of families as well as the development and growth of children.