Parent/Child Notebooks
When I had one child, It seemed that I had more time to be patient and listen. It was easier to connect with that child because there was no one else vying for my attention. Now that I have three children, I find it more difficult to connect with each of them personally throughout the day. I feel like my oldest child, especially, gets pushed aside while I deal with the busy-ness of my three and five-year old boys who have a passionate love/hate relationship with one another. The best of friends, the worst of enemies! I am currently in the referee stage of life with them. If everyone survives until bed time, then we call that a successful day!
Meanwhile, my nine-year old has dreams, cares and inventions that he wants to share, but I am often unable to give him the full attention he needs. I always say, “Just a minute”…but a quiet minute hardly ever arrives in our home. Three boys…need I say more?
So this month in our MOPS group someone had the great idea to put together parent/child notebooks for each child. Parent/child notebooks where anything goes and it’s just between that child and the parent. It is a place to ask questions, share thoughts throughout the day, make up a joke…anything! And then it gets passed back and forth between child and parent daily.
When I presented this idea to my nine-year old, he was as excited as I was! What a great way to make a connection and give him the attention he needs. As my younger boys get older I think I will do the same with them. These will be such an awesome memory to look back on in years to come, as well.
We are passing our notebooks back and forth by hiding it under each other’s pillows. It’s a fun thing to find there at the end of the day. You could also come up with some sort of mailbox or other delivery system, keep it fun!
If you are not sure what to write about, I love these conversation starters! They cover a wide variety of subjects and I am sure you will both find out new information about one another.
