Building Connections with Kids

Having healthy relationships with the kids in our lives is one the of the best ways to support and protect their mental health. A healthy connection parent-child relationship not only helps children bounce back from life’s difficult moments, but it also helps children handle big emotions, reduce negative behaviors, boost their attention spans, increase their sense of belonging and build social skills.

Building a healthy connection with your child starts the moment they’re born. The way we interact with them, the way we respond to their behaviors and the way we handle our own stress are all important. We have some resources to help get you started:

1. Intentional Child Time. Parenting is hard and your time is limited. What if we told you there are recommendations of things you can do when spending time with your child that research has shown builds healthy relationships and improves child behavior? The best part is that it only takes a few minutes a day! Learn about intentional child time and how to get started.

2. Conversations. Our children want to feel like they’re important and heard. This is why we recommend daily check-ins with your children. Conversations about topics big or small build closeness in the parent-child relationship, help you get to know your child, and help children feel comfortable coming to you when they’re in need. Here’s how to start and keep conversations going.

3. Routines. Creating a daily schedule and routine for children can often feel like a magic wand when it comes to building positive behaviors. This is because when kids know what to expect out of their day, they feel more in control. Additionally, power battles decrease because they start building habits. Find strategies for building routines in your home.

4. Responding to difficult behaviors. How we treat our kids when they misbehave is just as important as how we spend fun time with them. While our job as parents is to guide their behavior, we also want to make sure we respond in a way that does not harm the relationship. Learn more about why kids act out, how to encourage more of their positive behavior, and discourage their challenging behavior.

5. Take care of you. Parenting can be hard because we are humans too. We feel strong emotions just like our children and on hard days, it is really difficult to show up as our best selves and parent. Taking care of yourself will help you be more effective at connecting with your kids. We have some ideas of how to get started.

You can start improving your relationship with your child today. Select the step, or two, that you feel most comfortable with. Over time, expand to more of them. As you try more elements, you will gain confidence and be ready to do even more.