I have always stressed that paying special individual attention to your child is very important. Many families have busy schedules that interfere in spending one on one quality time with their children. If you are mom to 6 children or a mom to one child, it is still important to make sure you set aside some time and give that child one on one time.
Something I like to do with my son is have “mommy son dates” with him. The date can be as simple as going on an errand or going to the ice cream shop. Generally, if you classify the special time as a date, something more than running an errand would be nice. However, at my son’s age right now, anything alone time with mommy seems to be special with him since my youngest daughter seems to rule the roost sometimes with her tantrums and fits. However, I usually try to go get icecream, play putt putt golf, or reserve something that would be classified as fun as a date with my son.
I can say that he seriously enjoys and looks forward to those special one on one outings with me. He is only 4; however, as he gets older it will only become more and more important to do these thing as he grows up to be a young man. Believe it or not, teenagers thrive on attention, even boys. Who doesn’t want their mommy or daddy’s attention? It doesn’t matter the age.
So how do I find time to do these mommy son dates? Well, it generally always happens when my daughter is taking a nap and my husband is home, so on the weekends. Sometimes, it has happened in the evening when my husband is home. For example, last Friday night, my son and I made a date to Party City to scope out Halloween costumes. This isn’t a typical date, but he still had fun. Last month my son and I went to Baskin Robbins and putt putt golf. The goal of these mommy dates is to make sure I give my son 100% attention. I want him to know that he can have my attention and that I care about what he says or does. I do these things of course when we are not on a date, but to make a “special” outing, it makes him feel even more special.
Not only do I do mommy son dates, but my husband and I also do “mommy daddy son” dates. We will leave my daughter with my in-laws and take my son to the movies. You are probably wondering, “poor daughter”. Well, we definitely plan on doing these dates with her also! She is 21 months old right now. You can see the difference now, right? She is at the stage right now where much of the attention is on her. Whether it be tantrums, fits, or more, it does take “quality time” away from our son, like any new baby or new situation would in a household.
What do you think? Have you done these special dates before?
