Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

In a fast moving society like today, it can be easy to go through the motions of life without thinking much. Wake up. Get the kids off to school. Pick the kids up. Go to soccer practice. Eat a quick dinner. Head off to a church activity. Go home and get to bed, so you can do it all over the next day.

As parents we need to make sure we stop frequently to really connect with our kids. It’s not enough to make sure they’re in the right schools, on the right athletic teams, and going to the right church activities. Kids crave interaction and attention from their parents, even if they don’t act like it.

When I was about 12, my mom mastered the art of connecting with her children. Every day when I arrived home from school, she’d have a glass of iced tea and a plate of cookies waiting for me. I’d walk in the door, drop my backpack, and head straight for the kitchen table. My mom would sit down with me and ask me about my day as I refueled for the afternoon.

Looking back, we didn’t spend hours talking. We spent maybe 10-15 minutes chatting over iced tea and cookies. But it was 10-15 minutes every single day that I had my mom’s undivided attention. And during those early middle school years, I learned that I could talk to my mom. That set the stage for the tumultuous high school years. When I was having problems, I knew I could talk to my mom, often over iced tea and cookies.

Parents, I urge you to set up some sort of routine to make sure you spend time with each of your children every day. Make sure they get some undivided attention from you while they’re young. It will help them feel secure. It will make them feel special and loved. And it will help open the lines of communication while they’re young, so talking to you is a habit when they’re older.

Photo by M Shades.

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