Everyone likes to go on trips and do activities as a family. It is usually fun and builds strong family bonds and memories. Although this is very important we must also realize that good parenting depends on building strong relationships with each individual child as well. This not only establishes trust but it also creates unbreakable bonds between a parent and their child. All of our children are different and they each have certain traits, other than ?they are my child?, that make them special to you. The key first step is trying to figure out what activities or projects that each child likes to do with you.



Every child has their thing that they love to do with you and only you. As a parent you should be able to tell what that activity is. Here's a tip, watch what happens when you try to do that certain activity with them and the other children or spouse for that matter want to join in too. Usually it turns into a showdown of some sort, like boycotting or just acting miserable. Now if you have an only child figuring this all out may be easier. When my wife and I had our first child but prior to us deciding to have children every other year, I pretty much new what our child like to do with me and which activities he liked to do with my spouse. Of course as your children grow older their activities evolve, but take solace in the fact that there is always something that your child likes to do with just you?after all, it's your special time together and they feel that too. My advice is to try and get them accustomed to activities with you at an early age because then when they start growing they will progress to other activities with you naturally.

As important as it is for you to find something you and your child can relate too is the importance of having a spouse that doesn't get jealous or unpleasant about it. It is bad enough to have other children biding for your precious time, we definitely don't need our spouse upset about leaving them out of something. Your spouse must be made aware of the significance of individual activities and the special time with each child. I'm sure in the reasoning process an example or two can be brought up of how they have their bonding moments with the children as well, even if they don't realize it yet.

The main point of this is to not only find time for your children, but to find time for each individual child. In today's hustle and bustle world we tend to glob everyone and everything together; this is not always a good thing and can create rifts in the family later in life. If you take the time to build individual bonds you will find that you will have a stronger love, reverence and mutual admiration for each other for the rest of your lives?even in those brutal teen years.