Bonding with your kids can be done at any age and in different ways. There is no denying the benefits of a great bond with your family, and as a father, finding different ways to engage, make core memories, and really enjoy spending time with your kids should be a priority.
Whether you have sons, daughters only, or you have both, integrating activities you can do one-on-one with each child or collectively as a family can really help you elevate how you interact as a family and enrich your quality of life, especially as they get older. Remember, it’s not about the quantity of time you spend together, but the quality of the interactions and the memories you create.
Need some inspiration for bonding with your kids? Let’s check out some ideas. Remember, it’s important to be open to your children’s suggestions and interests. They may have their own ideas for activities they’d like to do with you, and being flexible and open to their suggestions can help strengthen your bond.
Outdoor Adventures
The vagueness of this activity simply means you can adapt what you do to something that works for your entire family. If you love hiking and camping, this can be a great way to get together and bond as you experience the great outdoors. If you are more of a swimming family, heading to the coast and immersing yourself in some water fun could be exactly what you’re looking for. Cycling, running, beach days, scenic drives through the countryside or exploring a new town or city could also be great options for you.
The trick to making outdoor adventures work for you is to make them a collaborative experience so everyone gets to do something they want. This makes things special for you and your kids as you need them to be.
Get In The Kitchen
Cooking is an excellent activity for anyone at any age, and it doesn’t matter how good your cooking skills are or how old your kids are; getting in the kitchen together can be an amazing bonding experience.
Make it more of an experience by creating a menu together. If your kids are old enough to help with this, go shopping and buy the required utensils and ingredients, and then work together to create some hopefully delicious meals. If things don’t work out, then at least you had fun trying, and you can order takeout.
Maybe you can create your own favourite meal from childhood, or you let your kids pick the food you make, or you simply throw random food items together and see what you create. Not only are you developing essential life skills, but you are also making memories and bonding at the same time, because even if they don’t remember what they made or how it tasted, they will remember the time you spent with them in the kitchen.
Sports and Games
Not all kids are sporty, but most will enjoy playing games of some kind. So, embark on their favourite sport or game with them and get them to show you the ropes or show you your skills if you have them.
Whether you kick a ball around in the garden or head out to watch a game, find something you both have an interest in and dedicate some time to spending quality time together, just you and your child or children.
If gaming is more their thing, they can teach you their tricks and show you around their favourite game. You can play head-to-head if you’re both experienced gamers, or you can head to an arcade to play games. Alternatively, you can find new games to play, such as an online pool game or multiplayer quizzes, and you can even invest in VR sets to have a more fun and immersive bonding experience together.
DIY or Crafts
Sitting down and getting the arts and crafts out can be a perfect way to help your child explore their creative side and have more fun while you bond. From painting to sewing, scrapbooking, building those fun volcanoes, and more, crafts are endless. There are literally hundreds of different srts and crafts you can partake in to help you spend time with your child, doing nothing else but giving them your attention.
If they are older or more capable, indulging in some needed DIY fun tasks can also be a great activity. Are you DYIing automobile repairs? Do you have something to build for your wife, or do you simply want something fun to do together? Get some ideas and get down you can DIY together, and then once you’ve completed the tasks at hand, you can sit back and congratulate yourself on the finished result.
Storytelling and Reading
Storytelling and reading are similar but not the same. Reading with your child is a really great way to forge a bond, and you can do this activity right through from a few days old until they are fully grown. The time you are present, regaling them with epic tales and creative adventures ripped from the pages of their favourite books, is a core memory thousands of people have and cherish for their entire lives, and it’s a great gift to impact your child or children.
Storytelling, however, doesn’t always come from the pages of a book. It can be making up stories on the fly or bringing stories to life by using different voices and props to bring the words to life in a more creative and visual way that enhances the words coming out of your mouth. You can create stories to tell your child, you can make them together, or you can listen to the stories your child has created and explore their imagination with them to really get to know them better.
Dinner Date
Whether you have a son or daughter, taking them out on a dinner date means you can get exclusive one-on-one time with them over some good food. You can dress up and make an event of it or be as casual as you like. However, heading out for food can be a great way to bond and help you learn more about each other, especially as they get older. Even if they are disinterested teens or tweens, they will remember the effort you put in once they get through this awkward stage. So even if there is no immediate gratification or reward for your relationship, over time, they will appreciate that you wanted to bond with them.
Watch Movies
This can work in one of a few ways: you can introduce them to all of your favourite childhood movies or movie franchises, or you can watch theirs and learn all about what they love right now and what interests them so that you can create a connection via this. Or you can both explore new movies to watch together and make a special thing of working your way through a to-watch list. Even if you watch in silence, being together might be all you and they need at that point. Sometimes, it is not always about how interactive the activity is; it’s about organising something to do together and spending some time with each other, even if you are not actively engaging.
Get A Haircut Together
If you have a son and want some practical bonding time, then you can head out to the barbershop and get a haircut at the same time. You can treat yourselves to some pampering, and both look sharp and be ready to wow the world with your new haircuts. For fathers and daughters, playing an active role in taking time to visit hairdressers and taking an active interest in their new hairstyle and cut can allow you to help them feel good about their appearance and celebrate them by showing you care about how they look and feels with her new hair or what it means. It’s not just for moms to take a daughter for a haircut, dads can also be a part of the female grooming and hair care aspect of daughters as much as they would be with sons. You never know, you might actually learn something.
Volunteer Together
Find a mutual cause you’re both passionate about or a charity your child is passionate about, and spend some time volunteering together. Be it at an animal shelter, if they are allowed, food banks, helping people experiencing homelessness, volunteering at the local hospital, and more, finding places you can volunteer with children and see what good you can do in the lead, while reinforcing your parent-child bond.
You can bond with your children in many ways to help you create healthy, mutually respectful relationships that support your children as they need it and give you immense satisfaction. They keep the to epic parent-child bonding is to ensure that both parties are engaged, the environment is positive, and you make it about the quality of the experience, not the cost or time, but really getting to explore each other’s company.
