Have you ever wondered how you can get more involved in your child’s life? Perhaps you may have wondered if parental involvement is important for children?
No matter what your reason is, Family Link Therapist Sidney Vernon, MSW, has listed a few suggestions below on how you can become more involved in your child’s life.
How to get more involved in your child’s life:
1. Create routines.
Routines help children to feel safe and provide structure to their lives. To get more involved in your child’s life, consider making new family routines. Some examples include: try to have a family dinner at least three times a week, start a weekly family game night, have a monthly family movie night, or have a family outing
2. Do a daily “check-in.”
To be more involved in your child’s life, try to build a routine of doing a daily “check-in” with your child. Come up with questions to ask your child during your daily check-in time like what was your favorite part of your day, how did you feel today, etc. Some good times to complete a daily check-in are in the car on the way home from school, on the walk home from the bus stop, bedtime, or any other time of day that you are and your child are typically already together.
3. Communication is key!
Communicating with your child is a great way for you to be more involved in their life. Depending on the age of the child, communication looks very different. Young children communicate through play and behaviors. Older children can communicate more through having conversations. If your older child does not feel comfortable talking, you can try writing letters back and forth.
Why to be more involved in your child’s life/ Some benefits may include:
- Improved attachment / relationship
- Builds trust
- Increases your child’s self-esteem
- Increases your child’s self-confidence
- May decrease your child’s bad behaviors
- May increase your child’s school performance
YCC’s Family Link Program
The Family Link program provides professional and compassionate short-term, outpatient counseling services to families with children ages 6-17 who are experiencing concerns that could disrupt the health and stability of the family. These services are available at no cost to residents of Baker, Clay, Duval, St. Johns and Nassau counties through appointments at the child’s school or other community locations. Click to learn more about Family Link and the 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Family. All Family Link counseling sessions are confidential. To learn more about services, please call (904) 720-0007.
