I do. But I l know some parents that just plop them in front of the TV, or buy them a toy and leave them with it, for an hour or 2, or even 3. I also know kids that see there baby sitter more often then there parents! And it's not even because there busy! It's because they go to dinner, dinenr partys, partys, Bars, stuff that couples without children would do! And I am the babysitter! But I have got to know the kids I babysit so well, that it's no bother. And my kids have no problem with it, neither does my husband. But I just can't stand it how a parent would do that to there children. I have a 6 year old and an 8 year old. I always do activities with them, crafts, baking, knitting, coloring, shopping. And so does my husband, so we have great relatonships with our kids. I'm just curious about you people out there? Dad's escpecially, but mothers to. Do you really spend time with your kids? If so what do you do?
- Trisha
2007-12-27 05:07:30 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
Because if you don't, It effects your kids trust me. I know that kids that spend time with there parents have a much smaller chance, of smoking, using drugs, and getting into trouble. I used to counsel kids at a elementary school, and I would ask them, Does your mommy and daddy spend time with you? And they would say no, not really. Some even admited to being abused. I just think it's horrible
2007-12-27 05:10:17 · update #1
Before I had kids, I made sure I had my life figured out. And that I would be okay for a long time. I made sure I had every kind of insurance My kids and I would need. And that I would have time to spend with them. Then I had kids. And all worked out fine.
2007-12-27 05:17:28 · update #2
Amanda R, that is not it at all! I am just curious, I regret things I have done as a mom. So I don't think i'm perfect the least.
2007-12-27 05:18:37 · update #3
My kids are now 15 and older and spend less time with ME lol When they were younger I spent ALL my time with them. I was the babysitter, I ran a day care and when I worked I worked at their headstart so I was with them. I worked later on at other places but seasonally while they were in school. So basically even when I did work I was still here when they were or with them at work.
I RARELY had babysitters to the point when I needed one it was hard to find one as I used them so rare.
As far as activities we have tons of family games, more than once my house has been destroyed by crafts, and I have even went as far as to go outside and bag up "snow" and put it in my bathtub when they were todders and couldn't get out to play as it was to cold, to deep, etc. Kind of freaked my husbad out when he came home and went to take a shower only to find his tub full of.........snow?? Even bathtime was a creation. I'd take several small bowls of shaving cream and put food coloring in it. They draw all over the tub walls and themselves. It doesn't stain when in the cream.
Some of the most fun I ever had was playing with my kids. Now days they are off on their own and I miss those times.
I still do things with them its just harder to get them to agree as friends and other things, like friends, seem more interesting to a teen.
We camp every weekend all summer together. Have for 11 yrs. We all attend sports events regular. We also play them. We still do games occasionally. We fish together. We go to dinner together. My husband took my boys on a week vacation, they did fishing charters etc. Me and my daughter at home did other things, like horse back riding and planned a canoe trip but it was to cold to go. We plan seperate activities and together activities. As in my husband took the boys to a Globtrotter game last Christmas and the girls went to a Gretchen concert with me. The year before we ALL went on a Christmas toboganning trip. We sled together too. I fish with my boys and play BB, my hub shops with my girls and takes them for hair appointments and all. We do it together or shuffle it around. Now my oldest is doing the same with her younger sibblings. She has them overnight, goes to movies, games, and other activites.
We have a pool table and a babsketball shooting game thats life size we all challenge each other on. Family games too. Sometimes just cards and my youngest is a tic tac toe pro!!! We do that together every doc app as we wait...... Family bike rides are fun. We make ginger bread houses and Christmas cookies together. We also make these cady/cookie Thanksgiving turkey's together. I have cooked on "light bulbs" and drank tea from tiny cups. I have sat in sand boxes and got as dirty as my kids making mud pies. I have had mini gardens next to my garden.............. I can shoot baskets with my boys and make a pretty good competion although I don't usually win......... I've hoola hooped, rollar bladed, played lazor tag, gotten soaked in water fights, had the crap scared out of me on Halloween, ruined several outfits with painted or ketcup fingers pulling on my shirt or spilling on it, I've eaten fake mud pies and ran around the yard with a square shovel making roads for tanka trucks, I have been dumped off 4-wheelers and left sitting on my tush as I heard the giggle and 4 wheeler fade away, I have made a complet fool of myself when dared to do jumping jacks in the middle of the mall, I have sat on Santa's "other knee" for comfort, I have squeezed into very small rides to hold a hand, and I have nearly cried on several ferris wheels so they could ride too, (I am petrified of heights!), I have been in the "family olimpics running a race with a fruit basket on my head only to finish with a hula hoop around my waste, I have been hit by many baseballs as I TRIED to help practice,I've tied loops over and under bridges and through bunny ears, I've helped search for a lost tooth in a piece pf peanutbutter celery at snack time in a kindergarten class, I've made doll clothes and built dollhouse furniture from popcycle sticks and material scarps, I know who GI joe is and his many components. I know all about little army guys and the best horses to fit them on, I know growling dinasours from Jurassek Parks and the names of the ninji turtle on down to the barney songs and made many guesses on Blue's clues. Does anyone recall the Elephant song?? I know refriderators filled with math pages and finger scribbles, I know the sound of a hot wheels vrrroooooming through the toliet as the lid drops back down, and little hands quickly folding behind a back as if they are completely innocent of it getting in there, I've sat calling operators at the crack of midnight on New Years eve to scream Happy New year!
I can testify they have been the best years and experiences of my life and I woudnt trade a moment of them for anything.
I also know you can do all those things and care more than anybody and sometimes kids still find that bad road. However its easier to see it when it comes if you better knwo your child and easier to get them to talk to you if they are use to it and comfortable prior. Don't just play with your kids or raise them, be there for them too!
Thanks for the sway of memories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gee some real touchy people here I would assume stemming from guilt of not spending time with their children. Understandable some have less time but thats no reason to down such a thing, only to regret not having more yourselves. It doesn't make anyone a bad parent, doing what needs done is a good thing. Whats bad is ignoring the fact or not caring about it at all. Children need and desire that bond. I feel bad for parents who don't get this time. I feel bad for kids who could have it but the parents don't care. I don't think the asker is gloating I think she is beeming with joy like any other mother tends to do at times. There is nothing wrong with this question and in fact I think its a good question reminding us all what we might be missing or need to do more of. Including myself!!!
2007-12-27 05:50:40 · answer #1 · answered by savahna5 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I spend a ton of time with my girls 2 and 4 years old. I'm also a stay at home mom and get to have all day with them. We hang out together and take walks. We do art even though my 2 year old prefers the walls for her creativity!
But some moms aren't as lucky.
My sister in law works 40 hours a week and then on top of that she doesn't have a car so it's an extra 1-2 a day she spends walking or having people drop the kids off at daycare. But even with these issues I know that all her free moments are with the boys. 4 of them 8,7,4,2 years old.
My husband always makes it an issue to spend his nights home with the girls and then makes a day on the weekend for us. Hey, we have to have a life too and we take a day on the weekend where will go and get errands done or my husband will hang out with his buddies. But other than that one day all our free time is devoted to our children. They deserve it! ^.^ I know they love having mommy and daddy be around.
My mom was a stay at home mom and she would lay in her room watching tv while my sister and I stayed in our room and played video games. On a day to day basis not that much time was spent together so I know how it feels to be a kid and be on the "back burner" so to speak. I make sure my kids never have to feel that way.
There are also times that I just let my kids be kids and play by themselves in their room. I don't think it's healthy for me to entertain them 24/7. They have to be able to play and be imaginative on their own or they will be very restless adults. I know they love to play in their tent and then it's no mommies allowed. Remember when you are entertaining your kids that they need time to themselves too. It's healthy. ^.~
God Bless and Happy New Year.
2007-12-27 05:42:33 · answer #2 · answered by Mommy of Lily, Daisy, and Jayson 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I spend as much time as possible with my kids. I'm a single father to two now (6 and 3, boy and girl respectively) and my days are pretty full running a business, but we've made alot of changes to make things work. I set up a small daycare-like environment in what used to be my office so that my kids (and my employees' kids - it's a small business, 16 of us work there total) are always nearby and my sister (who is a certified Early Childhood Family Education teacher) runs our daycare. I've also promoted a couple people (it used to be just me in charge of the restaurant) so that I can be home nights and so I can be more available to my kids.
We have morning rituals, my son helps me make breakfast and my daughter picks out what plates we're going to eat off of. After breakfast we walk our dogs together and talk about what we're going to do today. We read together alot, we go to the movies once a month, we have a movie rental night once a week, we go to parks and beaches in the summer, we go sledding and we build snow-animals and snow forts in the winter, and we go "hunting" with binoculars (I'm not a hunter) at a nature preserve probably twice a week or so. I help my son with his homework when he gets some and my daughter is in preschool so we play letter games and number games. We have play dates with neighbors and with my nieces and nephews almost every day, which is where my kids are right now. We groom our dogs and cats together, we feed them together, all these simple life skills and acts of common compassion are things I really want them to remember and to enjoy. So far so good. :)
I completely agree with what you've written, I have seen so many kids who just seem to shrivel away because of neglectful parents who think that toys and television are replacements for parenting! It's so sad.
2007-12-27 05:30:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well-I have to work so my son has to go to day care. When we are home we hang out. We cook, shop (he loves the grocery store), take the dog on walks at a nature trail, go to a local zoo, watch a movie, play. Just mom and son stuff that everyone does I guess. I do have to do stuff around the house so I may take an hour to clean-but he has his own cleaning toys so he "helps" me out with that. If I am not at work I am pretty much with my guy-unless he is sleeping. To be honest I feel guilty if I am not with him. My mom does come keep him maybe once every 2-3 months and my hubby and I go to dinner that doesn't include having food tossed at us or begging anyone to try eating veggies. That is the extent of it. Not all kids get that kind of parent time. That is also why I don't want more children-my son gets all of my attention and I like it that way. To be honest I feel bad for mom's with lots of kids who miss out on getting all the one-to-one time with a child. I know kids who are in homes with 4-5 kids and the oldest is raising the siblings since there is so much work. That is sad to me. But I was an only so I see things as being fairly child-centered once the child is born and life as you knew it can resume after they are out of college:) When I will also have money to go out to dinner again-LOL
2007-12-27 05:23:08 · answer #4 · answered by VAgirl 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I am a stay at home mom and I try to spend all day playing with my kids. I have a two year old and a one year old. We live on a ranch so every moring my little girl goes out to feed the cows with her dad. While their gone My son and I get one on one time. His favorite game is ball. We can throw a ball back and fourth for an hour and he never gets tired of it.
My little girl loves playing with building blocks. We spend most of our time together on the floor building houses. When she gets tired of that we read books. She loves books.
My husband is my greatest help and he spends hours each day playing with them. They are very happy kids.
2007-12-27 05:16:55 · answer #5 · answered by edelraye 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am a stay at home mom too, so they are with all day and night. I want this, because when that day when they are ready for school, they won't be around during the day anymore, so I won't to spend as much time with them now before they start school. That's still some years away too.
2007-12-27 06:05:25 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
well, i'm a sahm and i spend the vast majority of my waking hours playing with my kids. but that's not to say i don't also let my children play by themselves (or with each other, or with friends) for an hour or two at a time (while i'm playing with another child, or doing housework). i think kids benefit immensely from time spent with parents, but they also benefit immensely from time spent with siblings, time spent with peers, and time spent on their own. i aim for a good mix that helps them become independent, forge good friendships, learn problem-solving skills, and feel loved. Do I ever go out to dinner with my husband and get a babysitter? Yes, maybe once a month or so. Does that destroy my kids? No -- I think it's good for them to bond with babysitters as well as me.
2007-12-27 05:28:45 · answer #7 · answered by ... 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
i try honest:)im a mom with 2 young boys and its hard spending time with them.im always working and i was in school but had to drop out for personal unfair reasons and i never saw my kids.when we are together though we read,sing and play together.interact with each other is crucial but hard with my work schedule.
2007-12-27 05:15:24 · answer #8 · answered by feeling it 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Of course! I'm playing Yahtzee with my 6 year old right now. We don't have tv...
2007-12-27 05:17:55 · answer #9 · answered by daa 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes of course. I love my daughter and I always spend time with her. She is my world!
2007-12-27 07:14:59 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
So are you asking for praise because you spend time with your kids?? Congratulations - you're the best mom ever!
2007-12-27 05:16:23 · answer #11 · answered by Amanda R 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋