Making a Positive Impact on Your Child

One moment we’re in the NICU, and in the next moment, Izabella is two-years-old. Now, I’m finding that all the statements fellow parents told me about motherhood going by in the blink of an eye are absolutely true!

I’ve been asking myself, “How do I make the most of my time throughout the day to impact my daughter?” We have to be realistic. There is no way we can give our kids every second even though I desperately want to. There is a fine balance of parenthood, working, home care, relationships and alone time.

I’ve done some brainstorming on how to parent in the moment because honestly today is all I can focus on. I want to pass on what I’ve learned and changed, in hopes of helping you if you’re struggling with time management.

Say Yes

By this I mean, if I’m in the middle of cleaning, working from home, or anything else, and Izzy asks to read a book or do a puzzle, then I’m right there with her. These are memories I don’t want to miss. I don’t drop everything, but I’ll find a stopping point and join her. To teach patience in the process, I make sure to remind her that she needs to wait.

Create Accessibility

I recently rearranged the house with the purpose of moving Izzy’s books and puzzles into the living room at her eye level. I did so because I wanted her to ask to be read to more often. Having the books out of her view made us both forget about it. Making the books more accessible has sparked her imagination and now she’s “reading” to herself, which melts my heart. Since my husband spends a lot of time away from home, I’ve also made our family photo albums easier to access. I want Izzy to see him as much as she wants.

Stimulate Imagination

More and more, parents feel as though the generations coming up have no idea what to do unless they have a video game, computer or tablet in hand, but don’t get me wrong these things are awesome. Izzy has certainly benefited from her iPad. Yet nothing is better than encouraging her to use her imagination.

I’m working on turning the TV off and turning the music on more often. I’m in love with a station on Pandora called “Pampers Baby Lullabies.” It’s a great mix of both baby and parent-friendly songs. I especially like that Izzy is exposed to songs that I sang when I was a young girl. Listening to this station is a much better option compared to something visual always entertaining her.

I’ll leave you with a quote from M. Grundler that reads, “The best inheritance a parent can give their children is a few minutes of their time each day.” I hope this is helpful and that you enjoy each moment with your children!