As a parent, do you often wish that you could freeze time with your kids? Doesn't it feel like your 5-year-old kindergartener just learned yesterday how to crawl? Why do they grow up so fast?!
Here's how to slow down time with your kids — even if just for a bit.
1. Document it
If you already don't journal what your kids are up to, start! Buy each of them an individual journal, and once a month write what each one is up to. Journal specifics about what friends they play with, or if they are still little, what foods they like. Don't forget to mention big milestones like the dates they started walking, their first soccer goal, or when they lost their first tooth.
2. Have a lot of one-on-one time
Nothing is better than having one-on-one time with each one of your kids. And when you get that opportunity, take advantage of it! Look your child in the eye and relate to them how much they mean to you, and just how proud you are of them. Do something together that child particularly loves to do. Make them have a happy experience with you, and you will cherish seeing them smile — something you will always remember.
3. Engage
When you get the chance after school or throughout the day, instead of trying to do the dishes or check your emails, talk to your child! Grab a pint of ice cream out of the freezer, and eat it while you share what you did with your day, and then ask what they did with theirs. The main point here: Don't get easily distracted by the pile of laundry waiting to be folded or the dishes in your sink. Give your children your attention.
4. Put down the phone
Do you feel pressure that you have to record videos or get a picture of EVERYTHING your kids do? What if, instead, you allowed yourself to watch first-hand the way they blew out their candles on their 2nd birthday cake, or their expression after they cannon-balled into the swimming pool? Not everything has to be seen through the screen of your phone. Those little moments will have you grinning ear to ear that you got to experience it first-hand, just as your child did.
5. Celebrate big milestones
Don't take any time for granted. Celebrate their birthdays with meaningful parties. When they get their first soccer goal? Clap and hurrah as loud as you can! When they lose their first tooth? Don't let the tooth fairy forget!
These are moments and memories that will never happen again, so make sure you cherish them by celebrating them.
6. Take advantage of bedtime
When it is time for bed, sit with them until they drift asleep. That is the time when they are calm, and you can really freeze time, at least for a moment, to look at them and realize that tomorrow is a new day in which they will continue to grow. But, for now, allow yourself to cherish this moment in time when everything is perfectly still.
