Creating Connection with your Son

I am always looking for fun and innovative ways to connect with my sons. As they are getting older and more independent, I am so grateful we have family traditions that encourage bonding and one-on-one time.

The creative side of me loves a good theme, catchphrase, or alliteration. I especially like making ordinary things seem special. Here are a few ways my husband and I connect with our sons.

Creating Connection with your Son Omaha MomDude’s Dates

Being the parents of identical twin boys and having no other children, we did everything as a family of four. Truthfully, it took us a long time to realize that our boys were never without one another. As the boys got older, we started Dude’s Dates.
 
A Dude’s Date is when one child and one parent hang out. Sometimes it was going to the park together or grabbing a smoothie. Other times it was staying home and watching a movie or eating ice cream in bed. The boys love when we surprise them on a Saturday with a Dude’s Date. They also enjoy knowing about it in advance and planning every detail.

Walk-and-Talk 

We started Walk-and-Talks when the boys turned five years old, and we still find great joy in them. I would take one child, and we would go for a 20-minute walk around the neighborhood. It wasn’t about how fast we walked, and there was never a final destination. The Walk-and-Talks were to allow my preschooler to feel in control and important. For me, the Walk-and-Talk was to connect with him on a deeper level. 
Some Walk-and-Talks we talked in great depth about the universe and stars. Other walk-and-talks I did more listening as the topic was a new video game they wanted or a toy they wanted to tell me about. No matter the topic, these walks helped my son and I connect without the distraction of a sibling.

Silly Sunday

What started on a Sunday now happens any day that needs a change-up. Silly Sunday is taking any normal activity and making it silly. That could be changing the location like reading outside or eating a snack in the bathtub. Silly could also mean doing an activity in a costume, a fort, or in the dark. Silly Sunday reinvents the mundane and sparks creativity in kids. This past year, our favorite Silly Sunday has been getting take out and eating in the back of our SUV. My boys call it a “picnic in the trunk.” 

Creating Connection with your Son Omaha Mom

Take a simple everyday activity and make it special or different. Give the activity a fun name or shake it up a little by adding an unexpected twist.

These are a few things my family does to deepen the relationships with our children. I encourage you to find something that works for your family. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive.

Do you have any similar traditions? What special things does your family do to connect? Share with us in the comment below.

Rebekah
Becka is an Iowa native who moved to Omaha in June 2015. She is one half of a higher education couple, a mom to identical twin boys (Avery and Elliot 2014) and two sassy wiener dogs (Nora and Knox). Becka enjoys the craziness of twins and the unpredictability of each day. Even with three degrees, most recently a doctorate in higher education, she continues to find herself googling things like “pachycephalosaurus + herbivore” or “excavator vs digger.” With two very energetic and curious preschoolers at home Becka enjoys the peacefulness of her daily commute to Lincoln where she is a coordinator in the Nebraska Business Honors Academy. Becka loves being outdoors in her garden, on the lake with her family, or sitting on the patio with a friend. Her kryptonite is diet coke, peanut m&m’s and a kid free Target trip.