One of the easiest places to build a connection between you and your family is the dinner table. You've heard us say it before, and you'll likely hear it said again, the dinner table is such an important place of connection. Many families really do understand that.
Yet we hear from parents that dinner time is the ultimate stress time for the family: getting food on the table and then into bodies who won't sit still and who are so busy poking their siblings with a fork that there is no possibility of connection.
Today’s lifestyle can be very hectic, full of duties and interruptions for many children. Still, parents are worried that they are not creating enough activities or experiences for their children. Based on my experience, there is an increasing amount of child-related issues around restlessness and finding it more difficult to calm down and concentrate. They are often bombarded by schedules, activities, hobbies, noises and overstimulation. I often recommend to do less and ‘just be’ more.
A few decades ago, parents eagerly waited for drop-off day at summer camp. For a few glorious weeks, they could happily ditch their roles of chauffeur, chef and chaperone. They’d read a few more books, have an extra glass of wine with dinner and simply enjoy a respite from the non-stop pace kids require.
“It’s the worst day of my life” is a common refrain from my son. When I pick him up from an activity or from school, he often starts with his list of what was wrong with his day. For a person who strives to find the positive and keep her sense of humor, it can be challenging to parent a child who tends toward the negative. My standard comeback is that he needs to tell me an equal number of positive comments to balance the negative ones. Sometimes this reduces the list of complaints and, at the very least, teaches him perspective.
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