So I am sorry to admit, that I am not usually one of those mothers who LOVE to play with their kids. I love reading to my children, I could read to them for hours, and sometimes I do, but playing...well I'm pretty lame at it. However, this is one of the MANY areas in which I will like to improve as a mother.
A few months back I found this pamphlet called "to the mothers in Zion" it was from a talk given back in the 80's by Pres. Ezra Taft Benson. He gave a number of suggestions on how to spend time with children. To summarize he said the following:
1. Be at the crossroads- aka when they leave and return from school, dates, when they bring friends home, etc.
2.Be a Real Friend-aka Listen to your children, really listen, and among other things PLAY WITH THEM!
3.Read to your children- This is probably the one in which I do best! ;)
4.Pray with your children
5.Have weekly Home Evenings
6.Be together at Mealtimes
7.Read Scriptures Daily
8.Do things as a Family
9.Teach your Children
10. Truly Love Your Children.
Anyway, I have tried, and many times failed, but stilled tried really hard to apply these principles in my life, and "Be a Real Friend" has been on my mind a lot. I tried to play with little M, since little T is still pretty young, and he is mostly satisfied with smiling, and chewing on things. Anyway, to get to the point, I find that as kids get a little older, this mandate of being a real friend gets easier....so for all you mothers who are not PLAYERS...wait, that came out wrong! I played Dollhouse today, for a while, I even lost track of time a little, and the best part, I REALLY TRULY enjoyed it. It was not something I was doing for the good of my kids, but because it was fun! and I guess I just wanted to share that good feeling with the rest of the world.
so good night to all you Players!
1 comment:
Loved that post!
That's one of my goals this year too...because too many times, I try to keep them busy doing their own thing so I can get things done around the house...which is fine, but at the end of the day, I can tell if I have played with them enough or not...if I haven't they are VERY needy, and unhappy campers! Great reminder! I wasn't a great 'player' either...but like you said, it's fun, and you lose track of time....and most of all, the kids love it! :) Keep it up!
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