13 Ways to Help Our Children Be More Patient and Less Lonely
At, Camp Kupugani, our multicultural overnight summer camp in the beautiful Midwest (and close to Madison, WI, and Chicago, IL), helping our campers feel connected and cared for are top priorities. We do this by facilitating children’s spending time being electronics-free, connecting with peers from different backgrounds and age groups, and enjoying unstructured time in nature. A recent article from Your Modern Family discusses why our children are less focused and more lonely; bullets below, and the rest of the article here.
- Let kids be bored!
- Boredom helps your child ponder creative ways to engage him/herself.
- Giving kids chances to be bored helps them work through this issue by themselves.
- Let them be resourceful.
- Let your child use your pots and pans as a drum set.
- Help your child with imagination to create amazing things out of everyday objects.
- Let them PLAY in real life.
- Have play dates at your house with friends without technology.
- Present board/card games that elicit creativity and silliness.
- Let them lose.
- Losing helps kids learn that they are not going to always win in life.
- It helps them see what skills they need to work on.
- It reminds children that rewards generally have to be earned (and feel better that way!)
As parents, we play a big role in shaping how our kids will act as adults. See below for a few tips on what we can do as parents to help our children become the best versions of themselves.
- Ten Minutes a Day…
- Spend time playing with your kid without electronics
- Play outside
- Play cards
- Draw
- Spend time playing with your kid without electronics
- Teach them to do things for pride in themselves and the activity itself.
- Don’t play into the “punishing by rewards” model
- If they do it because they want to, they get greater joy out of the actual task rather than the reward.
- Talk
- Ask your child about his/her day.
- Ask open-ended questions to keep the conversation moving.
- Ask silly questions to help with imagination.
- Give Responsibilities
- Start age-appropriate chores young.
- Have your child(ren) take greater responsibility as they get older.
- Bedtime
- Sleep is super important to your child’s development.
- Routines help kids know expectations.
- Set Electronic Boundaries
- Boundaries at a young age help them to appreciate boundaries when older.
- Keep electronics out of the bedroom!
- Be there for them
- Don’t just say you are there for them; SHOW them!
- Help your child work through tough emotions.
- Put down YOUR phone
- This helps to keep you present in activities and conversations.
- Limiting distractions helps you to be more productive with your time.
- Teach by Example
- Model appropriate screen time.
- Show your child how to express feelings appropriately.
- Children learn much better with the “do as I do and say as I say” model rather “than do as I say, not as I do”.
Adapted from yourmodernfamily.com