The Importance of One On One Time

Before becoming a mom I already had so many fears, naturally. Who doesn’t worry about whether or not they will be a good mom?

After my son was born we spent every single day together, one on one. It was just the two of us at home the majority of the days. When I got pregnant with my daughter, my biggest fear was being able to give my son the same attention. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to and that terrified me.

I was afraid that with a new baby around my son was going to feel like he was replaced, that he wasn’t important, that he lost his parents. Before she was even born I was already heartbroken for him.

When she was born he was just about fourteen months old. Being that young he did have an adjustment period where he learned that sometimes his sister needed me first, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t also get my attention. Because he was so young, he has grown up not knowing a life without her.

In the last four years, I have always made it a point to have one on one time with them. That way each of them gets a set time to spend with their parent(s) without the interruption of one another. I’ve included some of our favorite ways to spend time together.

lunch/dinner out

Cam had a favorite diner local to our previous house that he ALWAYS requested to visit. On his day home with me from school, we’d head there for lunch and enjoy a meal together.

library visits

Our local library has the sweetest kids section with books and toys for them to play with. We occasionally visit and while they don’t always want to play with me, sometimes they just enjoy going there to play by themselves or with the other kids. We have also visited Barnes & Noble for this kind of time together.

movie theaters

Depending on the age of your children, a movie theater is always a fun place to visit (especially on a rainy day). Not only is it less crowded during the day, but it is cheaper!

craft projects

My kids love crafting or even to help me with a project at home. If you have an easy project to do, recruit one of your littles for someone on one time while they help you. It will make them feel important and you will have an extra set of hands!

One-on-one time doesn’t have to be extravagant. It doesn’t even have to take place outside of your home. Keeping one of them up a little later to share a snack and watch a movie with you would make their love buckets feel just as full. Waiting to have lunch together until your other kids are napping would also be a great alternative.

No matter what you choose to do, your little humans just want to know that they are important to you and that they matter.

Written by: Krystle Barnes
Queen of the Beehive