I know, I know, you’re probably thinking that you have enough to manage just trying to keep control of a busy single parent’s schedule. “Now she’s telling me I need to take on all my child’s interests too! Where on earth am I going to find time for that?!” I am not preaching that we need to get all involved and take on our children’s passions as our own, but I do think that we need to find time to care and get interested in what they are interested in. It gives us a way to connect and it gives us an “in” into what is going on in their lives.
Getting interested in our child’s passions can be as simple as watching cartoons with him on Saturday morning or watching the ballgame with her on television. It could also mean taking your child to an exhibit at the local museum of something that she is interested in or making sure that you catch as many soccer games that your child plays in that you can. Most of us single parents DO have busy schedules and if you have more than one child, you know very well how hard it can be to juggle what you have to do and still make time to support, love, and nurture each child. But, it is so worth it and starting with what our children are passionate about (even if it changes now and again) is a very good place to begin connecting.
Getting interested–asking questions, supporting, cheering them on–in what our children are passionate about is also a way of offering unconditional love and support. If we can be non-judgmental observers and let our child take the lead in his or her own passions, then we are letting them know that we believe in them and think that their interests and passions are as important as any task or responsibility we have to tend to.
Also: Using Kids’ Ideas and Solutions
Encouraging Creativity and Imagination