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As you know, I love spending time with each of my children individually. I think it’s really important to build those parent-child bonds one-on-one and get to know each child away from the rest of the family. Family dynamics can definitely change their behavior, so I especially enjoy chatting and doing things with them when it’s just the two of us. That being said, it can be challenging to think of things to do with each of them every month that gives us an opportunity to talk while also having fun.
Since my daughter is the youngest, we’re still in a stage where our choices can be limited. However, we’ve come up with some fun Mommy-Daughter Bonding Time ideas that we both really enjoy. Here are five of our favorites.
- Painting Party
There’s a ceramics painting studio nearby that we’ve had a lot of fun going to for our Girls’ Date Days. You get to pick out a piece of bisque, paint it, and then leave it to be fired in the kiln. A few days later, you pick it up and see how it turned out. Not only is it fun to be creative together, it’s also a great chance to just sit and talk. We love to even paint at home… just a piece of paper, paint and a paint brush and she is happy as can be! Oh! Painting with Kool-aid is so much fun, too!
- Walking at the Park
We have a lot of GREAT parks near the lake where we live. We love going to them as a family, but Allie & I also use them for our mommy-daughter days. Taking a slow, Allie-paced walk together gives us a chance to talk about what we see on the trail and, more importantly, about things that are on her mind. She’s a sweet, intelligent, funny girl and I love hearing how she processes things.
- Hot Chocolate and a good Book
We live near an adorable little town, Davidson, that has a cute little book store. They have a little place to sit and read books together. Allie and I like to browse the books and magazines (Beau likes to do this on his special day, too). We have even stopped next door to get hot chocolate on our way (her favorite). Even if we don’t get books, it’s still a great chance to bond and connect.
Ps- If we don’t get hot chocolate while we are out, she’s happy to drink it at home in her pajamas! 🙂
- Playing a Board Game
One of my favorite things to do is play board games, so it’s no surprise the I get our kids involved. From Chutes and Ladders to Candy Land, we’ve played them all. So, it’s become one of our go-to mommy-daughter bonding time activities to break out a few different games and have a game day. We’ve also packed them up and taken them with us to the park just to get out of the house! If we don’t feel like playing… we don’t. We just kick our feet up & enjoy our afternoons, none-the-less!
- Lunch Date
Every few months, my daughter and I head to our favorite restaurant alone and have a Mommy-Daughter Lunch Date (usually we eat there as a family, but sometimes we sneak away… just the two of us). It’s not so much about the food – although the sweet potato fries dripping with butter & sugar is delicious – it’s more about just sitting and talking, play tic-tac-toe until the food arrives, and making memories of just the two of us. I can’t even tell you what I had the last time we went to eat, but I can vividly remember how we told silly jokes that made her giggle like crazy.
Ps- not to worry… she gets dressed up for EVERY outing! This girl loves her dresses! 😉
While we’re not doing the pedicure and manicure Mommy-Daughter Date Days just yet, I’m sure that once she gets older we’ll be doing more of those types of things too. For now, I’m happy to keep her little and enjoy the simple things. Time is flying by and, before I know it, she’ll be all grown up… our sweet Allie B.
I’d love to send you my one-on-one time calendar, too. You can grab it here:
We only have a few years to really be present in their lives. Let’s spend these years wisely.
ps- I want to invite you to sign up for my FREE e-mail series called One on One time. It is completely free & I will send you this calendar to get you started. 🙂
