Are you having a bad day? It's possible you're not the only one in your household feeling a little bit grumpy. While most children may have fewer things to worry about than you do, they're still prone to bad days just like everyone else. Sometimes the stressors in their lives may not strike you as terribly important but if something matters to your child, chances are it matters to you, too. So what can you do to make your child happy?
Gabor Maté, co-author of Hold On To Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers (Random House, 2004) says that the best way to make kids happy is to make them feel secure, loved, accepted and enjoyed. "It's not a matter of gifts or toys or extraordinary activities, but of spending quality time with them," he says. "Let them sense by your attitude and your actions that the warmth of your relationship with them is your absolute highest priority in life."
We asked 10 moms about the things they do with their children that are guaranteed to turn that frown upside down. Here's a list of the top 10 smile-makers.
1. Spend quality time together and with friends. "My son and I go to the park almost every day," says Heather Camlot, mother of one-year-old Alexander. "He loves the swings and the sandbox and the space to roam around as he learns how to walk. Not only do we enjoy being outdoors, but we get the chance to interact with the people in our neighborhood; he plays with other kids and I get to compare notes with other parents."
2. Have a dance party. "We crank up the tunes and have a crazy dance party and just get silly," says mother of two, Crystal Charlton. "Bedroom tents made out of sheets and blankets open up a world of make-believe and fantasy."
3. Call your kids by endearing pet names or nicknames. "I can always make my kids smile when I call them by their nicknames or add something in front of their names when I talk to them," says Brandi Gowan, mother of four and a half year old Hayden. "For example, if I call Hayden "Pirate Hayden", he'll be a pirate for the rest of the day."
4. Be touchy-feely with your children. "My favourite way to make Cameron smile is to draw on his back and recite this rhyme: Criss-cross, apple-sauce, spiders crawling up your back. Cool breeze. Tight squeeze. Now you've got the shivers. Brrrr!" says Tara Lapstra, mother of three-year-old Cameron. "He loves it and asks me to do it again and again and again. It's the best way to gently wake him in the morning and the sweetest way to put him to sleep at night."
5. Spend some quality snuggle time together. "There's no bigger smile than when you snuggle with your children and truly feel that unconditional love at its best." says Pamela Rogers, mother of three girls. "Any sugary treat or trip to the store or amusement park will give you a smile but not the true smile of a loving, happy child that is solely your own."
Page 1 of 2 -- Find ideas for fun family games and other surefire smile-makers on page 2
