Bonding with your children can be a difficult thing to grasp especially if they’ve already been absorbed into other activities such as after-school clubs and the internet. Taking these away and forcing your child to do something with you is a poor approach to take.

Instead, we would recommend trying to bond with your child through teaching them valuable skills and lessons in life. You are, after all, their parent and you’re their main source of inspiration. As much as they’ll love looking at cartoons and stories for motivation and help through difficult times, you should try to position yourself as their role model and there’s no better way to do this than to become their mentor as well as their parent.

To help you out, we’ve put together a list of skills that are incredibly effective at bonding with your child.

Bonding with your child doesn’t have to be just fun and games–it can be educational as well. 

Teaching your kids about cooking

Have your kids ever wondered how your delicious cookies are baked? Do they want to get involved and help during family gatherings? If so, then there’s no better way than to teach them how to use the kitchen and cook up their own meals. While you can’t expect your little kids to be manning stovetops and ovens, you can always get them to help with preparation such as washing the dishes, cleaning vegetables and fruits, and even doing light tasks such as mashing potatoes and peeling carrots.

Many parents are incredibly paranoid about their kids being in the kitchen, but it’s never a bad idea to teach your kids how to be safe in the kitchen at an early age. This will help you ease your mind so that you don’t worry too much when you have to leave them at home alone or fear that your child will hurt themselves when you answer a phone call. Make sure you establish some rules first and teach them about safety before you hand them anything that could hurt them.

Teaching your kids about driving

Driving is something that all kids want to do from an early age. They sit in the back of our vehicles, they pretend that they’re driving when they sit on your laptop and they might play lots of driving games on their video game consoles or mobile devices. You can help your kids get an early online learner’s permit exam finished so that they can drive as soon as they’re eligible. You can teach your kids how to drive, how to be safe on the road and also give them advice as you sit in the passenger seat. All of this will help them pass their actual driving exam and your help will go a long way.

Out of all the bonding experiences you could have with your kids, teaching them to drive is akin to watching them ride a bicycle for the first time. It’s a wonderful feeling to have once they understand it, and the joy of seeing them pass their exam thanks to your help is something you’ll cherish for years to come.

Teaching your kids about money

Kids often have a weird understanding of money. They don’t quite get that money takes hard work to make and they might even use it nonchalantly if you give them a generous allowance. It’s important to make an attempt to teach your kids about money when they’re younger so that they’ll appreciate your efforts at work, the presents you give them and also the belongings and toys that they have.

It can be easy to spoil our kids, but if you teach them how to be responsible with their allowance and encourage them to save, then those lessons will stick with them when they grow up and become the foundation of how they treat their finances. An important lesson that your kids will learn through teaching them about money is that patience is a virtue and good things come to those that are willing to wait.

Conclusion

If you want to bond with your child, then these tips will give you a fantastic start. Teaching your child new skills and demonstrating important matters to them can greatly increase their respect for you. They already know that being a grownup comes with a lot of responsibility, so why not use that eagerness to grow up as a way to bond with your child and teach them about the world?