Feeling Out Of Touch? Here's The Key To Connecting With Your Kids

It happens to the best of us, it happens to the worst of us. Eventually, we all start to lose track of what’s cool and in style with kids or even teenagers. This isn’t your fault. Your life is filled with other commitments, and there is often no time to keep in touch with the latest trends. However, when you have kids, if you’re not in touch with what they’re interested in, it can put a strain on your relationship. You may, for instance, begin to feel detached when your kid gets excited about trends that you know nothing about. That’s why you might want to look at some of the ways that you can reconnect with your kids and recapture some of that lost youth.

Staying Active

It’s important that you don’t become a couch potato after you have kids because as they get older there are plenty of physical activities that your kids will love and you can enjoy with them if you are in a healthy level of fitness. This can range from team sports activities to something more fun like laser tag. Or, you might even want to try paintballing. This can be an exciting, energetic activity for your children that you will enjoy yourself. It gets them outside in the fresh air and gives you something that you can enjoy with your kids at the weekend.

Forget Facebook, Have A Conversation

It seems that many parents these days are keeping a check on their kids through social media like Facebook. Indeed, studies do show that children are not even opposed to having their parents on social sites like this as friends. However, it does lack the personal touch, and if you want to make sure that you stay connected with your kids, you should look to include time in your schedule when you can sit down and have a chat with them. Engaging on this level gives your kid the chance to share personal things with you and keeps a strong relationship. As well as providing an opportunity to connect, this type of engagement will also be important if your child is facing any issues.

On Their Terms

One of the mistakes that parents often make is that they try and get their kids interested in what they like. It can be fun to introduce your child to the music you listened to as a teenager or get the old games console out the loft. But if you want to really engage with them, you should be trying to experience things they enjoy, whether that’s their favorite new band or their new virtual reality system.

Taking The Pressure Off

Finally, kids are under an immense level of pressure these days. With school work, they are pushed towards their future career from a very early age. You should make sure that your time with your children isn’t spent constantly pushing them to study or general levels of education. Through the summer, reward your kids with family activities and vacations based around connecting as a group. Camping trips are a great option because they allow us all to detach from the pressures and indeed the commitments of urban life.