How much time do you spend with your kids

I never thought about it but I always had time with my kids, chatting, in dance (I am a dance teacher and taught both of them to dance) and even as adults we try to chat. My son, now passed, and I, would talk a lot. He was a huge talker and would go on and on, sometimes to the point of distraction, lol. I sure do miss that. My daughter and I will go shopping or to lunch sometimes, even though she lives with me. We will still have an occasional mom/daughter disagreement, but that is normal. We still get a long quite well. My sister lives in NY, as does my brother, and I live in Pa., so we see each other a couple of times per month and talk via email, mostly. I am not a phone person so email works for me. My granddaughter, who lives with us and my daughter, I see just about everyday. I babysit her four days per week while my daughter works and we spend a lot of time together. It is like having a daughter again, lol. Right now she is playing with blocks on the floor but when she decides she needs my, or my husband's attention, she will come to us. Sometimes she will bring us books to read, or will come and grab our finger and drag us to something she wants us to do with or for her, lol. She is only 18 months old. I attached her and her mom's photo, my two baby girls!!

It is good to know that you spend time with your kids regularly, this not only gives them a kind of comfort and support but it raises their confidence level too. It is said that communication is great leveller and the more you communicate with your kids, better it is. I also spend considerable time with my grown up children to listen to their problems and allow them to share their views and experiences with me. I always advice them to be self confident and be brave to oddities in life.

I chat it up wiht my kids all the time...in fact we have a very close relationship and talk about everything and its been that way since they were very little (they are now 13.5 and 15)...I'm a firm believer that strong, open communication is a MUST in any relationship but particularly when it comes to partners and parent/child

Hi dear, I don't have much time to spend with my kids. But I am trying my best to utilise the time, which I got, in a memorable one. I sing small poems (kids poems in our regional language) with actions so younger one is very happy and laughing a lot and trying to imitate the actions. I am telling stories for them, may be the same story everyday but he is happy to hear and joining with me to say the story in his own language. I felt really happy and enjoying the moments. Evening time elder one is also joining with us (morning time he is at school).

It's funny you bring this up. I usually can "bond" with my daughter at the mall. As we shop, we'll talk and then get into some really good discussions over lunch. I enjoy my mother/daughter time with her. As for my son who is 15 and getting to that teenage stage where he is starting to rebel a bit, I sat down with him the other night and pulled out some old board games. I taught him to play chinese checkers and backgammon which he says are dinorsaur aged games and to his surprise he kind of enjoyed them. We also played pickup sticks which I though was funny that a teenager would find interesting. It was fun just to sit for a couple of hours and spend time doing that. He wants to join a gym now and work out, so I am thinking of joining too so that we can workout together. It's important to spend time with them no matter what you do. Enjoy them!

I try to spend as much time as i can with my five children. My two eldest are at that stage where they spend most of their time in their bedroom. But they know that we are also here if they need to chat. I will take them out one at a time and that is when we will make the time to chat about all different things.

It is good to know that you spend considerable time with your daughter and son, doing this will give them a kind of self confidence and this will raise their comfort and support level. It is said that communication is a great leveller and you communicating with them regularly is good for healthy relations. I also spend considerable time with my grown up kids and try to share their experiences and thoughts with me.

I spend pretty much all day with my kids. Even when I am on the computer, I am still able to watch them and play and talk to them, though it can result in disasterous lacks of concentration at times that has led to embarrassing situations online. We eat as a family and the daily routines are done as a family. When my oldest is doing her homework, the others sit at the table and draw or colour in too, with me running around doing 10 things at once and losing track of where I am. i have ended up asking my 1 year old what the words are and telling my 6 year old that her scribbles are just perfect. Oh well, it is good fun any ways. My partner and I spend much of the day together as well, as he studies and works from home. Sometimes though, I wish he'd leave the house for work so I can clean his study out so I then have the space to clean my little study out.

My son is 2 and a half and not much of a conversationalist. However, we spend a lot of time together. We play, draw (a lot), and do chores together (he sorta helps). While I have a lot to do (working from home and taking care of the house), I think spending time with him is important.

This is a great idea, thanks for reminding us. We get so wrapped up in our lives we forget to do this.

I guess you must be a great mom.And your kids love you a lot because you spend much time communicate with them, I think chatting is a good way to know each other.i live with my parents.i spend little time together with them.I am busy with work at daytime, and usually we have dinner together five times a week.Mainly because i dont think we have much to talk about.Well, this should be changed.

It is a sensitive subject for me because I am forever feeling guilty when I leave my 7 year old to watch a DVD or play a computer game on her own while I work (I work at home). What makes me feel worse is that I get paid so little that I have to wonder if it is worth time away from my precious child. I am only in the next room and she can see me at all times but I feel bad all the same. I do make it a point to do things with her on a regular basis especially during school holidays and I always attempt to keep our communication lines open even though she does not always want to share what is going on in her life; I just let her know that is fine and that I am here whenever she needs me. I really hope she knows that.

I spend as much time as I can with my kids. I love talking to them. They are very amusing sometimes. I do work a fulltime job and they are often times tied up with their friends and activities but whenever I get a chance to just hang out and talk..I take it.

i spend nearly 12 hours that is from 7pm to 7am of the day with kids with a 8 hour sleep too with them. as a office going person and kids go to school. this 12 hours at home is the life of family and togetherness we all face in reality. let us not miss out even this in our life

i spend a lot of time with my son but since he turned 17 he wants to spend a lot of time with his so call friends.i know i can,t be with him 24 hours a day but i do worry even when he is with his friends wondering is he making good choices.

my son is 10y.o, during work days i spend time with him at night, during dinner and while making homeworks, and we go to sleep together. since he's a big kid now with his own friends, i just make it a point that i have a once a week movie night with him. and maybe go to the mall with just the 2 of us once or twice a month.

my kids are grown but i spent alot of time with them when they were small. i raised them by myself so they have always been special to me & still are. i have 2 grandchildren & they are wonderful!!

I spend time about three or times a day. We discuss whatever is going on and see how we feel. Since we both have depression problems it is good to check several times a day. My grandson and I cuddle and he comes to show me his toys or what he had made. My granddaughter is a teen and so she and I have less time but an occasional chat about life and how to handle certain situations.

Well since I am a housee wife,I have never had any problems spending quality time with my kids.In fact I did not take up any full time job,because I did not want to leave my kids to the mercy of servants when they were very young.And both my boys did all their schooling and graduation staying at home itself.This way I have been able to monitor thieir all round growth and their education in a fruitful way....

I only have a fifteen year old boy left at home,I do try to chat to him but he is always busy,so he says playing his games on the wii,or on his lap top,the best I get some days is whats for dinner? Is my shirt clean?but he does say thankyou and will have a chat sometimes but I think he thinks I am a bit daft and we have nothing in common,he talks to his Dad more than me,football mainly.He has had to have glasses full time and we said he can have contacts and he jumped at the chance so his Dad had to sort it all out .My son thinks it will be to much for me to understand.As long as he is talking to one of us it does not matter.I do miss our little chats and conversations sometimes but it is an age thing,I talk more to my married children and my oldest son talks all the time,and my daughter is a close second.My son in-law has more luck than me,he also talks to his older brother.His sister and his mum are just women at the moment but we are always here for him if the men are not around,but he says he would rather wait, men talk more sense apparently it is a bit hurtful but it is his age.Us women come in handy for washing.cooking,cleaning, and pocket money strange that,I have managed to raise a male chauvenist,arn't I the clever one.Mind you he does not cause any problems like some kids do,he does not run the streets and he works hard at school so I count my blessings.A I hoover round him in his chair,spoke to soon he is making me a cuppa tea as long as I don't try to talk to him it is ok.