Are you feeling guilty about not spending enough time with your kids?

Parents often feel guilty about not spending enough time with their children. Life is so busy with work, taking care of the home and all of the things that need to be done of when raising a family so there is often so little time to spend with the kids.

It’s easy to see that if parents don’t spend quality time with their children, their children could come to the conclusion that they are not important and this can harm a child’s sense of self.

So what can busy parents do?

By taking the time to spend just 10-15 minutes of one-on-one quality time with each of your children every day, parents show their children that they are important, that their parents care and are interested in how they’re going and that they are there for their children if they need support, advice or just someone who’ll listen.

You could schedule special time when your children get home from school, or after you return from work or after dinner or just before bed. If you have more than one child, you can schedule a one-on-one meeting at different times during the day or make it at the same time each day and meet with a different child on consecutive days.

One-on-one time with your full attention says so much. Remember, no phone, no cooking or being distracted, just being 100 percent present with your child. What person wouldn’t feel loved and valued in that environment?

So why not try it? Ask each of your children to think about how they might like to spend 10-15 minutes one-on-one with you every day. It could be to talk, go for a walk, kick a ball, play a game or just hang out and have a snack together. The key is to make it uninterrupted special time for your child, doing what they want to do with you, sharing what they want to share with you. If you can’t manage to find the time every day, then make it every second day.

The key is to make regular special time and then to be present and available for your child. Making this small change to your daily routine can make an enormous difference in your child’s life and nurture the bond you share.