A Great Way To Bond With Your Children…
July 6th, 2008 · Filed Under: Children · Depression · Parenting
Every year for the past many years, our family has gone to the same state park and camped in the same spot. It is a special spot because there are no neighbors and we almost feel as if it is our very own by now. This has proven to be one of the best things ever to bond with them.
Even now, when they are in their teens, they get all excited and wild-eyed when we get close and they see their old familiar sights: the rope swing, the granite rocks, the hiking trails, the beautiful lake, and finally our secret spot!
I always have the same rules and have never had a problem, except when a whiney boy was allowed to tag along and disrupt everything. Nobody has gotten lost, too injured or sick in all the years, though we have had to get some help with a fish hook stuck through a finger once.
Anyway, parents should think about things they can do regularly with their children to create lasting memories. It is not the big, expensive things that matter: it is the fact that you are there with them, doing the same things. Sometimes this is not so easy and requires considerable sacrifice because maybe you just don’t want to hike up the trail to swim in a pond.
Yet the discomfort of doing things we don’t necessarily want to is much less than the discomfort of alienating a teenager or making trips to the local family counselor! A lot of depression is the result of feeling unloved or overlooked.
Find those things that fit with your family and your style. Maybe sports, maybe music, science fairs, bike trips, even shopping trips (talk about a sacrifice!), find what fits and make a memory. They will last a lifetime. This is also a great way to relieve family stress, as long as you do not try to overdo it.











When my youngest daughter was playing soccer for a club team in Connecticut I realized a few things about raising athletic children. You see, she was the star player on a private club team in a very exclusive part of the exclusive state. We were one of two families that were not rich.