Activities to do with Your Step Child
Developing a good relationship with stepchildren takes a bit of time, but by scheduling fun activities, a step parent can help to create a fun and welcoming environment that encourages a healthy parent/child bond.
Stepparents do not need to spend a great deal of money on extravagant outings and holidays – kids are more impressed with activities that focus on them and their interests, anyway.Having Fun as a Family
Building a happy stepfamily requires that members spend time together, engaged in pleasurable activities. If we look back, many of us will note that some of our most treasured memories centre on simple activities and time spent with family, and while today’s kids may seem to be more savvy than those of generations past, the basic needs for love and a sense of connectedness haven’t changed a bit.Modern families are often running in a number of different directions, but some families find that by simply keeping their children’s extracurricular activities under control, they have plenty of time to schedule regular time together, helping all family members to feel closely connected to one another.
Allowing each child to enrol in just one activity at a time can help a great deal and can also help them to avoid feeling burned out from never having time to simply rest and relax.Beginning each day by eating breakfast as a family is a good way to keep up on each child’s life, and when families are able to sit back down together to share their evening meal, they can use that time to catch up on the happenings of each member’s day as well as to plan for other activities that they can share.
Spending One-on-One Time
Stepparents are often at a bit of a disadvantage when they first join a family because the other members have had years together that didn’t include them, building both bonds and memories. By making the effort to get to know each of their spouse’s children as individuals, though, a stepparent can develop loving bonds and begin to make their own precious memories. Family member often have a lot in common with one another, but that doesn’t mean that they are carbon copies. One child maybe athletic, the next musical, and another deeply intellectual, but each can benefit from knowing that their parents and stepparents value their individual gifts and strengths.Balancing Work and Play Time
All but the most fortunate amongst us must work for a living, so balancing career and family obligations is a goal for most people. Caring for a child means providing not only for their physical needs, but also for their emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual ones, so parents must strive to find a way to spend time with their kids, guiding them, listening to their worries and concerns, and providing assurance as needed.For some, this balance comes from learning to budget wisely and live on less, enabling them to work less and play more. Others choose to take jobs that may not fulfil their childhood dreams, but do pay the bills without taking up an enormous amount of their time.
Finally, increasing numbers of people are looking for opportunities to work from home, allowing them some scheduling flexibility so that they are able to attend their children’s events while still making a financial contribution to their households.Encouraging Healthy Activities
Children today are often far less active than their parents and grandparents were as youngsters, and this inactivity is a major contributing factor to the dramatic increase in childhood obesity. Most kids enjoy exercise, especially if they’ve always been encouraged to play actively and have been raised in families where the parents participate in sports or other activities that get them up and moving.Sedentary lifestyles aren’t healthy at any age, but getting active may be especially important for children, who are developing habits that they will take with them throughout their lives. Stepparents can have a great impact on the health and well-being of their stepchildren by encouraging daily exercise and planning family activities that are both fun and healthy.
Bicycling and hiking together allows families time for bonding while improving their health and fitness, and exercise can even help kids to deal with stress, relieving anxiety and reducing the symptoms of mild to moderate depression. It is not uncommon for kids to experience some level of emotional discomfort when one of their parents remarries, and exercise can be a great tool to help them to work out their uncomfortable feelings.
