Family Matters

“family hike” by woodleywonderworks is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Every parent wishes their child to grow up to be a happy and well-adjusted person. We try to do our best to provide our children with the best facilities, nutrition, education, entertainment, and parenting. But one crucial factor is often overlooked; children until adulthood need time and attention from their parents. The importance of healthy interaction with your children cannot be underestimated as it has a substantial impact on the child’s social, emotional, and behavioral maturity.

It is crucial to understand that our time can be one of the best things we can give our children. Even if our schedule restricts us, we should still make family time a priority.

What happens if you don’t spend time with your family

Even if the relationship between you and your children is pleasant and everything seems to be going well, a lack of attention from parents could result in many problems down the road. These can include.

A weakened family bond: When parents and children live separate lives, a lot of essential family qualities such as discussing problems, getting guidance, staying away from bad habits, empathy, shared hobbies and love, etc., get left behind. This inability to get social support from family can make your child rely on strangers that might introduce them to harmful habits and behaviors and taking advantage of a child’s vulnerable position.
Emotional distress: A child’s mind is very fertile and vulnerable. When they can’t express their feelings to their parents, don’t get a sense of connection, don’t feel important enough to be given time, etc. these behaviors and ways of thinking might slowly become a part of their personality, leading them to suffer from insecurity, lack of intimacy, unstable self-esteem and development of behavioral disorders.
Poor coping skills: Childhood is a time when a person learns how to deal with life. Does your child know how to deal with emotions, physical, social, behavioral, and educational hardships? Did you teach them how to be resilient in the face of difficulties and better manage their emotions? If not appropriately taught, children can develop lifelong poor coping skills that can make it much more difficult for them to cope with life’s difficulties later on.
Depression and antisocial behavior: A lack of attention in the early years pushes a child towards negative self-beliefs, isolation, and loneliness. This makes them more susceptible to depression and can damage the way they behave in society and form relationships with others.

How does spending time with your child positively impact their mental health

You can gift a heap of benefits to your child by spending quality time with them, such as:

Helps your child feel loved: By giving them time and attention, you reinforce your child’s beliefs that they are worthy and loved, thus benefitting their self-esteem.
Provides bonding opportunities: Family time improves your relationship with the child and teaches them how to make and maintain relationships of their own.
Teaches essential social skills: It can be challenging for children to apply acceptable social behaviors and navigate tricky scenarios. When you spend time with your child, you give them a valuable space to detect and correct their behaviors and behave in society. It teaches them how to be assertive, empathetic, and handle social situations well.
Develops positive behaviors: Children more involved with their parents are less likely to fall victim to risky behaviors such as seeking validation, people-pleasing, abusing drugs, etc.
Improves their mental health: Your support makes sure your child becomes more resilient to difficulties of life, knows how to express themselves better, feels admired because of the connection with loved ones, and is less likely to experience overwhelming negative emotions down the road. This sets the stage for healthy mental health and a more happy and resilient personality for life.