Special Time Builds A Special Relationship With My Daughter

Stephanie Parker3Although I give my daughter Special Time almost every day I haven't been very excited about it recently. I've being going through the motions.

Yesterday I was moved by a friend's story of how she'd given a long Special Time to her son and it had left them much more connected to each other. I'd been missing my daughter recently, and although I normally give her Special Time in the morning, I felt inspired to offer it again in the afternoon.

So when my daughter got home from kindergarten, I asked her if she wanted Special Time.  She said yes, so I set the timer for 20 minutes and we played the way she wanted while I poured in as much warmth and attention as possible.

After it was over, we spent most of the afternoon reading books on the green outside our house. Typically, she will go off and play with other children because we live in co-housing, but this afternoon she stayed close which was lovely.

As a result, bedtime went really smoothly. But what was really different was this morning when she woke up and came and got in bed with me. She's usually quite an affectionate child anyway but this morning she was extra affectionate and cuddly. Often in the morning she can be a bit grumpy because she hasn't had enough sleep and can get cross with me over small things but this morning she was full of love and cuddles and it felt so good to be so connected. When her Daddy took her off to kindy we waved goodbye to each other for much longer than we normally do and I really felt like we were much more connected because of the special time. I'll have to remember that in future when I next try to avoid it for whatever reason! Special Time rocks!

Stephanie Parker, Certified Parenting by Connection Instructor

Messy Loud Real-Life ParentingIf you want some more suggestions on how to use Special Time, check out our free video series. In the first video, you’ll get a step by step guide to using Special Time and some fun examples of what it can look like. Get your videos now.

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