A guest Post by Kate Orson author of Tears Heal
Special time; one of Hand in Hand's Five Parenting tools, is a wonderful way to deepen your connection with your child, to build the safety they need to tell us their feelings. This 1-1 time following your child’s lead is something all children crave, and they will usually embrace the chance to do whatever they choose and soak up your loving attention.
So if you offer your child some special time and they say no it can leave you feeling confused and frustrated. Why on earth would a child choose not to do something they love with you?
Sensing Disconnection
Sometimes children feel particularly disconnected. Their feeling of hurt is so strong that it stands in the way of being with you. When my daughter say no to special time, it’s often because I’ve been unavailable for a while. And so she’ll tell me about the rejection she felt in the only way she knows how; by rejecting me.
Our children are hopeful, and forgiving so even if things have been tough, they won’t hold it against us for long. With a bit of fun and effort, they’ll soon open up, and want to be with us again.
Set up Laughter
If your young child is refusing special time; try this. Get a stuffed toy and beg them to do special time. You could have the toy say something funny like, ”I think you’re right not to do special time with your stinky mummy, lets run away and do special time by ourselves.”
Then have the toy run away with your toy and chase them saying, “Hey, that’s not fair. I want to do special time.”
Playlistening games like this melt the ice and make it more likely your child will say yes next time.
Another tactic that also works well, particularly with older children is to try some ‘unannounced’ special time.
If your child refuses to do special time, even with the stuffed toy, have the toy hide in a box, or pillow and then ‘sneak up’ on your child, to spend time with them, doing whatever they are doing. Follow where your mind takes you, and see how you can use play, and giggles, to reconnect.
Life happens, our connection can get frayed, but with a few fun games at the ready, we can get back to joyful connection again.
Repairing a Relationship After Yelling will help if you and your child have disagreed and are feeling distant.
Do you know How to See When Your Child is Disconnected? Here's how to read the signs and take action to get closer.
To see how Special Time helps build strong bonds between you and your child listen to this Special Time: Filling Your Child's Connection Cup Replay