This post is part of a series of 31 Day to Cultivating Heart Connections with Your Child as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes Challenge.
Why join our children’s play?
Playing with our children provides opportunities for laughter.
Playing with our children gives us a glimpse into their hearts.
Playing with our children opens pathways of communication.
Playing with our children tells them we love them enough to stop what we are doing.
Playing with our children allows us to join them in their world.
I know it’s not always easy to join your children on the floor and play with them. There are so many things vying for our attention—meals to cook, meals to clean up, laundry, work, and the list goes on. Or maybe you just don’t really like to pretend to eat a meal of plastic food or keep your child’s imaginary friend safe. (Trust me, imaginary friends can get in a lot of trouble.)
But think of yourself. Do you sometimes ask your husband to watch a movie he wouldn’t normally choose? Or to give his opinion on something he doesn’t actually care about? Or tag along to an event he wouldn’t choose to attend? Do you ever do the same for him?
Just like we speak love to our spouse by joining them in what they value, so too we can speak love to our children by joining in their play.
Go ahead, get down on the floor—build a block tower, rock a baby doll, give a piggy-back ride, rave about the mud pie, drive a car, build a fort.
Go ahead, go to the park—push them on the merry-go-round, swing on a swing, help them do the monkey bars, go down a slide.
Go ahead, just join in their play.
Joining our children in their play cultivates heart connections with them.
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