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Importance Of Recreational Activities In Parent-Child Bonding

We all love going out with our spouses, friends, colleagues etc. but how many times do you actually go out with your child?

In today’s world, with everyone busy in trying to reach their targets, we often forget to spend quality time with our kids. While as parents, we try our level best to give our children the best, how may times do we really play a game, go to the park or go to the amusement park with them?

Until few days back, I hadn’t even given this a thought until I received an invite from mycity4kids, for Disney’s Musical Play on Beauty and The Beast.

Though it was simply a play, it taught me a lot of things.

While watching the play I realized, that how sometimes all that is important is to sit back and re-live your childhood memories. Though I had gone there taking my daughter, apart from strengthening our bond, this gave me a chance unwind all my stressors and live my old childhood fantasies once again. I had read Beauty and The Beast as a child and then the next when I read it, it was to my daughter. This magical play not only revived these beautiful moments, but also took me on a magical ride. The music, the direction, the actors and the dancers were all out of the world. It is such a mesmerizing experience that one simply forgets everything in life in those 2 hours. Right from the time the play starts, it feels as if you have entered a magical journey which continues its charisma, till the time the play ends.

Along with helping me re-unite with my hay days, it also helped me bond with my child. I don’t remember when was the last time, just the both of us had gone somewhere alone.

As a mother and a Lifestyle Expert I strongly feel that Recreational activities play a significant role in helping an individual refresh and rejuvenate both the body and mind.

Recreational activities not only helps in refreshing the mind but also has added benefits when it comes to promoting bonds among the family members specially parents and children. These activities are a broad term including everything from hiking to playing in the park or even playing board games, card games etc.

In my view, I would say they are rather essential for the balanced social, economic, cognitive and physical development of humans, especially children.

Children not only get a break from their studies but it also serves as an uninhibited environment for them to learn resilience, cooperation and negotiation.  Alongside, it also provides a platform for parents to fully spend time with their children, bond with them and look at the world from their children’s perspective.

Research has also suggested that kids and parents who spend time with their parents and communicate with them tend to perform better at school.

When parents spend time with their children in leisure activities children not only learn communication but also to adapt, to learn good habits from the parents since they are the most prominent figure in children’s life.

Recreation sometimes helps parents connect children in ways parents can’t imagine. For example spending time with children during these activities gives the parents a chance to look back on their childhood experiences and how they have made a difference in their lives today.

Also, it gives an opportunity for the parents to see the world from their children’s eyes offering them a fresher perspective towards the world. Since recreation gives you a chance to express your views, opinions and interests it offers the children to do the same. When as a child they understand your views and opinions it opens ways for communication between you and your children. When the child understands that there is no communication gap with the parents, they become more interested in sharing things with the parents giving them very few chances of becoming emotionally distressed.

Research has said that the core recreational activities of a family (board games, playing in the yard, having dinner together) are related to how strong the bond between families is.

Since you are providing the child with an open environment and more time with the family, your child will become less violent and more understanding. Recreational activities will not only reduce stress for the children but also for the parents thus enhancing the relationship even more.

Thus, It is important for the parents to understand that the stronger the relationship among family members, healthier and happier the child is.

Parents can also use recreation and leisure time to incorporate certain values in their children through watching a movie, playing games or even taking children out for an ice cream.

While spending time with your children and reducing the communication gap, the parents create an atmosphere to integrate new behaviors or changes in the lifestyle, which further strengthens the bond and parent child compatibility.

Since the child gets an opportunity to express himself in front of the parents it strengthens the child’s identity, which further increases his self-esteem and making the child a healthier human being.

Family members especially children will continue with these activities even in their adulthood and will associate memories with the parents and the values, communication and the teachings associated with them.

Therefore, when a parent and a child participate together in an activity, there are stronger chances of bonding to occur which further provide the family with satisfaction, interaction and stability thus making your parent –child relationship a fulfilling one.

Please note: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of mycity4kids. Any omissions or errors are the author's and mycity4kids does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.