Spring Into Action

The warm weather reminds us that we are officially into spring. A lot of our school districts are on spring break and kids are enjoying the week off playing with friends. I’m sure teachers also enjoy the break spending time with their own children.

Reflecting on my own children’s spring breaks, I have happy memories of spending time with them (and their friends) playing basketball, fishing, swimming, board games and just enjoying the quality time together.

It reminds me of a study recently cited by the National Association for the Education of the Young Child that indicated that it’s not the quantity of time people spend with young children but the quality of the time. They call it “meaningful connections” and their recommendation is to keep it simple until you have a big idea.

Here are three of their suggestions that made me smile:

Play with your child, even if it’s during bath time or outside before you drop her off at preschool. Every little bit of time makes a positive impact!

Laugh and be silly with your child.

Turn off technology when you spend time with your child. Try not to text, answer calls, scroll through social media, or watch television.

See how easy it is? The interaction itself is what matters, more than what you do, so don’t put it off.

It’s a little harder to get quality time with older children, so you may need to be more creative. We played board games — I guess that’s ancient history! But as a parent of grown children, I just want to remind parents to enjoy the moment – stay in the present. They grow up in a flash.

On another matter, while some of us have been enjoying spring break with family and friends (as we should), another group of amazing individuals has been giving their valuable time helping our neighbors in southern Delaware whose lives and homes were devastated by the recent tornado. Visit our Volunteer page to find out how you can help.

I know it’s easy to be distracted by the beautiful weather, but I urge you to please help support our neighbors by donating to the Care4Sussex Fund or by volunteering.

Sincerely,
Michelle