500 Fridays Newsletter - 2.5 min read Season: The Springtime (7 of 11)

Maycember

​What is Maycember you might wonder? It’s an honest and humorous attempt at describing the month of May as if it’s as busy and chaotic as the month of December. Every parent feels it.

Maycember is a very full month in our home. 3 Birthdays, Mother's Day, and a Wedding Anniversary... not to mention all the sports, graduations, and parties that pile in as well.

So, as the month shifts into 6th gear (yeah, I still drive a manual transmission car ;) I wanted to send you a slingshot for the weekend.

​Two weeks ago, I wrote about 2 simple things you can do over your 20+ years as a parent that are foolproof ways to stay close to your kids.

• Keep your hands on your sons.
• Keep your hearts near your daughters.

Boys need physical affection ... even if they don't know it.
Girls need emotional affection ... and they definitely know it.

Maybe this can be a push start for you to connect with one (or all of your kids) in the next few days as Maycember takes over.

17 Ways To Connect

1. 📖 Pile together and read a book. Whether it's Dr. Seuss or JK Rowling, sit close and read some pages out loud.

2. 🤚🏼 Hold hands when you walk. A one-minute walk from the car to the store is a simple way to connect.

3. 🧸 Sit and play with their favorite toys for half an hour. Give them your undivided attention so you can laugh and play together.

4. 🤗 Tell an "I remember when I was your age" story. Sharing a challenge you faced or a funny memory reminds them you were a kid once too.

5. 🤪 Wild jumping on the trampoline. Help them burn off that endless kid energy with some crazy bouncing and wrestling.

6. 🎤 Sing songs full-out together in the car or living room. Grab that Disney playlist and Let It Go.

7. 🌮 Ask them to help you fix part of a meal. The kitchen has always been a central part of family life, and kids love to help mom and dad.

8. 👱‍♀️ Take an extra long time to brush their hair. You do know that most girls love to talk when their hair is being combed, right?

9.🍦Get dessert together, but make it one-on-one. It's amazing what 45 minutes and some sugar can do for a relationship.

10. ⚾️ Take them to a movie, sporting event, zoo, or show. Still a classic because kids love every minute of it.

11. 👐🏼 Push them on the swings. Maybe not your 12-year-old, but swings are as good a hands-and-heart activity as there is.

12. 🔨 Include them in a home-repair project. Give them a small role or have them help measure twice before you cut once.

13. 🍔 Drive thru and get food then eat in the park. There is a reason we still feel nostalgia as adults about family time in the park.

14. ⚽ ️Help get some reps and practice their current sport. Don't overdo the coaching, but enjoy watching them throw or kick the ball.

15. 🎮 Sit down and play their favorite video game for 45min. It's 100% ok to be bad at a game when your kid gets to show you up and talk trash.

16. 🖍 Grab the coloring book you gave them for Christmas. You have a drawer full of potential art projects waiting to be used.

17. ↕️ Ask for the high-low of the week during dinner on the weekend. Everyone gets to share the best and worst parts of their week.

Weekend hands-and-heart time helps you avoid the nagging I haven't done enough for my kids feeling. It's an intentional way to build that sweet connection with your 3-13 year old.

See you next Friday,
Finley

500 Fridays ... book coming soon ​ Stories & Strategies To Help Parents of 3-13 Year Olds Make A Decade Count