This post is sponsored by General Mills. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ain’t no “hood” like “toddlerhood”, amiright? It’s such a fun stage of learning and growth, but sometimes it can feel like you’re walking through a minefield. When I notice my 3-year-old is a little “off”, I immediately know the reason and the cure. I haven’t been spending enough time with him. We have so many duties as mothers that sometimes we forget to slow down and just spend some time with our little ones. At this age, they just want to feel loved and valued, and one way to show that to my toddler is by doing these 5 activities together daily.
5 Easy Ways to Bond With Your Toddler With Help from the NEW Peanut Butter Chex!
Now let’s get real. Life happens, and some days you can’t make all these things work. And that’s ok! Any 1 or 2 things from this list is better than nothing at all. Just remember: the key is just being together.
Get in the Kitchen Together
This is one of Lincoln’s favorite ways to spend time with Chase and I. He tries to help when I’m cooking dinner, so I give him designated jobs like “button pusher” when I use our chopper, or “trash man” when there are lots of food scraps to throw away.
We also love making snacks together in the kitchen. One of our favorite snacks for summer is Double Peanut Butter Muddy Buddies using NEW Chex’s Peanut Butter Cereal from Walmart! It’s such an easy, on-the-go snack for those summer outings at the park, splash pads, pools, the beach…anywhere! Oh, and we’re not afraid to bust them out as an indoor snack too! Lincoln loves to help make these, while of course munching on them along the way.
Do Chores Together
Lincoln practically begs to help me when he sees me cleaning around the house. I love his helpful heart, but I know the root reason he’s asking to help is that he wants to spend time with me. For all you control freaks out there (hello, me!) try to resist the urge to correct or get frustrated when they’re helping you. Anything they “mess up” can most likely be fixed in a few seconds. Here are some examples of how we do chores together:
- He wipes down the counters with a sponge while I’m cleaning the kitchen or bathroom.
- He empties the clothes from the dryer into the laundry basket while I start a new load of laundry.
- He puts away the fruit, potatoes, and other produce into their appropriate bins while I unload the rest of the groceries.
- He vacuums with the hand vacuum while I use the big one.
Eat Together
I also have a 1-year-old who is on her own schedule, so eating every single meal together just doesn’t happen. If we can’t make meals work, I love sitting down and enjoying a snack with my toddler. We love to munch on our Peanut Butter Chex treats and just talk. We get so busy during the day, that sometimes we forget to just talk and listen to our toddler. Lincoln is actually really funny, and I love listening to what he has to say when there are no other distractions.
Read Books Together
Oh goodness, my son and his books. It’s his favorite activity E-V-E-R. He doesn’t really care to look at books by himself, but he absolutely loves sitting and reading books with Chase or me for as long as we’ll let him. Not only does it target a ton of skills, but it’s such a sweet time to snuggle and get lost in his favorite books.
Play Together
This may go without saying, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves to just play with our kids. Do what they want to do. Get silly, let them bust out the Play-doh (ugh), or glitter (uggggggggggh) and just have fun doing and watching what make your toddler special. Just play. It’s the easiest thing on this list, but probably the most meaningful to your toddler.
These are some great tips! Thanks for the much needed reminder 🙂
Aw, thank you Asia! I’m so glad you liked them. ☺️