Are you struggling to get your child to open up to you? Has it been difficult bonding with your child? This is a no judgement zone, and these are issues that are quite common. We’ve got a few fun activities for you to do with your child to encourage engagement.
- STORY BALL: Grab a soft play ball and tell your child it’s called a ‘story ball’. Whoever holds the ball first starts a story, and the next person adds on to the story, and so on. This encourages your child to communicate with you in a relaxed environment.
- LET YOUR CHILD PICK A GAME: Give your child the opportunity to pick an activity of their choice and engage closely with them during the game. This will let your child know that their voice is important and will help build trust between you both.
- MIRROR GAME: If you’ve adopted a baby or toddler, and they’re not yet talking, try the mirror game. Mirror their expressions; i.e. if your child is laughing, you laugh too. Sounds a bit silly, but this is a great trust building exercise with young children.
- WILDERNESS GAME: Depending on the age of your child, you can go to the park or even your back garden and ask them to play the wilderness game with you. You pretend to be explorers hunting for treasures. This is a quick, fun activity that helps your child open up and create a comradery with you while you both hunt for treasure!