This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of HomeTeam for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Spending time with our kids is critical for their growth and development, and fosters a strong bond. But let’s face it life can be pretty chaotic so sometimes finding the opportunity for quality time can be a daily challenge. I know as a stay at home, working mom who’s husband travels for weeks at a time I always find myself in over my head with work, sleep deprivation, and trying to balance myself between two toddlers while their father is traveling for work. But these moments of them begging for my attention are fleeting, they won’t always want me to share in their playing and to drop everything to be with them. If we’re not careful, their childhood will pass before our eyes.
Follow these simple times for bonding and connecting with your kids.
1. Mama and Me Journal – This is perfect for when times get busy, create this DIY journal to use as a journal or notebook to talk back and fourth with your child.
2. Let Go Of Distractions – When you set aside that time for your child make sure you’re not distracted with chores or things like checking email. You may find yourself ignoring your kids so you can get things done, while forgetting that raising them is the most important thing you do.
3. One-On-One Time – It’s hard when you have more than one kid to give each child one-on-one time so set aside a day for a mother daughter date or mother/son date. Sometimes I even let one stay up a little longer than the other to get that special alone time with them.
4. Don’t Over Schedule – A tired mama is a cranky mama, so sometimes it’s good to say no or put that project off for another time. Leave some extra time when you can for your kids.
5. Creating – Make art together or do a fun experiment or activity. The kids love having craft sessions where we choose what medium were using like paper plates, and then we see what all we can create with that.
6. Family Time – Do something together as a family like a road trip or let the kids pick their favorite place for dinner.
7. Family Photo Albums – Old photos are a great way to start a discussion and kids love asking questions and learning. You can teach them some of your family history or even have them help start their own scrap book of their favorite family memories.
8. Connecting through HomeTeam – This app is a lifesaver for traveling parents or even to connect with friends and family that don’t live close by. The HomeTeam is an app that you can Download on Android tablets or Download on iOS tablets. You can connect with your family members by unlimited video chatting and interacting through storybooks and games. It’s easy to download the game, create an account, and invite loved ones to play. So you can enjoy play time with a family member who lives out of state withing just minutes!
9. Daily Rituals – This can be anything that your family can do together everyday like story time or putting notes and jokes in their lunch box. We try to have story time before bedtime every single night. And if my husbands out of town on a job we use our HomeTeam app, there are a multitude of books that you can read together included in the app, including some of our Disney favorites! When you do story time through HomeTeam you can see the person your talking to you in the video while they read the story to them. My husband loves seeing our son’s face light up and point out characters through the book as they read and play together. 
10. Play – Children long for play and laughter with you, these are the moments that they remember. So have a family game night every other week or do what interests them. My son loves to play trains and his favorite thing for us to do is to make tracks throughout the house. For those moment’s when you can’t be there physically you can use your tablet to connect and play with them. HomeTeam also offers a variety of games that you can play with each other. Just like the stories in the HomeTeam app, you can see the other person you’re playing with in the video while you both take turns playing. 
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