by Angela V 
On a typical weekday morning and most weekends my 3-year-old son and I are usually out and about. My son is definitely a lot happier when he is busy and I like having some fun activities for both of us to do. There are many things we like to do including going to StrongStart (drop-in play based center), exploring Science World, playing in the park, paddling around at swimming class or even just taking care of errands. Between the fun stuff and the boring but necessary stuff like banking and grocery shopping there is always something to do and is part of our always busy life.
We are consciously being careful to avoid “hyper-parenting” and over stimulating our son. As a result his schedule rarely includes structured academic learning and other forms of overly disciplined lerning. At this age he is going to learn best by being free to explore, play and have fun. Nothing better than visiting a petting zoo to learn about animals or playing in the local park to learn about flowers and plants for example.
After a long day of playing and exploring I usually find some time to decompress and relax with my son. I find the family down time is important to recharge for the next day, plus it makes it easier for my son to go to sleep at night.
One activity we enjoy for decompressing is reading. He usually picks books that he wants us to read and we go and sit in his rocking chair and read books together. I find that reading is always relaxing and a great activity for before he goes to bed. Colouring is also a lot of fun or playing with Play-Doh.
Sometimes he gets his trains out and we play with that or a board game. Like a lot of other toddlers my son is a huge Thomas the Train fan and we love sitting on the floor to play with his train set. He really is a huge fan to the point that he even has his own Thomas the Train toddler bed!
The newly released Thomas & Friends DVD and toys help give children and families a time and place to slow down, share, imagine stories, and make new friends. Imaginative play and storytelling is engaging and fun and it allows you to connect with your child while you relax at the same time. Be sure to check out their King of the Railway DVD, Take-n-Play Thomas’ Adventure Castle Playset and their Trackmaster Castle Quest Set. Those sure make the perfect birthday or holiday gift ideas for any Thomas the Train fan.
What do YOU do with your child to decompress after a long day? Any activities that work for you better than others?
Disclosure: “I am part of the Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.” #FP_Thomas
10 Comments on “Finding Time to Decompress and Relax With Your Child – Parenting”
I have a Thommas the Train fan and he would love the DVD/toys. We usually read books or watch some TV after a long day to relax and decompress.
We usually cuddle in bed at the end of the day and read stories and just talk about the day we had. My son seems to really enjoy re-living the day.
We also cuddle in bed to relax. She loves listening to stories after a long day.
We love play-doh play as well, reading. Any quiet activities really.
Aww love the Thomas the Train bed, cute!
My daughter is a huge reader, at the end of the day we will spend time reading back and forth to each other… we also take turns drawing different things, she’s much better then me 🙂
My nephew would love that bed. He is a huge Thomas fan.
Your son’s room is awesome! My son and I used to love to just talk and read a book or watch a short cartoon on television at the end of a busy day. Sometimes we would both doze off!
We all need down time that is for sure, and it is especially good for our wee ones. Reading was and is one of the ones we have always used. Books on Bed were our regular bedtime routine. I prolific readers because of it.
Love his room,if I had a room like this when I was a kid I would never have left it..lol