I love seeing my kids’ personalities develop as they get older. My daughter is my oldest at ten going on 16 and a social butterfly. My second child is nine and he’s my sweet and mostly quiet middle child. The youngest is three and he’s a crazy, rambunctious kid.
And while we love going to places as a family, lately it’s been either one or two children going to different places with me. I think that it is great to spend time with the kids individually, doing things they enjoy that the others may not like as much.
My daughter is a typical tween and is always looking to get out of the house. Whether she’s planning play dates or sleepovers with her friends, she’s always on the go. And since she’s my only daughter, we definitely enjoy doing mommy/daughter things together. She’s always begging me to take her to the “spa” (nail place) to get a manicure or a pedicure. And since she’s my mini-me, we definitely have more of the same likes and hobbies than the boys.
She loves dressing up and going out. (Don’t worry – it’s a shirley temple!) My middle child is definitely quieter than his older sister. So when we do things together, I know not to take him to crowded places.
Our most recent mommy/older son outing was to go see Detective Pikachu at the movie theater. It was the same night Aladdin was released and if it were my daughter, she would have been all about going to see Aladdin. I knew my middle child wanted to go see Detective Pikachu from earlier conversations and the movie was released awhile ago, so the theater wouldn’t be as crowded.
Since my daughter had a friend coming over to the house, I figured my son would like some time away from the girls. We had a nice night going to get individual pizzas (so he can choose whatever he wants on it) and see a movie that he wanted to see.
My baby is completely different from the other two. He’s the one who broke a bone first (well, he’s actually the only of my three who has broken a bone), is always running around at full speed and loves hard (as in watch your head when he comes in for a hug!). So with him, there’s no sitting for a long period of time. It’s usually running around on the playground or doing something active to wear him out.
While I love family time with all of the kids, it’s also nice to spend some time with each of them on their own. They have more time to talk to me without talking above another child or interrupting someone else. I also think it’s good for them to have one-on-one time with mom. I intend to continue to do tradition this as they get older, and I hope it helps strengthen our relationships while letting them know how truly important they are as an individual.
