It is only natural that you miss and worry about your children any time that they are away from home, whether it be at camp, on vacation or when they flee the nest and head off to college or get a place of their own. As your kids make their way in the world they might call less often or visit rarely which is why bonding activities are important for relationships.

Some of the best things for bonding include: 

• Appreciation

• Making Time

• Hobbies and Games

Simple appreciation of each other conveys mutual love and respect while making time for a visit or meeting on holidays is a great way to keep in touch and completing meaningful activities and games is an age-old tradition for bonding between friends and family.

Appreciate Each Other

When you become a new parent your body generates large amounts of a hormone called oxytocin. This is true of both mothers and fathers and the hormone is released more when doing things such as hugging, kissing, and cuddling - the effects of which form bonding attachments in the brain.

As the kids get older from teens and into adulthood, most parents do less of these kinds of interactions and it can feel like bonds become weaker. Although cuddling your teen in public definitely wouldn’t go down well, genuine appreciation also promotes oxytocin. A simple “well done”, a handshake, sentimental gifts like “To My Daughter” necklaces, or a social media post with praise can help keep an appreciative bond with your child.

Always Make Time

No matter who you are, the modern world almost demands that you are busier than you would like to be. People these days are working longer hours, harder jobs, and into a higher age than ever before. Despite this, in most countries time spent with the family has increased over the past few decades - but is it enough?

A couple of hours a day is considered enough time to spend with the family which is easy when they are at home. For a college-aged child or older teen, finding time is a little more difficult. Try to fit your schedule around your older child’s college responsibilities or work-life by arranging such things as days out, Sunday dinners, and national holiday events such as Christmas.

Work Together, Play Together

When the kids are at home it is easy to get together and do things such as hobbies and sports but this becomes harder as they grow. As your child matures they probably no longer enjoy the things you used to do together or if they do, it might become less accessible as they commit to their education or job.

A popular pastime for many people all over the world is to work on something together or to regularly get together to enjoy or take part in a sport or game. The classic is for the guys to work on a car restoration together but this can include anything such as working on a quilt for the ladies, building a model railway, or even working in the garden.