The Daily Reminder - Day 7: Kids + Cuddles

The final day of our week of focusing on kids will focus on hugs and cuddles. And where I am today, the forecast looks dreary and perfect for cuddling!Today's focus is pretty straightforward.  Spend intentional time hugging and cuddling with our kids to let them know how much we love them.  Many of our kids especially love physical touch and today's focus will be just for them!My goal is to try to hug or cuddle as often as I can without it feeling smothering to them. I will continue throughout the day until they tell me they don't want cuddles anymore! I am actually interested to see which kid says something first.... :) Recap from Day 6I am a psychologist, so I have spent lots of time being trained in the skill of listening. But I realized yesterday that I sometimes "listen" while I am doing other things (like texting, or writing an email, or cooking) if my kids have a story to tell me. That's not really listening.That's more like hearing. My ears are hearing you and my brain is processing what you are saying, but I am not connecting with you.True listening = connection.What I found yesterday is that I need to pause to give the eye contact that tells them I am listening and interested in what they are saying. I am really thankful for that reminder while my kids are pre-teenagers - knowing they will naturally continue to rely more on their friends than their parents as they move into that stage.  If I can continue to practice that listening and connecting with eye contact, they will remember how much it means to me that they WANT to share things with me.How are folks doing? Still with me out there?photo cred pexels.com (rawpixel)