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Being Present with Your Kids

For any parent, grandparent or caregiver who wants more unhurried moments with the children in their life, from toddlers to teens. Each day is one small way to put distractions down and simply be with them.

Parenting · Parenting · Family · Mindfulness · one to-do a day · you choose how many days

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The first seven days

  • Day 1Leave your phone charging in another room while your family eats dinner tonight.
  • Day 2Ask your child to invent a game with brand new rules, then follow every rule they make up without correcting a single one.
  • Day 3Ask your child at dinner, "What made you laugh today?" and let the answer run as long as it wants to.
  • Day 4Invite your child to tear lettuce for tonight's salad while you handle the knife, and talk about nothing in particular as you work.
  • Day 5Watch your child build, draw or play something they love for five minutes without offering a single tip.
  • Day 6Look up from your screen and smile the moment a child walks into the room.
  • Day 7Build a blanket fort with your kids from couch cushions and chairs, then crawl inside together and stay a while.

Further into the year

The to-dos keep changing as the year goes on. A few from later in this theme:

  • Day 30Pull out an old photo album after dinner and let your child choose which pages to linger on.
  • Day 60Stand at the edge of the playground and watch your toddler explore without calling out instructions.
  • Day 120Let your child lead a short walk around the block in spring, stopping wherever they want to look.
  • Day 240Trace the curls, freckles or dimples on your little one's face as a gentle game at bedtime.
  • Day 365Stop for a moment today when your child is absorbed in play, and simply watch them, glad they are yours.

How a challenge works

A Theraglee challenge is a theme with one small to-do for every day of a year. You choose how long yours runs, anywhere from a week to the full year, and each day you get the next to-do: something that takes a few minutes and fits inside an ordinary day. Tick it off when it is done. Nothing is scored and nothing is lost if you miss a day; the next to-do is simply waiting when you come back.

Challenges come with a free Theraglee account, which never asks for a card. Your progress stays private to you.

Challenges like this one

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Reading that goes with it

Telling Your Children You Are Separating The conversation most separating parents dread. How to plan it, what to say in the first thirty seconds, which three things to state outright, and… When Your Adult Child Moves Back Home Everyone said yes warmly and nobody agreed the rules. What to settle in the first weeks, how to talk about how long, and why mixed feelings about it… Doing a Dull Job Without Rushing It The dishes, the laundry, the same drive again. Why hurrying through them costs more than it saves, how to do one of them with nothing playing, and…
Educational only — not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Find a licensed therapist if you want support.