Are you tired of trying to find things to do with your kids, things that they clearly are not interested in? Bonding with our kids is something that we as parents long for and we truly crave it. The problem is that all of us old farts may not know the best ways of doing so. After all, there is always going to be a certain age difference between us and our kids, which means that we have different interests.

However, for the sake of bonding with your kids, you may have to suck it up a little bit and do things that interest them more than they interest you. Besides, the main point of this exercise is to bond with your kids, spend quality time with them, and really get to know them. Yes, your kids should be having fun, and ideally so should you, but the main point is bonding, which is much easier done when you are doing stuff which your kids really enjoy. So, what are some of the best things that you can do at home to bond with your kids?

Arts & Crafts

Ok, so kids just love to use their imaginations, hence why they can have so much fun on their own with no more than a cardboard box. This imagination should be used for good, and if you do it right, you can use their imagination to do some serious bonding. What we are getting at is that you can do arts and crafts with your kids, something that will be fun for them, let them be creative and spur on their imaginations, and most important of all, will let you spend quality time with them.

The best part is that arts and crafts come in so many different variations that you will be hard pressed to not find something that your kids enjoy. You can try making macaroni and glue pictures or normal artwork with crayons or even water paints. You can create a plethora of artistic pieces with simple items that you find around the home.

Simple toilet paper roll binoculars, cardboard box birdhouses, little play dough sculptures, drawing, and many other things are all artsy. If you really want to get your kids into it, you can try doing some arts and crafts which are related to their favorite TV shows and video games. Heck, you can even use some strings, glue, boxes, and elastic bands to help make a homemade guitar. The point we are making is that arts and crafts are the perfect bonding solution for parents and kids everywhere.

Aquascaping

Another great bonding activity for you and your kids is aquascaping. In case you are unfamiliar with this, let us explain. Aquascaping is more or less an indoor underwater garden with fish in it (gardening is also fun and something you can do with your kids). You can see where we are going with this. This is a great bonding activity because it is something that both you and your kids can really get into.

Kids love animals, especially bright colored fish, which is a love that you can combine with your own love of gardening. We really like aquascaping because both sides of the equation can really enjoy this activity.

The fun part for you and your kids is creating your own aquascapes that suits your likes. There are a great number of variations like ones that are fully under water, those that are only partially submerged, river aquascapes, ocean-scapes, coral aquascapes, jungles, rain forests, mountains, plains, and much more. You can truly create any kind of scenery that you want. Then it comes time to choose your fish, something that kids seem to love doing.

The real beauty about aquascaping is that it lets both you and your children use your imaginations, and moreover it lets you combine you and your kids’ minds to work as one, which is what bonding is really all about. Sure, aquascapes will require a bit of money and maintenance, but the bonding with your kids is definitely worth it.

After all, all you really need are some plants, rocks, fish, decorations, maybe a filter and some lights, and maybe even a protein skimmer too (here is a protein skimmer buying guide that is helpful). There is also the fact that this is a great way to start teaching your kids some responsibility too.

Video Games

Ok, so right off the bat, we know that many parents want to keep their kids away from playing too many video games. However, the fact of the matter is that kids love video games and they can spend hours on end playing them. This means that if you play video games with your kids, you will inevitably end up bonding with them. Sure, you might not like playing them all that much, but like we said before, the main point of all of this is for you to bond with your kids, and bonding is never easier than when you are doing something which your child really enjoys.

It isn’t like you have to play violent games, something which many parents fear because they think it will turn their kids into raging psychopaths, which is understandable. However there are many video games out there which are focused around sports, music, and even car racing. We’re sure that you can find a game which both you and your kids enjoy. Speaking from personal experience, there is no better feeling than beating a whole video game with your kid when you have worked as a team to get it done. It will definitely give you guys a whole lot to talk about at the dinner table too!

Conclusion

Whatever the case may be, bonding with your kids is essential to their development and it creates for a good parent and child relationship too. Whatever the activity may be, you should definitely find something that you and your children can do together. Humans don’t live forever so spending time with your loved ones is something that we should all take seriously.