Now that summer is slowly approaching, something that we are all looking forward to is being able to spend a lot of time outside basking in the sun. For the majority of us, this is the first summer of normality that we have seen in the last 2 years.

Last year and the year before there were certain rules concerning being able to head outside, which meant that a lot of us were confined to our homes. If you are someone that has children, this may have been particularly difficult on you, as children can easily become bored and frustrated when they are unable to go outside.

If you were someone without a garden during this period of time, then you may have struggled even more with the rules put in place by the government. Though things are now starting to return to normality, covid has unfortunately not gone away. In fact, we are actually experiencing spikes and new variations of the virus all over the world, so as a parent you may be worried about allowing your children to play as freely with their friends as they once did.

Though you may not want your child heading out the same way as they used to, you still don’t want them to stay inside. Because of this, it is likely that you have moved to a house with a garden, but not just any old garden can keep your children entertained.

Instead of just leaving your child to play in a plain old garden, you should instead take the time to create a great garden that they can spend time in. Here are just some of the reasons why having a great garden can benefit your children.

They Will Be Proud of Their Home

As a parent, something that you are likely more than aware of is just how inconsiderate your children can be. Because they have put no work or effort into the home that they live in, it is not unusual for them to make a mess or destroy items within the home, as they don’t really care.

If you hire someone to do up your garden and allow your children to pay close attention to the process, then they will be much more appreciative of the process that made the garden look the way that it did.

Something that you should remember is that not every landscaping company that you hire will allow you to let your children observe their work, as they can be a distraction. Before you hire someone to landscape your garden, make sure that they are ok with your children looking at their work and explain the situation to them. I remember when I wanted to do up my very own garden, I contacted a landscaping company in Victoria BC, and told them that I would like my children to get involved with some of the odd jobs they were doing so that my children could appreciate the value of hard work. They were happy to allow that and even let my children help with mowing and other important tasks.

Birthday Parties

Something that you have probably experienced a lot this year is the constant cancellation of birthday parties. A big issue that a lot of venues had was that outbreaks of the virus meant that parties were not able to take place.

A lot of parents were also worried about sending their kids to parties and allowing them to potentially pick up covid. A lot of rules that are a product of covid make it so that you can no longer throw indoor parties for a number of reasons.

Depending on where you live, it can actually be very difficult to find an outdoor venue for you to be able to host a party and so most people just end up hosting a party at home in their gardens. This allows them to abide by covid rules, while also celebrating the life of their children.

If you are someone that has a run-down garden, then you may be too embarrassed to throw a party in your home. If your backyard is nothing more than empty grass and a shed, then it is not exactly the best venue to host a party and your children may be disappointed.

Not only should you focus on landscaping your garden, but you should also put some focus on getting some garden furniture and laying out a place where you can host events. Not only can you host parties for your children, but you can also create places where they are able to hang out with their friends and have a fun time.

You have to remember that this is just a one-time investment and once you have done it once, you don’t have to redo it anytime soon.

Get Them Out

The children of today are not the same as the children of the past. In the past, it would be impossible to keep your children indoors. However, in this day and age, it is now impossible to persuade your children to go outside.

Though you may not be able to get them to go out very far, by having a nice garden you will at least be able to convince them to sit outside and get some much-needed vitamin D. Childhood obesity is on the rise and by giving your child a place they can have fun and exercise, you will help fight these statistics.

As a parent, you dedicate lots of your time to teaching your kids the best morals and hope they pick them up and express these morals in their day to day lives. You probably try to be the best influence you possibly can on your kids so that they grow up to be good people and carry these morals with them into adulthood. This makes picking films for them to watch difficult, as after putting all this time and effort into helping your kids become the best version of themselves that they can be, you don’t want to allow them to watch any movies that will instill different morals into them.

Kindness can be learned by example so by being a good example and finding movies that emphasize kindness and positivity your kids will learn these quicker. Kindness, sharing, and positivity are all extremely important qualities in kids and in adults, they will help your child to be able to create and maintain friendships at school and this will follow on to adult relationships. These qualities will also help to teach your children to accept other people that are different as they encourage acceptance and tolerance which are also important qualities. We’ve found some of the best kids’ films that encourage kindness, sharing, and positivity so you can show your kids some great films.

Spirited Away

Spirited Away is a Studio Ghibli film, we found out from a quiz about Japanese animated films that this is the Studio Ghibli movie that most closely aligns with encouraging kindness, sharing, and positivity. The film is about the ten-year-old Chihiro when she and her parents stumble upon an abandoned amusement park her parents get turned into massive pigs and she is stuck. She meets Haku who explains to her that she has to work to free herself and her parents from the supernatural resort. This movie promotes many positive messages, it encourages people to always have time for others and to give them attention if they need it and to not hate those who hate you, but instead learn to love them regardless. These are very positive messages and teach kids how to be kind so it’s a great movie to show your child.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Kiki’s Delivery Service is another Studio Ghibli movie that promotes good morals and encourages kindness. It’s a movie about a young witch named Kiki who leaves home to carry on her witch training. She leaves with just her flying broom and her cat, Jiji to make a new life in a different city. She starts a delivery service to improve her flying skills but unfortunately, she loses confidence in her own abilities and begins to lose her magic. The kindness of other people in the village help Kiki to regain her abilities, this is a great example for kids to encourage kindness within their behavior. It also promotes positivity as it teaches kids to have confidence in themselves the same way that Kiki found confidence in herself.

The Secret World of Arriety

The Secret World of Arriety is another Japanese animated film, this type of movie is one of the best to promote kindness in films to children. Arriety is a tiny teenager who lives in a suburban home without the homeowner knowing. She spends most of her time remaining hidden from those who live in the house but occasionally has to risk going above the floorboards to borrow sugar cubes. This leads to an unlikely friendship forming between Arriety and the 12-year-old Shawn who lives in the house.

This friendship is a strong one but it has the problem of it could lead the homeowners to find out that Arriety and her family are living there causing problems for her family. This film is one of the most wholesome Studio Ghibli films and the entire movie is focused on the message that you should always be kind to others. It promotes that you shouldn’t just be kind to people that you know but you should be kind to every person that you meet. This is a great message to promote to kids so we highly recommend this movie.

Raising boys can be difficult at the best of times. With generations constantly changing, it can be difficult to keep up with your son’s life as he enters a world you’re unfamiliar with. Whether we intend to or not, as your child develops, soon we’ll be the dinosaurs that need our kids to help with new and complicated tech. This is sadly just a fact of life and unfortunately can end up putting a strain on you and your son’s relationship. So, how can you make sure you maintain a healthy relationship with your son? Well, here’s a list of 8 activities perfect for father and son bonding.

Movies

The best way to bond is to find common ground with your son. Ask him about movies he likes and then maybe suggest watching some with him. It’ll reassure him that you’re interested in his life and it will also potentially help you learn things you may not have realised about your son’s personality. It may also be worth suggesting a father and son cinema trip to help you both get outside of the house. Who knows, it may end up becoming a regular thing.

Video Games

As long as you’re prepared for him to likely be far better than you, then another great way to bond with your son is by playing video games with him. Most boys nowadays spend a crazy amount of time on their consoles, what better opportunity to spend some quality time with him than by getting involved in one of his favourite hobbies. Find out his favourite games and if any of them happen to be multiplayer then you’re in luck. If you’ve never played a video game, it’s probably best to get some practice in before you suggest a game – it may end up frustrating for both of you if he has to spend his time trying to teach you how to play.

Fishing

A very popular father/son activity, but for good reason. It will remind him that you still have plenty of things to teach him. There’s still probably a lot more you can learn about fishing as well. Like, did you know you can get special fishing reels for catching bass? As long as you remain patient, fishing can be a calming activity for both of you and it’s always good for both of you to reconnect with nature. Don’t be afraid to get your feet wet and show your son there are more ways to enjoy yourself. Plus, actually catching something would be a bonus as well.

Cooking

Something we could all improve is our cooking skills. Try making some meals or even try your hand at baking with your son. It’s a great activity as there is room for error from both of you and requires you both to work as a team. Teaching him to cook will definitely benefit him in the future and you’ll also (after some trial and error) get some delicious meals out of it.

Sports

Whether watching or playing, there are so many different sports out there that there simply has to be one that you and your son can bond over. You could introduce him to your favourite sports team and take him to games as well as a treat. If you’re wanting to improve you and your son’s fitness then there are plenty of sports you can play in your backyard. Just be prepared to be a bit slower than you remember. Remember, you both have things to learn from each other.

DIY Projects

If you have some work to do around the house, then why not ask your son for some help? An extra hand will make sure you get those jobs done quicker. Anything from painting the walls or fixing up the car to building some furniture, there’s plenty of benefits for both of you by working together. Plus, by teaching him and letting him help, you’ll be giving him invaluable life skills as well. Boys always like to be right and can get frustrated when things don’t work out the way they intended. Be sure to keep your cool and reassure your son if he seems to be getting frustrated. Remind him that IKEA furniture is a challenge for everyone. There’s no harm in getting confused.

Ice Cream

If you’re looking for an activity that’s both sweet and simple (pun intended), then look no further. You don’t need to do anything fancy to bond with your son. Even just taking him to get some of his favourite ice-cream will help improve your relationship. It also works as a great reward after doing some of the other slightly more strenuous bonding activities from earlier like DIY or fishing. You never know, you might even find him feeling more comfortable with opening up to you.

Help them with homework

A bane of every kids’ existence, keeping on top of homework can be a difficult task. An excellent way to bond with your son is by helping him with more academic challenges like homework. Kids sometimes have trouble asking their teachers if they’re confused, so it could be beneficial for him to be able to ask you. Just make sure he doesn’t trick you into doing it for him. The most beneficial thing you can do is clear up his confusion so he can solve the problems for himself. This may require some refamiliarizing from you, but he’ll surely appreciate it.