How To Prioritise Time With Your Children
Make It Only You
Other children in the mix? Make other arrangements for them. A husband keen to come along? Leave him at home. A mother dropping hints? Politely decline. Three’s a crowd and it’s key that no one else is vying for your attention.
Take A Trip
Although doing something local and low key is not to be underestimated, you’ll enjoy making memories somewhere you haven’t been together before. Take them to that idyllic place you went to as a child or to a city you love. The novelty of newness is time and money well spent before you’ve even set off.
Create Memories
You can’t beat a bit of a spectacle. Whether it’s a trendy movie theatre or an all-singing, all-dancing show, going to see something will give your time together a focus and make it one to remember.
Make It Tech Free
Quality time is technology-free time. That means iPads and phones stay behind and any usage is kept to a minimum. Have a conversation about something out of the ordinary (see here) and you’ll be entertained for hours.
Looking For Some Inspiration?
Here’s how SL’s editor and founder Georgie Coleridge-Cole spent one-on-one time with her eldest.
INSTAGRAM.COM/GCOLERIDGECOLE
What: 24 hours with her eight-year-old daughter. With a busy work life and two younger children vying for her attention, she was keen to spend some one-on-one time with her eldest.
Where: Dublin. Just an hour’s flight away, it was easy to organise with reasonably priced air fares.
They stayed: At the Westbury – where old-world charm meets modern glamour. Located between Trinity College and St Stephen's Green, it’s just moments from the hustle and bustle of Grafton Street as well ‘new Dublin’ with its buzzy hipster bars, restaurants and boutiques. It’s not Dublin’s cheapest option but the comfort, location and general razzle dazzle make it well worth every penny. Plus, the hotel does the most delicious breakfast and an afternoon tea that sent an eight-year-old girl to seventh heaven. Rates start from €295 bed and breakfast.
They ate: Lunch at Avoca. This wholefood restaurant (imagine nutty falafels and fresh crab salad), is situated at the top of a destination store that’s somewhat like an Aladdin’s cave of the unique and gorgeous. Dinner was replaced with The Westbury’s afternoon tea. Be sure to book because the decadent tea here is a popular choice whether you are a hotel guest or otherwise.
They saw: The legendary Riverdance. If you haven’t seen it then you should know there’s good reason it has been celebrated the world over for its Grammy Award-winning music. Thrillingly energetic, 25 years on it has been completely reimagined with innovative production, music and routines that will completely immerse you as it did them both.
If Dublin isn’t on your agenda then book tickets for Riverdance’s anniversary show which tours the UK next year, here.
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