Since parents cannot always be around their kids, it becomes important to keep their child engaged in different activities to ensure better development of their skills and intellect, says Arunprasad Durairaj

An increasing number of urban parents are now choosing to refrain from second pregnancies to focus on raising one child while maintaining the delicate balance between their professional and personal lives. For some parents, the added cost of raising another child is also a major deterrent, especially when they are already facing financial problems.

Even parents with a single child don’t have it easy all the time. Living the busy lives, most urban parents often deal with difficulties in giving their child the amount of attention they need.

However, by interacting with them, observing things they enjoy doing and participating in such activities with them, parents can play a critical role in boosting their children’s self-confidence.

Since parents cannot be always around their kids, it becomes important to keep their child engaged in different activities to ensure better development of their skills and intellect.

So, here are some tips to help these parents in raising a single child:

Engage your child with educational activity boxes instead of toys: Play-based educational activities for kids that promote early child development in a fun and explorative way are gaining popularity over electronic gadgets.

There are various products available on the internet which offers various activity boxes for children aged two to 12 years old, especially designed for early child development.

Every box comes with activities that help the child create, play, explore and read about a particular theme while targeting 12 critical developmental areas. Parents can opt to subscribe these boxes in 3, 6, or 12-month durations. The boxes can be delivered to their home as well.

DIY (Do-it-yourself) learning: Art and craft is the most creative and engaging activities for children at the elementary level. Platforms offering DIY videos and related products can be useful in helping you bond with your child while teaching them fundamental skills.

There are certain online portals which provide a huge amount of high-quality content to hobbyists and also aims to create a community for craft enthusiasts to interact and share ideas.

Get your kid involved in the household chores: Whenever you are preparing a meal, your child can assist with little things in the cooking process. And, who knows, they might develop a real passion for cooking and explore it further.

Engage your kids in cleaning, dusting and inculcate habits like keeping their toys and clothes back in place. This can also give you a chance to talk to them, especially if you are a working parent.

Form a family book club: Gather families from the neighbourhood or school and take turns choosing age-appropriate books every month. Prepare a list of questions for discussion about the characters, plots, themes, and settings of the stories.

Make such meetings a fun potluck —lunch/dinner with foods that relate to the story. Ask your child to take part in cooking and brainstorm with other kids on ideas for the food.

Spend as much time as you can with your child: If yours is a nuclear family, then it becomes even more important to give your child the due attention. Also, ensure that your child does not feel lonely.

So, you should spend some quality time and play with your child while at home. Moreover, by distributing the work around the house equally, you and your spouse can focus better on your child’s development.

In the absence of a sibling, it’s essential to teach your child the importance of sharing — encouraging them to share what they have, be it with friends or members of your extended family, like grandparents. Also, in today’s age, parents should ensure that their child spends ample time outdoors by actively playing a sport rather than being stuck to digital devices the whole day.

(The author is a CEO of Flintobox.com, discovery boxes for early child development)