Time Worth More Than Toys – One of My Parenting Tips

Like most parents who spoil their kids I buy my kids way too many toys in my opinion.  When they have so many action figures that one breaks they are like “Oh Well”, then you know they don’t care that much.  That being said one of the most memorable and best things I do for my children is not purchased.

My son loves drawing and artwork, and I am not a good artist.  I can draw childlike creations at best.  My son loves transformers and I started making him home made Transformer cards hand drawn and colored by me.  He collects these cards and they mean so much to him.  He asks me to draw him new ones often and I have drawn dozens of them over the last year and a half.

I often sit with my son and we will draw together, I love what he draws me as well.  Sometimes I just draw them in pencil and let him color them in.  This is something we do and love together and means more than any bought toy.

So more than just material items, spend time with your kids, do crafts with them, create and be artistic.  Draw on whiteboards, read them stories, create a little “hobby” that only you and your children do one day a week and make time for it.  This are the memories they take with them for life, barely any kid will remember his 46th Star Wars action figure when they are twenty one years old, but they will remember when their parent took time to draw them figures.

Here is an example of the Silly Transformer Cards I draw that my son loves so much:

-Justin Germino