Connections

One question moms of many get, is how can we possibly give all our kids individual attention. Answers vary from parent to parent, but it almost always comes down to the famous answer, "We dont divide, we multiply". My answer is borderline to that.
While everything does muliply, like laughter, fun, quarrels,  and messes, sometimes children NEED that one on one attention. Does that mean that you need to take whole days, every day, to dedicate to one child? No. The need for that much time isnt always necessary.  Sometimes just taking moments for a childs needs is enough. When one of my sons comes up to me and just has to tell me all about this amazing toy he built with legos, I stop what I am doing and listen whole heartedly with ooen ears and eyes to soak in the full excitement of what hes done. When one of my daughters is gushing over the nails they have painted, I stop what im doing and look at their nails admiringly with sounds of ooo's and aww's.
It isnt always about taking whole days blocked out for each child. Its about paying attention when they NEED you. My smaller kids rarely slow down enough from their own little world to warrent me to block out an entire day for them and force them to do a scheduled outing and activities. However, it doesnt mean we dont do special outings with each child. Sometimes me and one of the kids will sneak out for a walk, or a quiet breakfast from the dollar menu where we just sit and talk (even the little ones get excitement from this). We also do the theater once in awhile with only one child.  we call it "mommy and me" outings, or "daddy and me", depending on which parent is doing it. Its special time devoted to connecting. Even a trip to the store with mom or dad makes a kid excited (and its exciting for the parent too lol) and its used to talk, focus and learn about that child in that faze of their life.
As a main rule, we do most of our things as a family. We do chores, homework, outings etc. all as a family. It multiplies the enjoyment and makes for some crazy good times, but even smaller families feel the stretch of time, like they arent devoting enough time to one child. Its all about time management and making the important things in each moment a priority,  not each day. My saying is, "I'm a tree, I can bend". I take that saying and apply it daily. Its one moment at a time in our house, not whole days at once, or chuncks of time blocked out like little robots. We enjoy small spontaneous moments at a time. Some are enjoyable moments, some chaotic, some grumpy, but always counted as a blessing, as a family unit.