10-Minute Connection Menu

• Ten minutes of chase or tag
• A song each, danced badly
• Push-of-war against your hands
• A walk around the block with no destination
• Jumping on the bed, counted out loud
• Carrying something heavy together

Tap what works.

• A back rub while they lie on the floor
• Brushing or braiding hair
• A blanket burrito
• Sitting shoulder to shoulder
• Hand-holding while you both stay quiet
• Lotion on their feet before bed

Tap what works.

• Lying down together with the lights low
• Looking out the window and naming what you see
• One song, eyes closed
• Coloring side by side without talking
• A warm bath with no rush
• Watching the sky from the porch

Tap what works.

• Let them be the parent and you the child
• Ask a stuffed animal about its day
• Build the tallest thing you can
• Play the same game twice, their rules
• Make up the worst joke either of you has heard
• Hide and seek, indoors, ten minutes only

Tap what works.

• Read one familiar book again
• Tell them about the day they were born
• Tell a story where they are the brave one
• “High, low, and something funny” at bedtime
• Look at photos from last summer
• Make up the next chapter together

Tap what works.