This leads me to my last and favorite tip… invite your kids into your hobbies. As you do things with them, include them in your favorite things. Whether you are into games, reading, sports teams, cooking, fashion, invite them into those hobbies. Let them observe what it looks like to love and enjoy a hobby! You may just make a book worm, future engineer, or baker yet.
This tip in particular is my favorite because I’ve seen my husband do it so well. He’s a proud and practicing lifetime nerd who would love nothing more than to spend an evening playing Dungeons and Dragons or a favorite board game or three. He does an awesome job of being silly with our daughter and inviting her into that. At 2, she definitely does not play board games, but she loves when he uses silly voices and pretends with her. He also loves to bring her along for long jogs with our dog and playfully use her as a dumbbell in his weight training. It’s been a cool way for him to spend time with her and still get those tasks done or just have fun with her, and you can do it too. Obviously your infant may not be able to handle a table saw…. but building things for them, or “watching” sports games together are great ways to start that bonding early.