3 fun ways to make kids feel special as individuals

SALT LAKE CITY — Kids often get lumped, especially within family dynamics. Oldest to youngest, quiet vs. loud, little or big.

Kate Mulford reminded us of the value of seeing them one-on-one and intentionally celebrating who they are, but she also acknowledged how difficult that can be.

"I want to know my kids as individuals," she said. "You're so busy as a mom. There's a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of boxes to check."

Her ideas focus on creating small moments of connection that fit into real family life.

Kids Day Off

One of Mulford's favorite traditions is a Kids Day Off.

"We like to surprise them with chores that aren't really," she explained. "This is seriously just a day where they're not doing chores."

Parents spend the day intentionally doing what the kids enjoy, and the activities themselves aren't complicated.

"Things that they ask us for all the time," she explained. "Can you come do this puzzle with me? Can you play a game with me?"

Normally, those requests compete with dishes, laundry and errands, but on Kids Day Off, they become the priority.

"It's a fun day, and cheap," Mulford noted. "You don't have to go anywhere."

Personalized Playlist

"One thing that we have done is make a personalized Spotify playlist for our kids," Mulford said.

It seems like a pretty basic entertainment choice, but what makes it meaningful is the song choices.

"As parents, we like to add music that reminds us of them," she explained. " Cover Me in Sunshine by Pink, that is one that I added to my daughter Olive's playlist because she reminds me of sunshine."

Kid's Museum

Parents know the struggle of having piles of artwork, crafts and projects coming home from school.

"I felt a little sliver of guilt throwing them away," Mulford said.

Her solution is one of her family's most memorable traditions. Instead of quietly displaying artwork on the refrigerator for a few days, the family turns it into an museum. They hang up drawings and crafts, make tickets and invite relatives and friends.

"They felt loved and appreciated and they could show their artwork," Mulford said.

Once the museum has its moment, some of the projects can be retired without quite as much guilt.

Find more ideas from Kate Mulford on Instagram, @katemulford.

This story was adapted from a TV broadcast script using artificial intelligence. Every story, including those adapted with AI, is reviewed by a human editor before publication to ensure that KSL's editorial standards are upheld.