Hooray, it’s almost summer!
Warm days with sunny skies.
Just think, you’ll get to spend more time with your wonderful kids. Even more time than with this coronavirus pandemic.
Lots more time.
Yup, three months… that’s about 12 weeks.
Twelve weeks?
That’s nearly 100 days.
Gulp.
And if you spend 10 hours a day…
OMG, that’s about 1,000 hours. One thousand hours!
But think of all the fun things you can do.
Lazy, mellow days at home.
Well… more like whining, bored kids fighting over the TV remote.
Special family time together.
Yeah, real special with the “I don’t wanna,” “C’mon, just a few more minutes,” and “Not now” power struggles.
Yeeks! Hundreds of power struggles.
Argh, My kids are driving me crazy!
Um… how many more days until this pandemic ends?
And how many more days until daycare starts and school resumes?
Want to Make Parenting Easier?
I’m Karen, a mom with two grown kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mom, more than anything in the world.
But who loves the ongoing conflict? Not me!
I still shudder remembering when my kids wouldn’t cooperate. When they’d narrow their eyes and inhale sharply before screaming, resisting anything I said.
Life is way too short to deal with these frustrating moments, and there is a way to drastically reduce the number of power struggles.
Want to know how?
The Secret: Make Parenting a Game
My parents had a trick.
They adopted a positive attitude, used their imagination, and created games to turn frustrating moments into family fun.
Yes, being playful seems counterintuitive when you feel like yelling, but it works like magic. With playful parenting, you’ll avoid confrontations, end arguments, encourage cooperation, and even get your kids to help around the house.
If it helped me as a stressed-out single parent, it can help you.
For instance:
Instead of yelling, “Hurry up and get ready! We must leave now!”
Create a Beat-the-Clock Racing game.
Instead of nagging, “You need to clean up!”
Turn on the music and have everyone guess how long it will take to finish
Instead of worrying that your children’s messy hands will smear the walls or get the furniture dirty.
Start marching and singing to a favorite tune, like “The Farmer in the Dell.” “Put your hands in the air. Put your hands in the air. March to the sink with your hands in the air.”
Make Parenting Easier—and More Fun
Rather than yelling and getting into power struggles, be playful like Mary Poppins and create games to deal with everyday challenges. You’ll transform frustrating moments into family fun while empowering your children and connecting with your family.
Kids love to play, so when you’re playful, you work with your children rather than against them.
Learn playful ways to stop struggling with your toddlers and school-age kids with an entertaining, easy-to-read book, Parenting—Let’s Make a Game of It. Written for busy parents, the how-to messages are shared through amusing short chapters, and the down-to-earth tone leaves you feeling encouraged.