As parents, you only want all the best things for your kids. You want to ensure they get the best education, eat the most nutritious food, get good quality sleep, and have the best moments of their youthful years. And so, most of you may try reading how-to guides about perfect parenting, talking to other parents about their techniques, and watching vlogs about other parents’ parenting.
While there are days when you feel proud of yourself for achieving your parenting goals, you can’t help but also feel exhausted. There are days when stress and exhaustion would take a toll on you, leaving you to feel distressed and not enjoy the whole parenting process. So, you ask yourself, what can I do to make parenting more effective and enjoyable?
The answer is, have fun.
As much as you want to do everything to keep your kids on the right track with their health and education, you need to remember that parenting is fun, and you can take pleasure from it if you choose to do so. To give you some strategies and ideas, here are four ways to help you become more fun and effective parent.
Less Schooling And More Playing
Your kids are already spending six to eight hours of their day sitting in classrooms and doing schoolwork. So, it’s no surprise how they’re always looking forward to going home after school. Meanwhile, for some parents, the after-school should be spent doing homework and other school exercises. And so, some of you may end up arguing with your kids as you force them to deal with another set of schoolwork when all they want to do is unwind and take a break after the long day in school.
Instead of stressing yourself into forcing your kids with homework and filling up their daily schedule with all-study-no-play, why not give your kids some time for play? As you welcome them home from school, you can get them some afternoon snacks and invite them over for some playtime. You can create slime with your kids, play card games or floor puzzles, or refer to more child care articles on Toddle and other parenting sites for more games. Let your children feel that they deserve to play and relax after school, and so do you. Children who have time to play and relax are more likely to become more creative, better problem solvers, and radiate a more positive attitude inside the house and with others.
Show Them A Good Example Of Self-Care
It’s only understandable if you constantly feel stress and exhausted from working so hard and juggling multiple jobs so you can provide for your children. However, when your kids only see you being stressed out, they’re more likely to follow your example subconsciously.
If you wish to teach your kids about the importance of inner peace and serenity, the best way to show them is by doing it yourself. Every once in a while, give yourself a few minutes for downtime and do something that will relax and soothe you. You can occasionally let go of those strict house rules you’ve implemented and loosen up for yourself and your kids.
An example would be serving them ice cream sundaes out of the blue for dinner, letting them play in the rain, or allowing them to have a movie night during a school night. These may sound like teaching your kids to break the rules, but the thing is, you’re showing them the value of putting yourself first and doing something to make you feel better. Don’t worry; showing examples of self-care won’t overshadow your past lessons about being responsible people.
Catch Your Kids Doing Something Good Instead Of The Opposite
It’s prevalent for parents to try and catch their kids whenever they’re doing something terrible. Unfortunately, doing this more often only shows that you’re finding ways to criticize your child instead of complimenting them. Despite your good intentions, this habit can adversely affect your child’s self-esteem and confidence.
A better and more fun way of encouraging your child to continuously do good is by paying more attention to their good deeds. For instance, if your child made their bed this morning, praise them for it and tell them they did a good job. Another is if they picked up the toys after playing, you could applaud them for it regardless of how small that accomplishment is. These positive statements can inspire them more to do good instead of repetitively scolding them.
Add Joy To Your Child’s Stressful Times
Your kids can get stressed too. It may be with their schoolwork or some of their awful moments in school. Sometimes, you could unconsciously add more stress to your child by pressuring or scolding them at home. When children are stressed, they tend to wet the bed, have temper tantrums, or purposely disobey your rules. To help your child overcome stress, you can add joy to their day through simple ways.
Some examples would be:
- Playing music while helping your child with homework to tone down the stress
- Make a small competition (with reward) between your kids about who’s the fastest person to fold their clothes
- Pass a ball between each other during the spelling exercises or reciting vocabulary words
- Creating bubbles from the dishwashing soap while doing the dishes
Adding a little fun to every activity your kids do can go a long way towards making their day a lot better.
Takeaway
Parenting is one of the hardest yet most fulfilling jobs you can ever have. There’s no guarantee that there won’t be a day you won’t be stress. But one thing’s sure – you’re in control of how you can make your daily parenting fun and set a positive example for your kids. Your time with your kids is one of the happiest parts of your lives, so you might as well have fun.