Looking for Good Ideas to Keep Parenting Fun

E.,
A tip from the trade...as an early childhood educator and mom of one with another on the way, may I recommend singing a little song to get through those necessary yet sometimes mundane tasks?

Singing a little ditty not only enlivens the task at hand, it is a bonding time for you and your children. Don't worry about whether or not you have the most wonderful singing voice - your children will love the joyful noise you make no matter what. As you sing an upbeat tune and model the appropriate behaviour you'd like your children to learn, they will join in and before you know it, the task will be done.

Eventually, after some diligent modeling, an adult can begin singing the tune, the children will take their cue and jump in without having to follow the adult's physical lead (freeing you to continue finishing a task you are engaged in and not once did you have to use a stern voice, bribery, or any other means to get those toys put away!).

A simple tune is best. For clean up, try one commonly used in childcare centers: "Clean up, clean up. Everybody, everywhere. Clean up, clean up. Everybody do your share." Repeat until the clean up is complete and always acknowledge your children's active participation ("Thank you for helping!" "You did a wonderful job cleaning up by yourself!").

When learning hand washing, first model appropriate technique for your children and then sing a song while doing the task that is at least 10-15 seconds long (appropriate hand washing time). "Row, row, row your boat", the "ABC's", or we sing a silly little one like this: "Wash hands now. Wash hands now. The farmer's gone to plow. Wash hands now. Then dry them on a towel." I've been singing this one each time I wash my 1 year old's hands over the last year. He now toddles to the sink when I begin singing or humming the tune.

Diaper changing can go smooth when the child has something engaging to look at. If your diaper changing area is near a wall, hang a pretty picture you and your child can talk about while you take care of business. I have a mobile hanging over our table that changes with the seasons and holidays. My son enjoys watching it and trying to make it spin by blowing towards it. Try placing soothing images on the ceiling above the table. A few butterflies and clouds floating above...(think about those pictures the dentist puts on the ceiling above the examining chair.) Choose something soothing and not too stimulating so your child will lay still until you are finished.

Meal time is more fun with some ritual and ceremony thrown in. Everyone helps prepare the table, holds hands to say a blessing or give thanks for the food, a candle is lit, a flower is placed on the table, a special plate is used to eat of...Any of these little things brings those eating together, provides a stimulant to conversation, and brings a sense of wholeness to the event of sharing a meal. Humans eat for sustenance and eating together sustains the family unit. Each meal can be a time of day where everything else in your lives is set aside and the sharing of a good meal in a warm atmosphere with some specialness and spontaneity brings a warmth to your family's experience of being together. Be diligent and don't give up if something doesn't work. Stick with a rhythm/ritual and peace will come.

You are your child's first teacher and they are learning from your modeling. When the meal is finished, the candle is extinguished as a time to move on and everyone helps clean up. Eventually, your children will be the ones to set the table, light the candle, lead the thankful verse and begin the wonderful conversations you'll remember for a long time to come.

Have fun. Bring a little song, engaging things to observe, and something special to those "mundane" tasks and cherish the bonding that takes place with your children.

I have a 4 year old daughter and a 14 month old daughter and i know that some of the must-dos in our day can get like you said "argument-inducing" We find it helpful to make it fun and challenging. Getting dressed is a time for a fashion show and she enjoys surprising me with the outfit for preschool, washing our hands is a time to scrub with marshmallows (foaming soap), and well, cleaning up is not a choice (we do it before each meal, because i know they are hungry and will clean out of motivation to eat). We do a lot of singing and dancing through our chores and this always keeps us smiling and having fun no matter what the task is.

I agree it can be frustrating, Iam a stay at home mom also my husband is in the millitary and i am pregnant with our second son and our two year old keeps me on my toes all the time but I figured out if I include him in the things Iam doing they get done faster and it gives us more time to play if you can try doing that my mom always told me the younger you get them involved the more the want to do it when thier older.

If ever I want my daughter to hurry up, instead of yelling at her to go, I race her. Then we have hurried and she just thinks its a game. That comes in handy a lot - esp school mornings . . .
We have a lot of tickle fights . . . sometimes we play zombie and chase each other around the house . . . we dance around the house . . . sometimes we set up obstacle courses around the house with pillows and do that . . . there are cheap craft projects to get at walmart that you can do together . . .
They are also at 4yrs old, at that stage were house cleaning is fun to them, so have them help you . . .
Teeth-brushing: I just got this toothbrush that lights up for 1min at a time (got it at Target in a 2 pack and really cheap) so she likes that . . .

I involve my kids all of the time-- I work full-time and my husband works a 2nd job most weeknights-- so I am on my own with a 4 and 2 year old. My kids set the table (one piece at a time), help me cook, and help me clean up. On the weekends-- they have their own kitchen (with 2 sides) and pots, pans, plastic food, aprons, hats, etc.... When I am cooking, they are cooking--- making catepillar soup, coffee, fish, whatever comes to mind-- and they run over to me so I can taste it and I make funny faces or pretend to spit it out and exclaim "Too salt" or "Too furry" or "Too cold" etc... and they laugh and go back to correct it.

To get my kids in the bath-- I bought colored tablets. After my kids get naked, have their teeth brushed, and use the potty-- they get to pick a color to put in the tub water. This gets them moving quickly.

Other fun things-- I buy vanilla pudding and I use different food colorings to show them that yellow + blue = green-- stuff like that. We go on "mushroom hunts" in the woods after a good rain (I love mushrooms-- they don't--LOL)-- although I don't pick them, it's fun to search for them in the grass. Good luck on your article.

M.

I'm glad you're looking to write an article on this. I've been short on ideas myself. Usually during diaper changes I probably just talk about what we're going to do afterward: read a book, go pick up daddy, play outside, etc. When she was younger, I sang songs and tickled her to keep her entertained long enough to change the diaper before she wiggled away. :) Right now getting clothes on, teeth brushing, etc. isn't too terribly mundane because she's learning to do more things herself, which she's so proud of. (when she's in the mood to do it!) The other day, however, I was a fun parent and played "I'm gonna get you" around our living room couch. Normally we only play actively outside, since we have a tiny apartment, so my girl was completely surprised by it and just couldn't stop laughing! At the end of her nursing sessions, we play the "where is" game, which usually involves parts of the face but often extends to other body parts or items around the room. I've also started doing that in German as well (um, in my rather limited German, I should say), and it's been fun to see her understand it so quickly.

My 2-year-old daughter LOVES to be in the kitchen when I am (or anywhere else for that matter). She has an entire cabinet (the biggest one in the kitchen) full of toys, books, aprons, spoons, bowls, etc. - she and her friends can even get inside of it! If I am using aluminum foil or wax paper, I always let her have some, as well as a pan and a spoon. She just recently received her own little set of pans and utensils and loves them. I put her chef hat on, give her some oven mits and she's a happy girl. If she asks questions about what I'm doing, I let her stand on her step stool so she can see what I'm doing - chopping veggies, spicing meats, washing fruit. She also loves books and magazines. We have them everywhere! We have our usual mundane tasks, but when things get tense, I give her 100% attention - read a book together, even if I have to read 10 books, or the same one 10 times; go for a walk; play dress up (yes - I have a Cinderella costume!); play instruments (we joined Kindermusik and have purchased several items to play at home); dance together; sing; tickle; water flowers; sweep; vacuum - she really just wants to participate in whatever I'm doing. She has a drawer in our bathroom for her toys, brushes, etc so that I can get myself together and she can be with me without digging into my make-up. All of this is wonderful, but not to say that there's no yelling - it happens - usually when I'm running late - and that's when the cartoons come on, or I get her to help me put my socks on or something silly. Brushing teeth can be troublesome at times, so I let her brush my teeth while I brush hers. Occassionally it's painful - but worth it! The same goes for brushing hair :-)
Good luck with your writing.