Parenting needs to be fun
If something isn’t fun, no-one wants to do it. I make educating your children fun because otherwise working is an absolute chore. Yes, the side work like cleaning can become a task but the majority of my job is to hang out with the children I work with and take care of there needs. Some level of chaos should be encouraged so that both you and your children have fun whilst ‘boring’ care taking tasks are being done. Here’s some of my favourite ways to find chaos with the children I work with.
I have an ongoing note on my phone called ‘reasons the kids cried today’ where I list some legitimate reasons the children I worked with cried. Now these are real emotions that shouldn’t be underrated but if we don’t laugh we cry especially when the problem doesn’t make much sense to us. This isn’t my idea, I stole it from YouTuber Gwenna Laithland who runs the channel Pleasant Peasant media and as an educator I firmly recommend her parenting content for advice and ideas. Her list is called ‘Why my kids where mad at me today’ and is equally entertaining to look back upon when times are tough.
Sometimes a child is worked up to the stage where their sad for the sake of being sad. Normally I try consoling the child first then I’ll attempt some breathing techniques with them. If the first two don’t have an effect on the child’s state of mind I’ll try to start joking around, sometimes all you need is a little chaos to distract. Often when I can’t out right help a child to fix whatever’s wrong It’s because they want their parents, in this case the chaotic evil side of me likes to start the argument. Given that I work in childcare my go-to line is ‘can I go home’. The child will typically reply ‘no, my Mum first’ I say ‘no me first’ and the child will reply ‘no me’. Let this become the distraction for whatever else is going on, try to get them to laugh with you over the topic of the ‘argument’. You will find your topic, then, let the ‘argument’ become a game. The best thing you can do is distract them from being sad, normally by this point they’ve forgotten what they needed you to do anyway. Even better some of the children that I work with routinely start the ‘argument’ with me.
Give them limited power over you. Children love when they have power to make choices for ‘grown ups’, I use what I where. Yes, I said it, when given permission to do so, I allow children to choose the t-shirt I wear to work the following day from a list of provided options. I will wear the chosen shirt the following day. Any small choice they can make, let them make it within reason. Better yet, allow them to dress themselves, choose their meals, make small choices within reason. Some fights with your child are’t worth having, set clear boundaries, allow them to explore options within those boundaries and come to there own conclusions. It’s also a way to teach self control and critical thinking without them catching on, skills that will become important later in life.
Being a little silly. Every child will know the song ‘open, shut them’ as well as the associated actions, find a funny way to perform the associated actions. I do the backwards version where I miss the clap and cross my arms angrily on ‘blow a great big kiss’. You can do the same thing a few different ways with ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes, the backwards version, slow version, silent version, etc. I like using the same theory to make care takes fun, for example, whilst doing a nappy asking a child where dose your new nappy go? Before suggesting all the wrong answers whilst putting there new nappy on normally.
The fact of the matter is that parenthood shouldn’t be a job. It’s a privilege. As such Parenting should be something you look forward to, something fun. So, make it fun and find a approach to that that works for you and your child. Keep your child entertained and engaged in all the ‘chores’ that being a parent puts you though, you’ll have a much easier time.
Last but not least, activity of the week.
Ice play is great for the development of the sense of touch, add fruit in your ice for a cool tasty treat.
You will need:
Food die
Water
ice cube tray
Fruit (optional)
Add your food colure to your water and place in your modes. If using place your fruit into your tray and freeze.