How Do You Make Life Fun with Your Children?

Hi Dana,

I hear you! Sometimes you just run out of creativity. Here are some things I did with my kids.

Brush teeth: We used to sing "18 Wheels on the Big Rig" while brushing, so that each side of the mouth was brushed while counting to 18.

Clean Up: We used to "disco dance" while we cleaned up. I would ask them what music they wanted to dance to while we cleaned and then we would dance the mess away. If they weren't cleaning, the music stopped.

Eating: My kids love funny stories. So if they weren't eating, I would tell them a story but I would stop, and they had to take another bite to hear the next part. If you aren't feeling creative to come up with a story, get out a funny book.

This challenge is exactly why I created my blog, www.ChocolateCakeMoments.com, to help families have more fun together and it is the little silly moments when you are smiling and enjoying family life that make all the difference. You might like my blog post on Tips for Playful Parenting - http://www.chocolatecakemoments.com/?p=1749.

I hope this helped!

S. Kirchner
www.ChocolateCakeMoments.com - Simple, Creative, & Memorable Ideas for Family Fun!

Hi Diane, every M. out here who reads your post will feel your frustration, I've been a M. for 26 years, and a daycare provider for 13, having fun does makes things go easier, but in reality raising a family is not always fun. You do not need to come up with any silly games to get your son to eat peas, or anything else, dinner time is dinner time, not play time and he eats or he doesn't, teaching children rules and proper way of doing things does not have to be done in a games, with my kids when it was time to pick up toys, it was time to do something else, so they picked up their toys, so we could go to the pool, or watch a movie, I didn't have to make up a game, we did sing the clean up song as i do in my daycare care, but our children will be in the real world someday, and if everything they learned in life was one big game after another their going to have it rough. Having fun in a family happens with a happy married couple and well behaved children, the less time you have to spend discipling or in your case making up games, the more time you have for quality time as a family and that's fun. Hope this helps. I have read many times on these post, how parents lie to their children, trick their children to get them to obey, I think that is so sad. J.

- Races. Fast races, slow races, races sideways, crawling races, "bug" or crab races, any kind of race to get from point a to point b, or to accomplish something that needs doing quickly (ahem, in less time than it takes a whole new species to evolve).

- MUSIC. Love it. Everytime we clean we crank up the music and dance. I despise cleaning. Hate it. It's just going to get messy as soon as I turn my back (or before, our lab sheds all year). So I HAVE to make it fun or it doesn't happen. Byproduct is that kiddo enjoys cleaning.

- "Kid Mop". Instead of dustmopping I'll drag kiddo around the house, in full giggle and shouts for M. to "go faster" (oy mommy's getting old, mommy CAN'T go faster). Got the idea because one time at IKEA I gave him one end of my belt and let him slide on his knees through the entire store. That was "kid sled". Their floors are WAY dustier than mine. (Boredom may breed creativity, but desperation does it FASTER). I only kid-mop occasionally, because he doesn't get the corners very well.

- Blitzkreig clean. Ideally put a tray of cookies in the oven and then clean like a bat outta hail so they don't burn. Nothing like the idea of burned cookies to light a fire under a slowpoke.

- Throw the breaker. As in, no electricity to MOST of the house. (I leave the fridge connected to power. It's amazing how different things become without electronics. From daily activities (like how our games change) to cooking hotdogs in the fireplace, or scrambling eggs over the BBQ. (difficult, btw). Using candles to see with. It's just interesting.

LOL... leaving the house with clothes on became SUPER easy courtesy of my son's preschool teacher. After explaining the reason for our lateness, she laughed and said "Just bring him to school in his PJs next time, and bring his clothes in a bag. It'll take him about 4 seconds before he'll want to be fully dressed once he gets here and all the OTHER kids are fully dressed." YUP. We only went to school half naked ONCE. After that all it took was "We're leaving at the count of 24 (or 17, or 136... pick a number, any number), dressed or naked, it's up to you."

Food... I've never stressed. Mealtimes were stressful in my house growing up... so I honestly don't give a rip. We play etiquette games, but we make them games (not standard rules of behavior). As far as food, he has food available to him all day. If he doesn't want something at one meal, I really could care less. It just gets wrapped up to be eaten later. He only liked certain veggies for AGES. So those veggies were served all the time cooked in various ways. My M. tried for 2 years to get him to eat peas from poetry ("I eat my peas with honey/ I've done it all my life/ It does taste rather funny/ but it keeps them on my knife!"), to rolling them into potato balls, to bribery, to threats. He just wouldn't. I really have no idea why she felt so strongly about peas. He'd eat broccoli, spinach, carrots, squash, asparagus, turnips, leeks... tons of things. But my mum. For some reason peas and corn are her "thing" and heaven forbid they weren't eaten.

Well I think you just have to strike a balance. I mean back in the day moms didn't play with their children much at all bc they focused more on the work side of life at home more. My M. remembers my grandma saying she never played with her kids with this sort of wisftul look in her eyes. But, she did have an immaculate house! My M. played with M. a lot, my grandma used to say we were like two children, but my M. definitely laid down the law too. I think today there is a huge expectation that a M. should play with her kids all the time but then, how the heck is she supposed to get anything done?? So for meals, teeth brushing, hair combing, putting on of clothing, getting into the shopping cart I just stick to business, of course there is always room for a tickle or something don't get M. wrong, but I don't always make it a game. But I will do rewards for stuff and be silly with my kiddos whenever I can, but if we are on the move and there is a lot going on, the kids just have to get on board game or no game. I want my kids to know that when I say it is time to get moving I mean it. But I do give them lots of time to play, run/crawl around etc. Of course my seven month old doesn't give M. any trouble yet, but my three year old.....different story!! I do have my son make silly noises when I brush his teeth, like eeeee and ahhhhhh so I can get in there and I let him brush himself after I do it as a little reward, if he cooperates. I let him dress himself as much as possible and praise him a lot for his successes. The main thing I see with my three year old is he wants to be independent so wherever I can step back and just let him do it, I do. At dinner time, if I am physically up for it, I let my son help cook. Like he can put the chopped up veggies in a casserole, or stir stuff or put cheese on a pizza etc. He likes to do that. He always comes in and asks if I have a job for him and tells M. he is having so much fun, even if his job is just opening the microwave when it dings or carrying his plate to the table. So I am just giving myself permission to play with my son as much as can but not worry about the times I can't and I think we are both happier!!:D

I have 2 kids that are just turned 4 years old and a 7 year old.... its busy, and with the daily routines.
I sometimes play games to get them to eat or do hygiene. But ultimately... I just don't. Not all the time.
I also, don't want my kids to think that EVERY time they do something, Mommy will be "Mary Poppins." I simply do not have the energy or patience to do that all the time for every single routine or daily chores.
I am a normal M., with fun or out of the box solutions or droll solutions too, or even boring.
Its okay.
My kids are happy.
They have fun. We have fun.
They do their routines.
That's fine.

all the best,
Susan

I play games, and I'm fairly silly when I want to be, but I don't do a lot of playing around the things that have got to get done.
When he was 3 I taught my son how to jump in puddles after it rains.
We caught fireflies (and let them go).
We read Fox in Socks till we almost had it memorized.
We watch butterflies in our yard and garden and the frogs that stick on the window of our back porch door window in the evening.
Sometimes we get a Slurpy for no reason at all.
When he's stalling on homework or some other chore,
I tell him the fastest way to fun is to get the work done.

I agree that sometimes you make it a game, sometimes you need to be business. when it is business, just remember to give a choice without giving him a choice---example. Do you want to wear the striped shirt or blue shirt? He gets to show independence, but he is still picking a shirt to put on and wear. Do you want to eat 5 peas or 4? He still has to eat peas, but he gets a choice out of it.
Some fun games, my M. always played the busy bee, the bee buzzed it's way to his mouth and he had to get in his mouth quick and swallow it to stop from stinging him.
I like the idea of red light, green light or freeze tag. Action for a bit, freeze. So whether it's brushing teeth, eating a bite, getting dressed, it sounds like fun.
Picking up the room, Can you score 2 points by making a basket?
Penny toss, heads you wear tennis shoes, tails you wear sandals or whatever.
Can you close your eyes, pinch your nose and still swallow?
How many peas can you fit on the spoon and get into your mouth without dropping one?
I don't know, just brainstorm.
The trouble comes, when you don't have to time to sit beside him. Just remember to give him at least 2 minutes, and sometimes that's enough to tide him over for 10 more without you.

I learned that some things can be fun and some things cannot, based on what my daughter will do with the situation. I learned that dinner time cannot be fun and games - for her - or nothing gets eaten. I learned that potty time needs to be fun! With stickers! And a musical potty card!

I learned that sometimes I have more energy than others and sometimes I am more creative than others and that I work with that and with what my daughter needs as much as possible. If I just don't have fun in M., then she gets the nice mommy or the business mommy or the ok-watch-Barney mommy. And then there are the times when things are fun just to be fun, because then I am the I love you so much I will jump around the house to Venga Boys music just because you like the bus on the cover- mommy.

Not sure if that helps, but in reality all you can do is your best around what you are capable of and need, and what he is capable of and needs.

I sing, why it works? I have no idea but it does for some things like clean and naps.
There are not even real songs and believe M. I am not a good singer what so ever, but when is time to clean I sing her and she does clean. Seem thing for nap and night sleep, we sing her a song and she march to her room all in her own!
I try not playing games with her for feeding but there are times that we need to get things done fast because we need to go out, in those days sometimes making faces and let her eat them "sometimes" work.
You don't need special games, just let your self be silly, goofy.
Everything can become a "game" just by doing silly faces and act goofy.

Your child is the perfect age for the house fairy.
www.housefairy.org
Enjoy! :)

My kids love it anytime I sing to them and with them- If you ask for their involvement, they love it! Make everything a song or a game--- Red light green light works well for brushing teeth in our house or getting dressed etc. If you make it a game-- they will have fun and it will go smoother. Also, give incentives to having breakfast go smooth etc. Ex. sticker book or new book etc for good listening or cleaning up really well etc.

Hi Dana,
This is going to sound strange but sometimes we pretend we are an animal that the kids choose. It's usually either a dog or a cat. We are all barking/meowing but talking with our hands/nonverbals. And I'll make a super healthy smoothie or something and put it in a bowl and set it on the floor. They are on all fours and drink it from the bowl with a straw. My sister was a little disturbed by it but it's actually really cute seeing them pretend to be an animal. And to eat something so "against the rules" is very exciting to them and they eat whatever they have up and ask for seconds.
When they are finished eating I pretend to be the dog/cat and either chase them or they show M. how to do a routine like brushing teeth, bedtime, etc.
I remember being little and thinking that adults didn't laugh or eat candy. So I try to have fun, be silly with them while its still cool to hang out with your M.!