End-of-my-rope, counting down the minutes until bedtime, lock yourself in the bedroom and eat Cheetos type of days. They are more frequent than I’d like to publicly admit. We all have those days where our kids WILL. NOT. LISTEN. They continually make messes and fight with each other. It feels like a never ending–I’m most certainly losing–type of battle. A truly bad day.
In 4 years (and some long Minnesota winters) I’ve found a few solutions to improving the terrible days.
- Change your scenery. Even if you just put your kids in the car and go for a drive at least you get a change of pace. When it’s nice they can be BUCKLED in the stroller and taken for a quick spin, the fresh air will do everyone good. (Caution: do not go to target)
- Power off. Does the internet put you in a bad mood sometimes? I personally will find myself irritated and I can’t figure out why. Then when I evaluate I realize I’ve spent too much time following everyone else’s lives on social media. Put your electronics away for a few hours and watch your mood improve.
- Change your language. Do you get tired of saying “no, no, no” a million times a day? I know my kids start tuning it out after about 700 or so times. Try saying “thank you for helping your brother”, “I appreciate you cleaning up your mess” or “lets work on this together”. Changing your sentences from negative to positive can really help improve all attitudes.
- Get crafty. I’m not a fan of making messes because my house is already pretty messy. But my boys love to paint, play with play dough or bake. These activities are for sure a hassle and if the day is too far gone may not help, but allowing them to create is a great change of pace and they are often so proud of their work. Even filling the sink or bath with water and allowing them to wash their toys can be fun! If its nice we do these activities outside.
- If all else fails just order pizza for dinner and issue an early bedtime. Tomorrow is a new day.
