Thank You Coronavirus… Parenting Just Got Even Harder
Parenting is hard but with the COVID-19 crisis, it just got even harder. No kidding. Your chaotic world of balancing kids, life, home, and work has been turned upside down.
Raising kids was already challenging. More often than not, they didn’t listen. They didn’t cooperate. They pushed back.
Now cooped up 24/7, these power struggles have escalated and are like an exhausting competition stuck in overtime. You can’t leave your house. You can’t organize playdates. Your family is going stir crazy and emotions are running high.
Yes, parenting is hard and kinda sucks right now. But there is a way to make parenting easier–and more fun for the entire family.
When parenting is hard… make it a game
Rather than nagging, yelling, and getting into annoying power struggles, be playful and create games to deal with everyday challenges. Be like Mary Poppins, who was a pro at transforming unpleasant tasks into fun activities.
“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and–SNAP!–the job’s a game!”
Wait, I know, being playful is the last thing you want to do when you’re about to yell at the top of your lungs, “LISTEN TO ME AND JUST DO IT!” But yelling isn’t productive. And it doesn’t make anyone feel good.
Remember the last time your living room was a mess?
Toys, books, games, and leftover dishes scattered everywhere. It probably looked like a tornado had hit! Your kids refused to help and only wanted to watch TV. Did you scream until you were blue in the face? “Clean up this room!” How many times must you nag and yell until they cooperate?
While it seems contradictory, you can actually make cleaning up fun.
One parent engaged her children with an impromptu game. She pushed away her frustrations, ignored their complaints, and enthusiastically said, “I’m going to call out ten random tasks for each of us. As soon as you’ve finished one task, come back quickly and I’ll give you another. When we’ve each done ten, we’ll watch the TV show. Ready, go!”
