What Happens When You Replace Power Struggles with Playful Parenting?

Karen Thurm Safran
5 min readJan 22, 2021
Photo by Jacob Lund on Adobe Stock Photos

Your kids are whining, not listening, and melting down. You’re frustrated, overwhelmed, and ready to scream. Bedtime is hours away, and you’re quickly running out of steam.

It’s challenging enough juggling tasks and kids without the endless power struggles. As the day progresses, it seems like your children’s “No’s!” “Don’t want to’s,” and “Why’s?” are becoming more frequent and getting louder.

You love your kids, but why can’t parenting be easier? And wasn’t having children supposed to be fun?

Playful Parenting

The good news is that you can make parenting easier by using a playful parenting approach. Kids love to play, so when you’re playful, you work with your children rather than against them. It’s really that simple.

Rather than yelling and getting into power struggles, be playful like Mary Poppins and create games to deal with everyday challenges. By dealing with stressful situations playfully, you transform frustrating moments into family fun. You also empower your children and strengthen your family’s connection.

Take a cue from fictional nanny Mary Poppins, who famously sang:

“In every job that must be done, there is an element of…

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Karen Thurm Safran
Karen Thurm Safran

Written by Karen Thurm Safran

Recovering stressed-out mom with secrets to share: parenting, family, and life. Author of Parenting—Let's Make a Game of It. www.ParentingLetsMakeAGameOfIt.com

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