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5 Hands-On Ways to Connect With Your Kids On A Hard Day

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Creative and hands-on ways to connect with your kids when you are having a hard day

One of my most popular posts to date has been Top 10 Tricks for Stay-At-Home Moms to Turn A {Bad} Day Around.  I can easily guess why… because we all have those days.  One reason I love the blogosphere is because I can connect with other moms all over the world going through many of the same obstacles and feelings every day, and we can all find ways to encourage and support each other.  Isn’t the internet an amazing tool?

I have run across several lovely posts with more great suggestions for what to do when the day might be dragging on or negativity is setting in, for you and/or your kids… and thought I would share five of my favorites. When we are having hard days (and they are just part of life!) it is great to be armed with good ideas for bringing some “sparkle” into the darkness.

If you have another idea (or a post) which has helped you with connecting with your kids on a hard day, please link it in the comments!  Let’s share the sparkle, shall we?

Thank you to the authors of these posts for giving me permission to share their lovely photographs in this article.

Create A Chill Out Corner

I loved the idea of creating a “chill out corner” from Adventures At Home With Mum – which you can see as a guest post here.  The idea is that instead of putting kids in a “naughty corner” or disconnecting, a “chill out corner” is a nice way to help everyone spend some quiet time in a safe place and then come together when things are more peaceful.  There are 7 ideas included for what kids may like to do in this space to help calm down and re-center.

chillout

And a place to chill out is a great idea for moms, too!  I can think of plenty of moments I might benefit from a “chill out chair” where I can drink a cup of water and take deep breaths in peace, to prepare myself to resume the day’s work with a brighter smile. 🙂

Make A Mommy Meltdown Basket

The Mommy Meltdown Basket is a lovely idea from Connecting Family and Seoul.  In this post you can find out how bringing a few calming items together can help mama take care of herself and connect with her children, even when the situation is difficult.

The Mommy Meltdown Basket

Practice Some Relaxation Techniques

I found these lovely (and simple!) relaxation techniques over at Octavia and Vicky.  The post shares five ideas for helping young children relax, which will inevitably help mama relax, too.

Relaxation-for-Children

Read or Listen to Audio Stories

Reading and listening to audio stories are two other ways to connect and shift attention to a different topic.  Hands-on books are especially useful for the little ones –  you can both sit down and share some quiet time looking through pages and experiencing the pictures and textures.  I have seen so many beautiful “Quiet Books” on And Next Comes L, and here is the link to the wonderful tutorial posted there.

andnext

A few weeks ago I posted about some of our favorite audio stories, called Sparkle Stories, which you can read about here.  I find audio stories a wonderful way to cool down and focus on something else, at times when wills are clashing in our home and we could all use a break.  And these stories are uplifting because they offer positive examples of how families and friends work through challenges, so they can be surprisingly relevant to what may be going on in my household as well.

Do An Activity To “Reset” The Day

This post from Pennington Point shares 20 fun ways to get out a funk by doing a simple activity.  I will definitely refer to this post when looking for a quick distraction!  Having fun together, even after a tantrum or series of frustrations, is a perfect way to connect and refill the love tanks.

reset01

And if you haven’t read the original post that inspired this collection of ideas, you can read my “top 10 tricks” here.

bad day

What do you think?  Might these ideas work when you are having a hard day, to bring some sparkle back into your home?

What do you do on a hard day?  Or which idea might you like to try?

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Filed Under: Blog, Family Connection, Parenting, Positive Parenting

About Chelsea Lee Smith

Author, certified parent educator, and mother of three with a background in Communications and Counselling, Chelsea provides resources to parents and teachers who want to incorporate personal growth into everyday moments. Follow her @momentsaday on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. stephanie

    July 9, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    Wow! So many great suggestions all in one place. Thanks for the ideas!!

    Reply
    • Chelsea

      July 9, 2013 at 2:06 pm

      Thanks Stephanie!

      Reply
  2. Jode@mummymusingsandmayhem

    July 9, 2013 at 3:16 pm

    Just the post I needed to read today Chelsea…thanks for collecting all these ideas together. Can’t wait to explore them all further…desperate need of some stress free time here right now!

    Reply
    • Chelsea

      July 9, 2013 at 8:52 pm

      Yes I will be calling up on this post often too he he 🙂 Thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  3. Hannah @ Paint on the Ceiling

    July 9, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    What a wonderful collection! I know what I’ll be doing the next time our day takes a turn for the worse. Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Chelsea

      July 9, 2013 at 8:53 pm

      Hi Hannah it’s great to have a list to call upon, eh? I’m thinking I should make a printable of all the ideas!

      Reply
  4. Nae adventuresathomewithmum

    July 9, 2013 at 10:44 pm

    Awesome round up.
    Thanks for linking up our chill out corner.
    I’m going to refer back to these other ideas I think, I love the melt down box. I need to put one of them together. Definitely need some sparkle back lately

    Reply
    • Chelsea

      July 10, 2013 at 8:42 am

      Thanks Nae! I loved your article, so glad I found it 🙂

      Reply
  5. Kate - An Everyday Story

    July 10, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    Whenever we are feeling a little off we usually all head outside. Fresh air and open spaces always tends to cure what ails us 🙂

    Reply
    • Chelsea

      July 10, 2013 at 2:07 pm

      That is such a great point Kate – same here too 🙂

      Reply
  6. Kylie @ Octavia and Vicky

    July 13, 2013 at 7:40 am

    What a lovely post. Thank you so much for featuring our relaxation ideas 🙂

    Reply
    • Chelsea

      July 14, 2013 at 5:21 pm

      And thank YOU for your lovely post – sometimes it is the simple ideas are the most empowering! 🙂

      Reply
  7. anni naylor

    January 6, 2014 at 3:58 pm

    I absolutely loved this post. I already have a calm corner which we love. I love the mummy melt down basket… Thanks for the inspiration Chelsea xx

    Reply
  8. Kate

    June 9, 2015 at 11:34 am

    Lovely ideas, Chelsea! I love the melt down box idea. We use music and dancing when we are in a funk. It can be hard to muster the energy sometimes but we always feel much better afterwards. 🙂

    Reply

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About the Author

Chelsea Lee Smith is an author, certified parent educator, and mother of three children with a background in Communications and Counselling. She provides resources to parents and teachers who want to incorporate personal growth into everyday moments. Browse the shop and blog categories to find practical inspiration for family life including tips, activities, printable pages, and resource recommendations.

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