Wednesday was just one of those days. You mamas know what I’m talking about. Days when the time seem to slow down to a snail’s pace. You think for sure you’ve been playing with your kids for at least 4 hours, but when you look at the clock, it’s been 12 minutes. Days when your kids won’t play nicely together and seem to be rotating though screaming, fighting, hitting, and arguing…over and over and over!
I looked at our clock, and it was still 3 hours until my lifesaver, my hero, my relief, Dada, would be home. It was way too hot to go outside, we couldn’t go to the pool, and we’d already had way more than the recommended screen time for the day.
What’s a mom to do? (Besides pour a nice tall glass of wine.)
Here’s my go-to list of 5 things to do when you’re kids are driving you nuts.
1. YouTube Dance Songs
When the kids are driving me bonkers, the best thing I’ve found to do is to get them moving and act super silly with them. There are some great dance songs on YouTube, and I’ve linked them below. Save them to a playlist and break out these songs during the 4pm witching-hour.
Listen and Move by TheKidscartoons
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by The KiboomersÂ
If You’re a Kid by Harry Kindergarten MusicÂ
Shake Your Sillies Out by The Learning Station
2. Simon Says
A good old fashioned game of Simon Says can help pass the time! My kids especially love when I say things like “Simon says shake your booty. Simon says pretend to pick your nose.”
3. Play Restaurant or Doctor
These are my favorite pretend games because they don’t involve too much physical activity on my part. I either sit and pretend to order food or I sit and pretend to be sick. #lazymom!
4. Build a Fort
This activity takes a lot of effort on the front end, but after you’re done building the fort, you can usually sit or lay around for a while inside. We pretend we’re camping in a tent or pretend we’re bears in our cave. This Mama bear likes to do a lot of hibernating and sleeping!
5. Quiet time
When you’ve run out of all options and have no other ideas and the kids are STILL driving you crazy – take them to their rooms, tell them it’s quiet time, and close the door. No judgement here if you need to lock them in!
We all have days when we just need a break. Kids are tough. Sometimes the kids make me so batty that I want to pull all my hair out. (Here’s another tip – start with the grays!)
So if today is one of those days for you, try out some of these games and count down the hours until bedtime.
