Being a mom is a big job. 

A lot of time is spent getting children to clean their rooms and eat their vegetables.  Nagging at them to finish their homework. Rushing them along so you can make it out of the house on time.  Stressing to them the importance of making good grades and taking their extracurricular activities seriously.  Sometimes judging their decisions or criticizing their wardrobe choices.

In order to have a well-balanced relationship with our kids, being the adult is absolutely required. 

It’s our job to teach them responsibility, the importance of punctuality, and help them grow so that one day they can independently live on their own.

HOWEVER…. part of that balance with being a mom is also teaching them that life is FUN. 

Living should be full of smiles and laughter. Making sure that they understand that life isn’t all about rules, work, money, deadlines, nagging, rushing, and cleaning.  And there must be moments for letting loose – for relaxing – for being silly – for enjoying time together.

When you feel like you need a break from the “I mean serious business” kind of mom… make time for the “I just want us to have fun together” kind of mom.

Here’s some simple ways how:

Be Present.  Kids want your presence, not your presents.  When you’re spending quality time with your child, turn your phone off and give them your full attention.  They’ll realize very quickly how important you think they are if you put them first during your time together.

Build Together.  Legos, Magna Tiles, and K’nex… OH MY.  There are so many toys nowadays that you can build with!  Or simply get out all the blankets, pillows, and couch cushions, and then build a fort!

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Camp Out.  Set up a tent in the backyard, set up a tent in the living room, or simply throw some sleeping bags on the trampoline!  S’mores, of course, will add to the excitement!

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Celebrate With Them. When your child succeeds at something… find a way to celebrate!

When my older daughter completed her first round of swim lessons, I found a little toy trophy online and printed a little tag that said “Best Swimmer Award”.  Then I filled the trophy with lollipops and gave it to her on her last day of lessons for that season.

When my younger daughter completed her first round of swim lessons, I found a little trophy ornament that originally said #1 Teacher, and I painted over that and changed it to say “#1 Swimmer” instead.

These were both simple ways to celebrate their successes, but it meant the world to them.  It made them even more excited about swim lessons, and it made them proud of their accomplishments.

Make sure to tell your children that you’re proud of them, even in the little things.

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Cook Together… and LET THEM CRACK THE EGGS! I know that some of us moms out there are what we call… “CONTROL FREAKS.”  But this is an area that kids want to explore! Don’t panic. Just have them do it over a separate bowl and search for any egg shells before adding it to the actual recipe.  And always, ALWAYS, let them lick the bowl when making brownies or cake mix!

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Dance Party.  A family that sings and dances together, stays together!!!  Let your children see your silly, funny side!! Let loose. Teach them dance moves from when you were growing up or have them teach you the current moves that are in style.  Glowsticks are definitely something I’d recommend for this occasion!

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Do Crafts Together.  There are about a million gazillion different crafts out there for both boys and girls!  Surely you can find something that both your child and you is interested in!

Our favorite is painting.  And yes, I know this is messy.  But we have quite a system down now so I no longer twitch and bite my nails in fear of a messy disaster.  Plus, my girls have smocks that they wear to help keep their clothes clean. (or you could let them wear one of your old t-shirts).

For whatever craft you choose, I suggest that you have a craft table that you can put in the garage or in the backyard. One that it’s ok to get messy.  If you don’t have a table, put trash bags or a tarp across an area.

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Electronics Can Be Good.  Find a fun App on your phone that you can play with your kids.  Our favorites are Tik Tok, Ellen app, and Snapchat. There are also times when we look up DIY tutorials for a craft or recipe.

Exercise Together.  Jump on the trampoline together, take a walk together, ride bikes together, have a family Nerf gun fight, do a Youtube exercise video together, run around the living room so you can get your steps in!

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Go Bargain Hunting Together.  Hit up the local garage sales and let your child pick out something new!  Not garage sale season? Head to the dollar store! They can get one item of WHATEVER they want!

Involve the Pooch. Take the dog with you on a car ride!  Take the dog to a doggie park.  Or take the dog on a walk around the block.

Let Them Choose.  This can go for where you’re going to eat that night.  This can go for what board game you play. This can go for what movie the family watches.

And if you don’t want them to actually have complete control, you narrow down five choices.  Then let them choose out of those choices!

Or even better, go out JUST for dessert and let them choose the where and the dessert to choose!

Let Them Play In The Rain or In The Mud.  Yes, they’re probably going to get messy.  Yes, you’re going to have to do laundry. But man, they’ll have a blast!  It’ll be something they remember!

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Lunch Notes.  How exciting for your child to go to lunch, go to unpack their sandwich, and find a fun little lunch note for them to see!  These are so much fun!

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Make MOMMY And Me Traditions.  How will your child complete the following sentence.  “When I was a kid, I used to love how my mom and I always… ????”

I’m not talking about doing things together as a family… I mean, your child and YOU.

For example… when I was a full-time teacher, I was the one that always took the girls to school. So we made time to get donuts together every other Friday.  It became a tradition.

Another tradition we’ve had is that we do each other’s hair as we watch baking shows. My husband is a bald man, by choice, so even if he wanted to participate in this tradition, he couldn’t!

And there are times when we give each other hair makeovers and paint each other’s fingers and toes… we call this the Mama Salon.

It’s fun having something special between me and my girls.  What can your tradition be?

Mom and Me Journal. This is like a secret conversation you get to have with your child.  You take turns writing back and forth to each other. One day you could write about serious stuff, the next day you could write a joke or something silly, and one day you might just draw pictures.

It’s such a personal way to get to know your child. Plus, it’ll be full memories once your child has one day moved out of the house!

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Play Games.  Now, not all games are created equally.  Some games are pretty lame for an adult. I will be the first to tell you that I actually do not enjoy playing tic-tac-toe with a child.  It’s one of those games that an adult can easily beat a child… so it puts you in that awkward position of… do I let them win? Do I beat them every single time?

That’s why you need to try out a couple of different games, find the ones that you actually enjoy playing with your kids, ones that aren’t always based on skill, and then stick with those when it’s game time.

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Read Together. First of all, it doesn’t have to be just books either! Read a magazine together, a newspaper, a video game cheat, site words or spelling words, an e-book on your phone, etc.  Let them choose something they’re interested in and then find a book to match that topic.

Find a fun spot to read… in a cozy chair, in a pile of blankets, in a tent, in the car, on the trampoline.  Make it memorable. Make it special. Make it fun. ((Bonus, it’ll help instill the love of reading with your child!))

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Snuggle.  Oh my goodness, one of my favorite things!

And if you’ve got older kids, sometimes you can disguise the snuggle time as simply watching a movie and sitting together or by sitting together outside by the fire to make smores. Find areas of the house that can fit two people comfortably, and make that your “go-to” place to talk and hang out.

Surprises Are Fun.  One of my absolute favorite things in the world is seeing the look in the eyes of my girls when they are surprised with something good.  You could surprise them with anything, anytime!

Surprise them with sprinkles on their pancakes, have a picnic on the trampoline, with a love note on the first day of school, take them somewhere fun after school when they’ve been working hard on a project.

Find a special occasion or make up a reason to celebrate. Did they resolve a problem between themselves and a friend? Did they play with the new kid at school? Did they do their chores all week without you having to remind them?

There are about a million things that you could celebrate every day – find something to surprise them with!

Quit saying “NO” So Much.  Give yourself a moment to really think about it before spitting out that next no.  Yes, you’re busy. Yes, you’re tired. But slow down and find something you can say yes to.

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A friend once mentioned in a conversation how she only had “X” number of years with her child at home.  She was measuring her time with her kids in the number of school years that they have left. It put it into a different perspective for me when I looked at it that way.

So that would mean I only have 8 more years with my oldest and 12 more with my youngest. And they go so fast. Make every year count! 

And although I know it’s hard, we’ve got to make sure that we’re not spending all of our time nagging at them.  Rushing them. Making them clean.

Let kids be kids.  Have fun with them.

If you have other ways that you’re the fun mom, please comment below!!!!

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