Sometimes, when things go wrong, I just want to get it all over and done with and move on. After a long and hard day I am tempted to rush my kids off to bed so I can finally have a break and to brush the bad day under the carpet so I can start again tomorrow.
And there is nothing wrong with that. I deserve a break, and tomorrow is always a fresh start, but sometimes I forget that when I have a bad day, my kids are affected it by it too. Rushing to the end and pretending it never happened doesn’t always help my kids… so instead of trying to forget my bad days I am trying to break them up with a little silliness and lots of smiles.
It’s easy to dwell on what is going wrong, or the things you have mucked up, but it’s hard to do that when you are giggling!
So here’s five silly things I do to turn around a bad day, and make my kids smile!
Crazy Kisses.
Cow kisses (a big fat lick on the cheek), zuberts (a big raspberry blown on any part of exposed skin), butterfly kisses (eyelash fluttering on the cheek) or any kind of crazy kiss in a funny location works when you randomly surprise your kids with them. Sure, licking your kid on the cheek is a bit gross, but it is hard to be grumpy when you give or receive one!
Ugly Face Competition.
“Right, time for an ugly face competition!!” – that’s all you need to say when things are getting a little too cranky. Even if they roll their eyes and won’t join in straight away, if you continue to make your craziest, ugliest, silliest faces, I guarantee you’ll win them over eventually.
Go Pioneering!
When I was a kid, when we’d get lost going someplace my mother would exclaim that we were not in fact lost, we were just pioneering! We were exploring, going some special way people had never been before, like the pioneers did when exploring new countries!
So when you pick grumpy kids up from school, or after a disastrous shopping trip, instead of rushing home to try and forget about it, why not take an intentional wrong turn and announce that you are pioneering! Each child can take turns in suggesting which direction to turn at the next corner until you are enjoyably lost and have totally forgotten the grumpiness.
Make up a Song.
You don’t have to be the worlds best song writer, or even a good singer,just pick a tune and make it up as you go along. Sing about the bad day, sing about farts, sing about your head exploding… just sing.
Make your song so that the kids have to echo you and repeat all the silly things you are saying, or sing a verse then hand the mic over to your kids to make up the next one. Bonus silly points if you sing it like an opera singer!
Surprise Them!
It doesn’t have be a huge surprise, or anything expensive… just something silly!
Serve breakfast for dinner. Print some lunch box notes and write a silly joke to make them smile. Let them do something they don’t usually get to do, just because. Suddenly turn up the music and slide around the floor in your socks. Do something spontaneous, something surprising, something silly and banish the bad day!
Some days crappy things happen, some days lots of crappy things happen, but lets try not to have days where only crappy things happen. Throw around a little bit of silliness, a little something to make everyone smile, and see if we can turn around a bad day.
We have “chicken peck kisses” – where you repeatedly kiss on the cheek very quickly, saying “chicken peck, chicken peck” in between sets. Makes ’em laugh every time.
Yes, cow licks are gross – but that doesn’t stop my kids doing them on me!
Oh I love the chicken pecks! Totally going to steal that idea!!!
Bouncing on the bed! Works every time. And making a den, everything’s better in a den. :)
The cow lick thing totally works on adults too. I was on a dart league years ago and was crabby because I was shooting really poorly. One of the members from the other team came out of nowhere and licked the side of my face from chin to forehead. After I was done shrieking, “Ewwwwww!” I laughed my head off. How can you not?? It’s such a bizarre thing to do!
it impossible to be grumpy whilst bouncing on the trampoline :-) instant happiness right there!
We have spontaneous dance parties!! Turn up whatever music is on and just let loose and dance away the grumpies! Also I have found when I get tired of repeating myself if I use a VERY HIGH PITCHED (and very bad) British accent it is impossible to stay mad or for the kids not to laugh!
SKIP! skipping works every time!! it’s instant happiness :) you cannot frown while skipping… oh, and the usual “reversed psychology” if my boyzz are grumpy, I look at them in a really silly serious face & say “DON’T. LAUGH!” works (almost) every time ;) <3
I love your ideas – all of them! Will put them into my repertoire :D thx
Pillow fights turn bad moods into smiles. Tickle fights work wonders too!
Eskimo kisses- where you gently rub someone’s nose with your nose side to side xxx
Kate, I love this so much!!! I need these reminders. Pinning it now :-)