I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, and could tell that it was going to be a bad day. After taking a moment of reflection during nap time, I've realized that I've got some great tips for how to improve a bad day. I did these all this morning, and wanted to share the surefire tips to get everyone back in a good mood!
1. Loudly demand that they tell you what they want.
It doesn't matter if they don't know how to talk yet, once they can glean by the volume of and frustration in your voice that you mean business, they are sure to comply. Yes, even the baby. It's never too young to learn proper manners.
2. Ignore them while you disappear into the internet world on your smartphone.
Parenting is all about conditioning your children. Once they understand that they need to constantly be more interesting and better behaved than the internet, it will be smooth sailing from there on out. If they are really upset about it, just make sure that they know you are BUSY right now and they will have to wait until you're done reading all of the status updates on facebook.
3. Tell them not to do things that you might otherwise let them do.
One of the first lessons that parents should teach their children is that the rules will change depending on how bad of a mood their parent is in. Sure pulling all of the measuring cups out of the drawer was fine yesterday, but TODAY you're cranky and don't want to put the measuring cups away again so it's not okay. Sheesh, can't they read the room?
4. Instruct them to stop crying.
One of the biggest problems that today's children face is not being able to stop feeling what they are feeling, immediately. If you don't believe that they are upset for an acceptable reason, inform them so and tell them to stop. Make sure to get a nice harsh tone in your voice to help them calm down more quickly.
5. Be sure to nonverbally communicate that you are cranky and grumpy.
When it comes to helping to set the mood in the home, children need to learn that it's their responsibility to improve your mood. Make sure that you don't do anything with a smile on your face, and none of that sing-songy voice nonsense. They're going to pick up on it pretty quickly, and need to learn to be extra nice and well behaved so that YOU are happy again.
There you have it! Five simple and easy tips for bringing the sunshine back into your home!
#sarcasm this is terrible advice.
Labels: Motherhood