Recently I read, somewhere the ?’20 tips for worn out moms’. Some of it was funny, some of it was not. I get it, I really do, that it helps to laugh at the hard parts, to downplay it with humor and sarcasm. I do it, too. But I always think ‘do I want my sons to read this when they are 15?’ before I post.
I don’t want them to read things that hint I didn’t enjoy them when they were little, because that is not true. I don’t want them to get the idea that they ruined my life, messed up all my plans. Because they didn’t.
They enriched it, changed it, made me grow and will continue to do so. ?I hope. Some parts are hard, but that doesn’t mean I am going to curse at them or blame it on them. They can know that life is not always easy, but they don’t have to hear me complain and whine either.
And so, here are my own 20 tips for worn out moms. Revised and improved.
1.?Words have power. Build up, don’t break down
2. Try to clean up all of the clutter after supper, get your dishes done and clean the kitchen floor. If everyone helps, it only takes 20 minutes. (and if you have a dishwasher) It does wonders. No guilt needed if it doesn’t happen every night.
3.??Build up your relationship with your children so that they will not be embarrased by you when they are teens.
4. A way to do this is to take time when putting them in bed, separately, to talk and sit with your children. Read them a book, sing a song.
5. If you have so many toys that your house looks like Toys R Us, get rid of some, give it away, store it in the attic if you can’t bear to part with it.
6. If your children spill or break something, don’t scream at them. Although they might need a good serious talk if they were doing it on purpose. Let them help you clean it up sometimes, if only with a symbolic baby wipe.
7. Keep a notebook or scrap of paper to write down the cute things they say. Even if you only get 1/10th of it written down, it will be fun to read later. It’s a way to celebrate the good parts in the
8.?. Enjoy doing fancy crafts with your children? Yay for you. Not so into that? Just sit with them while they play. What they want and need most is just your presence. Nothing ‘just’ about you.
9. A lot of Jesus makes everything better, and gives you a whole lot of wisdom in dealing with your children. Whether it is at the start of the end of your day, make time for some quiet. Pray, read your bible, write in your journal, do nothing. Don’t be afraid to just think.
10. Tell them you love them.
11. Give them lots of hugs. Even if you don’t feel like any physical contact
12. Don’t give them everything they want. Teach them to be content with little by example. If we are always wanting more, it’s a logical that they will, too.
13.?Do not let them watch movies all day. Preferably not more then 30 minutes a day. Excepting when you have the flu 😉
14.?Have waterpaint handy at all times. It’s clean, and endless fun.
15. Pray for your children daily.
16.?Baby wipes. Always have baby wipes in the house. Not only are they great for diaper changing time, you can also clean your kitchen floor if you don’t get to mopping, you can clean your deep fryer with them, the toilet, those mean tiny little glass pieces after you drop a glass. And a 100 more things.
17.?Send your children outside often. Even if they don’t want to. Make 15 minutes mandatory, more is a choice.
18.? Pizza, hot dogs and fries have their time and place. But if you are just about living on them? Find some easy, basic dishes you can cook that are still nutritious. If it doesn’t work sometimes, don’t feel any guilt about pizza now and then.
19. Give them less sugar. Less sugar = less hyper = more restfulness = more good.
20.??Let your children help you in the thousehold. This does not need to be fancy. If you are cooking food, you can let them help you for 5 minutes, cutting a cucumber. And if you succeed in doing that once a week, that’s awesome. When they get older they can do more and eventually they can take turns cooking. You do not need to feel guilty about not letting them help you make a 3 course menu. Neither do you have to feel guilty about not having ?3 course menu. Ever.
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Great list! I’m a firm believer in chores for children. At first it’s more work than help, but it doesn’t take very long for them to catch onto certain small chores. If we don’t do this we end up with teenagers who don’t know how to do anything! Another secret about the toys ? put some away for a couple months and then pull them out and put others away.( If you have too many.) It’s an exciting day when they see their stuff again and will keep them busy for hours! Those little guys are so blessed to have a wise mama.
When I clicked on the language button, this part did not translate into English:
“Bid dagelijks voor je kinderen.”
So I looked it up online. Pray daily for your children! Amen…amen.
Ah, thanks for letting me know, I fixed it 🙂
Yes…an all too soon neglected truth, I’m afraid. For me, anyway. I do remember to feed them, since they sort of force me in that one, but praying not as much!