I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
Cried (laughing) before even getting out of bed
|
I posted a video on Instagram before I went to bed Sunday night and woke up to THOUSANDS of comments on it… As I briefly skimmed through, I started laughing so hard (but trying to stifle the laughter because all the kids — yes, ALL — were in our bed) I nudged Steve and pointed for him to read some too and we were both giggling so hard. The video was my stepdaughter and me playing one of our favorite games where we tell a story one word at a time (trading off each word) but we were making up a “commercial” on the spot. The product wound up being an ointment for itchy butts (no surprise it went there) and side effects included: flying, uncontrollable screaming, diarrhea, and farts. We laughed so hard playing this game but what I didn’t expect was how hard I was going to laugh at the comments!!! Things like … “Take my money!!” (With hilarious GIFS) “Oh no, there flies Susan with her uncontrollable screaming, diarrhea, and farts again. She must be using that new butt ointment again!” … and it went so viral that an ACTUAL company that makes a butt balm messaged me and offered to send me some 🤣🤣🤣 (I said yes). But there were also comments like this: “I’m so mad I just dropped the kids off at school because I want to be playing this with them right now!!” And “I am so excited to play games like this with my kids one day when I become a parent.” 🥹 Now THAT’S the spirit. 👏👏👏 That’s why I started all this!! Because so many parents *think* they dread play, but they don’t, really. They’re just not finding the type of play that connects them to THEIR inner child. And while this particular improv game is too advanced for little kids, there are absolutely ways to modify it! For example, instead of switching off every word, try switching off every sentence or every few sentences! Or YOU tell a story and pause for your little one to fill in the blank (like an on-the-spot Mad Libs!) (Reminder: my app bundle includes Plot Twist, which helps you come up with a silly creative story together and lets you record and save it!) Games that spark OUR creativity and that call for us to truly collaborate with our kids are the best for connection through play. My invitation for you this week: Take a moment to think about what feels fun for YOU. Is there a type of game you genuinely find fun? Is there a way to adapt it to play with your child? Or can you play with your partner or a friend and let your child see? Cheering you on always, Mia P.S. HAPPY (almost) NEW YEAR!!! MORE FROM PLAYFUL HEART PARENTING: Simple, creative apps that take the brainwork out and put connection and laughter in. Playful strategies for navigating everyday parenting challenges and reducing power struggles. |
Playful Heart Parenting
I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
I was working upstairs the other day when I got a text from my husband, who was downstairs with the kids. It said, “He did this all on his own. Keeps saying, ‘Hope no one eats this when I’m not looking!’” and included a short video. In the video, my son was holding my daughter’s toddler fork with a bite of butternut squash. She was in her highchair, gazing at him. He brings the fork toward her mouth, then looks away, humming casually, as if to say, Nothing to see here! She smiles...
My weekend was SICKK (and not in a good way!) Yep, after caring for sick kiddos, the virus finally caught up to my husband and me this past weekend and knocked us on our BOOTANGS, as my friend Angela calls it. TV was working OVERTIME as we literally just tried to make it through and keep our kiddos alive. 😮💨 (SO thankful for power, it’s a mess in Nashville and many STILL don’t have power!!) Was I silly and playful this past weekend? Heckkk NOPE. But there was actually one moment. My 4yo and...
Reasons we've been spiraling over here: Our town was hit with a severe ice storm and we lost power for 12 hours... We are so grateful because so many are still without power in Nashville and are having to seek shelter. To top it off, we’ve got sick kiddos. (like, throw-up sick and I have emetophobia... not fun) And we’re feeling the weight of the world. So last night when my stepdaughter started spiraling about something else entirely, at first I was thinking… “come on, pleeease… everything...