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 keep learning this lesson... can you relate?
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I'm at my worst as a parent when I feel pressured to do things a certain way. For example: I lost touch with my silly side when I became a stepmom because I felt pressure to maintain strict routines and discipline. It wasn’t until I embraced my own style that I found my playfulness again. I relearned that lesson again while potty training my son this past month. I confidently went for the popular three-day method that had worked well for my stepdaughter. I committed to playfulness along the way, keeping things silly and fun. Yet on day five, I was googling “potty training broke me.” Despite his progress, we were both emotionally drained. The all-or-nothing approach just wasn’t working for us. I called my husband, sobbing, “I need to take a step back." Defeated, I bought some pull-ups, despite ALL the advice against it... But, by “giving up," I feel like I succeeded. Now, we're taking it easy with more freedom and flexibility, and he's making progress at his own pace. We're all happier and much less stressed. Here’s the beauty about incorporating *playfulness* into potty training: Three-day method? Playfulness will help. Taking it slow and easy? Playfulness will help. If potty training is in your future, download this FREE list of my favorite 11 creative, silly ideas: If you’re past that stage, think about something you can “bless and release,” as Susie of @busytoddler says! Did potty training go as you expected? Have you ever felt pressured to do something a certain way? Reply and let me know. I love hearing from you! Love, Mia P.S. I’m excited to share that I landed my first "sponsored" IG post with a brand I love, featuring this playful potty resource. I wanted to send it to you first as a thanks for staying in touch. Future collaborations like this will help me continue offering free, valuable content. Your engagement on the upcoming post will be more appreciated than you know! 🙏🏽 P.P.S. I'm experimenting with sending short, weekly emails to keep in touch. I’ll still be posting on Instagram but focusing more here to ensure you see my content. Thanks for sticking around! |
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.
My nervous system was shot the other day and I was really on edge and agitated. I felt stuck in “serious mode.” Part of me knew that if I could “activate play mode” even just a little bit, we could all feel a little better. But another part of me was like: “NO. I don’t WANT to lighten up right now. I deserve to feel this way!” It’s true, I did deserve to feel that way. AND yet there was also this tiny voice asking: What if you let go of clinging to serious mode… just for a minute? That...
Steve and I were overdue for a date night, and luckily, the stars aligned for that to happen last Friday night. When we finished dinner, we realized we had a whole hour before we needed to head home... Steve said, "So, what do you wanna do now?" "Honestly?" I said, "I want to find a bench to sit on with you and play games." "Okay," he said. He knew it would make me so happy. But little did he know HE was the one who was going to end up like THIS: Yep. That's my husband who was laughing so...
Yesterday our dear friends were over and just before it was time for them to go home, the witching hour had started. My son’s best friend was running around, sticking out his tongue and blowing wet raspberries at everyone, spit included. actual footage We told him to stop. We told him “spit stays in your mouth.” But it was the end of a long day, and he literally was not hearing us… you know when kids are dysregulated and just on another level? It was that. To make matters worse, my son picked...