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.
If you can hear my voice, do the Macarena
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Did your teachers in school ever do the classic “If you can hear my voice, clap once…” thing? As a theatre educator, I did similar calls for students to pay attention but tried to mix things up to keep it more fun and less robotic… Like, “If you can hear my voice…
Now at home with my son, I use the exact same strategy when it seems like he's tuning me out. The tuning out ESPECIALLY happens after I say something like “Keep your hands and body to yourself” after he’s been playing too rough with little sis… …and I suspect there’s often a layer of shame in having to be corrected that makes it hard for him to respond to me directly. So, this is the PERFECT strategy for moments like that! He almost always does! Which instantly bypasses the power struggle, gets us both laughing, and snaps us right out of tension mode. My invitation for you this week: Next time you feel like you might be heading towards a power struggle, try asking for what you need in a silly way. Let me know if you try something! I love getting inspired by your playful wins. Cheering you on always, Mia 💞 p.s true story: my dance professor in college is actually named Macarena and she is incredible!!! 💃🏻 MORE FROM PLAYFUL HEART PARENTING: Never wonder how to turn the moment around again. Instant games, hilarious ideas, and printable activities that make connection easy. Apps for any device + printable cards. Learn 70+ ridiculously fun improv games that naturally create laughter, connection, eye contact, listening, and imagination. Video demonstrations + printable guidebook. Turn everyday parenting challenges into moments of laughter, connection, and cooperation. Private podcast course + community. |
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.
First off, I think we can all agree there’s no better sound than a little kid belly laugh, right? Right. I sometimes forget just how easily and freely kids are ready to belly laugh, but the other day I got a reminder. I was sitting on the couch and my cranky 2-year-old (who’d skipped her nap) pushed against me. On a whim, I pretended she’d been strong enough to push me all the way off the couch and dramatically rolled onto the floor with a silly, “Whoaaaa!” She laughed SO hard. I climbed back...
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...