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.
Our morning was pretty rough until I said this one line (it's NOT what you're expecting)
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Father's Day morning was off to a rough start in our house... It was like each kid was taking turns having a hard time... which was then making me more stressed than usual because of the pressure of it to be a happy day for my husband. (Ugh, holidays can be so weird like that you know??) I had a picture in my head of how it was going to go and it was quickly disintegrating. Once everyone was semi-chill and together on the couch, I grabbed the "Dad Libs" I'd made for the Father's Day games and got words from everyone to fill in the blank. When I read this one line, we all lost it and I had tears pouring out of my eyes from laughing: For just a moment, I felt all the tension dissipate. It was like a reset button for all of us, but especially for ME! Was the rest of the day 100% perfect with no attitudes, meltdowns, or squabbles? I'll give you a hint: the answer to that is the same answer to this: Can my husband REALLY play the saxophone like that?? (ANSWER: That would be cool, but of course not.) But the truth is, before I grabbed the Father's Day games, I actually had the thought, "I don't even think playfulness can help right now, everyone is just so OFF!" - and while sometimes it's true, it's not the right tool for the moment, I have been proved wrong time and time again with that thought. It was the perfect amount of laughter to reset myself and move on, go with the flow, and have a mostly awesome day celebrating Steve. 🥰 My invitation for you this week: If you are feeling off, try looking for a silly moment where a quick family game or laugh could be possible. If you need inspiration, take a glance at my free play break bingo sheet! (If you don't have it, here it is: Play Break Bingo - PHP.pdf) Cheering you on always, Mia 💞 MORE FROM PLAYFUL HEART PARENTING: My all-time favorite improv games for family connection! Prompt-based games and easy, silly moment ideas (1500+ prompts and counting!) 11 core strategies for using play as a tool for more ease and joy in parenting. |
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...