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.
Too grumpy to play (guilty)
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The other day we were alllll grumpy. My husband and I were just kind of missing each other communication-wise, nothing big or bad happened, and nothing was even really "wrong..." but we were just off. The kids' energy was off, too. Things just felt kind of tense. You might be thinking... "Yeah, yeah, I know where this email's goin. Mia used some kind of playfulness or silly game to save the day and bust them all out of the funk..." Noooope! I literally had the conversation in my own mind of whether or not to try to shift into play mode. And you know what? I couldn't. It just really didn't feel genuine to me. I was too irritable, for whatever reason, and we honestly just all needed to eat and let it all simmer down. A little food, a little time passing... it all worked itself out. THEN, as I was working on editing my new improv games resource (that I filmed a YEAR ago and cannot WAIT to share with the world!!!!)... ...my stepdaughter walked over and started watching the footage and laughing. Then she said, "Mia, can you stop editing so that we can play that game?" (referring to the one that was on the screen." 100% yes. It was her last night here before going back to her mom's house after a long holiday break, and it was the perfect way to close out our time together with some silly connection. But the thing is, I know if I had forced it in the moment when we ALL just didn't have the capacity for it, it wouldn't have gone over well for any of us. Or I don't know, maybe it would have. My point is that it's OKAY when we consciously do NOT choose play. It's just not reasonable to think we're gonna be goofin' around the clock. We are humans! (although when we DO have the capacity, it's obviously AMAZING for breaking tension... sometimes it's just a better option to recover from the tension with some humor instead of right in the heat of it, you know?) My invitation for you this week: Give yourself grace if you're feeling crabby because that's just real. We're allowed. Then, when you're feeling better later, try a silly game to reconnect. If you need an idea, you can always reference my free Play Break Bingo sheet: Play Break Bingo from Playful Heart Parenting.pdf Cheering you on always, Mia 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 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...
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