Are We Having Fun Yet?

What part of your day with your children is your favorite time? Yes, besides seeing them sleeping soundly safely tucked in for the night! Parenting is a lot of work but it’s also a lot of fun. It’s easy to miss the fun while you are busy being a good parent. But, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, childhood is too important to be taken seriously. Childhood without fun – Baa Humbug!

Of course I want you to take people-raising seriously. The next generation is in your hands and in your hearts. Yes, it’s good to think before you react, to not have temper tantrums when your child does, and to make parenting decisions based on your personal values not someone else’s. But, watch out for too-serious parenting.

There’s a reason why children love reading about Mary Poppins – she can sing, dance, and work a little magic whether she’s tackling homework or giving out a dose of medicine. So, here’s a few parenting suggestions straight from Mary Poppins!

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Avoid power struggles by sweetening difficult tasks. Make clean-up a game. Whistle your way through dreadful chores.

Let's go fly a kite. Get outside every day. Build something together. Run with the wind.

Feed the birds. Make it part of your routine to be kind to animals and help others. Children can be powerful caretakers of small creatures.

Chim Chim Cher-ee. Honor all those people who do the “dirty” work. Introduce yourself! Make garbage day a weekly celebration at your house.

Step in Time. It’s hard to be serious when you’re kickin’ your knees up and flappin’ like a birdie. Children need to blow off steam and to channel excess energy before it drives you crazy. Unschedule a few activities and get silly.

Love to Laugh. Snort! Giggle! Guffaw! Don’t let a day go by without a belly laugh or some cheeky chuckles. What’s funny to children? Slapstick, silly words, and, yes, underwear.

Fly! Most important of all, your children want to see you fly – with or without a magic umbrella. And you can because you are mom and dad, the most magical creatures on earth. In your child’s eyes, you can do anything. You can be anything. Start as a parent with two feet planted firmly on the ground, then…stretch, leap, soar!