Over the years, I’ve written many posts with EASY tips and tricks for parenting and motherhood. I love it when a plan comes together. But right now, so many of our plans are falling apart. So I’ve gathered up my best posts as help for parenting struggles right now! Maybe you’re just making it through the next hour. Or the day. But little by little, you will make it through your parenting struggle right now. I hope some of these posts will help!
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Help for Parenting Struggles Right Now!
Help for all the motherhood feels
You might feel angry a lot. Here’s a post where I talk about how I didn’t realize I was becoming an “angry mom,” until one day I did. I was surprised by the anger I felt that was coming out in other ways. Here’s how I found help to overcome the anger and respond gently to my children.
There are still happy moments! When I had newborns, I felt like time was passing in an exhausted blur. Well, this quarantine time feels similar too! So here’s some ways to remember the happy moments we ARE having in the midst of this!
Stay close to your kids, even when they have you crawling the walls! You might feel your kids are pulling away from you. Or you from them. Moms, I know we’re all struggling right now, but the important thing to remember is you have great influence on your children, and they also influence you! This gravitational pull is powerful, so cherish it, even when the days seem long.
Gain perspective. Working from home or leading your children’s distance learning and feeling overwhelmed? (Or both!). Believe it or not, stay-at-home by-choice moms feel overwhelmed too! But here’s a way to view this time differently.
Help for Handling Mother’s Day at Home
DIY Mother’s Day gift idea! You might be stressing about Mother’s Day. Here’s a very easy gift you can make your mom friends and mail or send it digitally.
Spread kindness. If you’re able to give physical gifts, how about these kindness kits for moms?
Books for moms! With everyone going digital these days, it might be the perfect time to buy a Kindle e-reader as a gift, give an Audible subscription – a 3 or 6 month gift includes 1 book credit/month plus 2 free downloads monthly!
How about a Kindle Unlimited Subscription (unlimited reading and music from Amazon’s selections) to give a mom some quality reading and entertainment at home. Or give an Amazon gift card for some ebooks (or physical books delivered!).
Here are my favorite books to encourage moms.
Experience Gifts. For later. Of course, since we can’t GO anywhere, you might consider giving an experience gift to be used later!
Help for keeping kids busy at home
Wash your hands! You knew I was going to say it sometime! First of all, have you all grabbed this handy (see what I did there?) printable hand-washing reminder sheet by now? Hang it in your bathrooms and on your entryways to help kids remember!
Go outdoors! The weather is getting nicer, so prepare to get kids out in the yard with these outdoor activity ideas for preschoolers.
Or these ways to keep kids outdoors in nice weather.
And don’t forget these 7 things that are just more fun outdoors, for a change of pace!
Have fun indoors, too! While it’s still chilly and rainy (hello, April showers!), I’ve got a huge list of rainy day crafts and activities.
Deal with toddler energy! I have a host (101+) of toddler activity ideas for rainy days, life skills for toddlers, kitchen skills for toddlers, and a kiddie workout!
Leverage the power of plants!
Try Indoor gardening! When you’re indoors, why not teach kids a little indoor gardening. Such as proper plant watering – I’ll show you how to turn this into a fun mini-lesson!
Grow some greens. Let them grow some microgreens with Back to the Roots easy growing kits! Their kits will give your kids something to do and watch for 7 days straight! You can get the full microgreens, plus planter kit, or get their seeds and use your own container. The kit includes seeds and directions PLUS a text-message system to remind you to water and harvest. Back to the Roots also has pretty cool mushroom growing boxes, and a nifty aquarium/growing kit that my boys are anxious to have for their beta fish!
Check out our microgreens growing fun (coming soon!)
Build connections and grow independence!
Connect with grandparents and relatives. Since kids can’t visit in person with their grandparents, this free printable Grandparent Interview sheet will make those Zoom and Facetime calls more meaningful and interactive. And it’ll be a great record you can stash in your child’s memory box!
Teach your children independence. Don’t forget, things WILL get back to normal eventually… and then, you’ll be back to packing lunches and lining up backpacks. Why not take this time (if you haven’t yet!) to teach kids how to pack their own lunch? So when they return to school, they’ll have gained a little independence from this time! To help, here’s a big list of healthy lunch ideas for kids (and grownups!).
Learn to manage big emotions. Sometimes we aren’t sure what to say when kids struggle. For a little time to regroup and help your kids grow their emotional intelligence, put on the Imagine Neighborhood Podcast. It’s a podcast to help children (and us!) grow their social-emotional skills. Each episode tells a story that’s amazing, fantastical, and maybe a little bananas. The topics help kids with those “big feelings,” and gives you fun activities you can do at home, in the car, and anywhere! Wouldn’t it be great if you and your children come out of this stay-at-home time feeling closer and stronger for it!? Get the podcast here.
Teach kids resilience. Wow, if this isn’t a perfect opportunity for us all to learn how to rise above a setback, I don’t know what is! Big Life Journal is one of my favorite parenting resources. They offer gorgeous books and printable kits to help parents gently guide children to have a “growth mindset.” With their tools, activities, and printables, you can help kids face life challenges (like missing friends, cancelled activities, and grief) with confidence.
Check out my review of Big Life Journal the Book, and the Big Life Journal New Year’s Kits!
Big Life Journal has MANY printable kits, with 5- or 7-day challenges, or topical activity packs about growth mindset, resilience, and more. Plus, if you sign up for their emails, you’ll get free printables several times a week!
Provide a snuggle buddy. It’s no joke, the power of a hug, and I think we’re all feeling that loss right now. This is a great time to give your kids a new snuggle buddy to comfort them. My children LOVE the squishability of their Moosh-Moosh plush toys. Not only are they the softest ever, but they also are great for playing with because they STACK! And some of them even clip on to backpacks, purses, belt loops and more to travel along as a comforting friend. Moosh-Moosh toys come in all sizes, and several styles including sequined, banks, and flashlights!
Getting help for parenting struggles isn’t failure
As parents, we face daily challenges with our kids. That was true before the pandemic, and will be true afterwards. Children (and life!) are ever-changing, and we are always going to have to juggle these changes. Sometimes our efforts will flop – that doesn’t make us bad parents. Asking for help for parenting struggles isn’t a failure either. Give yourself grace to fail, and grace to rise again. Use all the resources and supports you can find get help for parenting struggles right now! I hope this list of posts gives you some ideas, support, and gets you through the tough days! We are all in this together!
WIN some fun gear for your kids!
One lucky reader will win a Big Life Journal Digital Resilience Kit AND 2 (two) Plush toys from Moosh-Moosh! Enter in the form below!
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Thanks to my sponsors, Back to the Roots and Moosh-Moosh / KidStuffPR for sponsoring this giveaway! All opinions are my own.
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