These are a few parenting tricks I use when I don’t have tons of energy… but I also don’t want to throw off our schedule too much and let go of ALL parenting control. You feel me? These activities fall somewhere in the middle of the Parenting Effort Spectrum…. if one end is hands-on educational crafting and the other is child i-pad zombies.
Don’t get me wrong- there is absolutely a time and place for shows in my personal opinion! I’ve already written about my five favorite shows for preschoolers and how you can tell if a toddler/preschooler show is high quality or not.
These aren’t affiliate links or sponsorships- just sharing tips and tools that I rely on when the days feel long!
Lazy Creative Art Project
Put out a huge roll of paper (or tape a few large pieces of paper together), put a bunch of different stickers out, and anything else. Crayons, colored pencils, etc. (BUT probably not un-washable markers or paint, unless you’re in the mood for lots of supervising). Let them have at it! My kids like me to give them a theme to work on…like Animal Safari, etc.
Realistically, this may or may not hold your kiddos attention for too long. It will depend on their mood and personality.
Watch a nature documentary
I love utilizing screens to my advantage, and there’s some great content out there about plants & animals…educational and entertaining.
I love the Disney Nature films on Disney+ (the African cats one is my boys’ favorite…cheetah lovers for life).
We also watch clips from the National Geographic channel on YouTube. But be warned, you cannot un-see a green anaconda eating an entire capybara whole. I am still having nightmares from that, truly.
And be ready for potential discussions about, ahem, mating season.
Cosmic Kids Yoga
If your kids are anything like my boys… they need to move their bodies often. This is a great way to stretch and work muscles in the winter months. The virtual yoga teacher is so talented, and there are tons of themes you can choose from. Naaaa-maaas-te.
Listen to a Children’s Podcast
We love to listen to kids’ podcasts while driving around in the car (as I’m sure you do too). On days that feel long, I’ll bust out an episode of one of our favorite shows while at home. It does wonders to hold my boys’ attention, or give them something to look forward to at quiet time.
I wrote a post all about our favorite children’s podcasts…check it out below. Spoiler alert though, Reading Bug Adventures is my favorite children’s podcast of all time.
And please let me know in the comments which children’s podcasts your kiddos love!
Dump Cheerios on a Plate
Next, when in doubt, bust out some food. Finger foods (like dry cheerios) are a bit more tedious to eat than pouches of applesauce/yogurt etc… which is a huge pro here in my mind.
For older kids, they can string the Cheerios on a pipe cleaner for a great fine motor skill activity. For younger kids, they can just eat them. They will be happier afterwards, which means you will be too. 😉
Themed Bath Time
Last up, I love to get water involved. All credit for these activities goes to Busy Toddler. She is the Queen of Entertaining Children! All hail Suzy! Here is her bath time activities line-up from her website.
The ones we frequently use and love are:
- Color Bath- use a drop of food dye to color the water…don’t worry, it won’t stain. Level-up by having them grab some plastic toys of that same color.
- Popsicle Bath- exactly what it sounds like. For someone that despises sticky messes, this has become THE WAY that I prefer popsicles to be consumed in my home 😉
- Lego Bath- dump MegaBlocks or duplos into the tub… exciting, right??
Aaaaaand there you go! A few of my Lazy Mom Tricks I’ve gathered in the past 6+ years of parenting.
What are your go-to’s?? Please let me know in the comments below!
Want to read more?
Finally, here are a few of my other articles for parents:
Awesome post; I love these ideas! I can always use some sanity-saving ideas for the kiddos when my energy is lagging. 🙂 My kids’ current favorite is I dump a bunch of rice on a giant cookie sheet (or anything with an edge) and give them a bunch of cars, paintbrushes, spoons, bowls, toy excavators etc. and let them go at it. Even the 1-year old loves it! Bonus: they all love the sounds the rice makes when vacuuming up what inevitably falls on the ground, so they even help with clean up! Alternatively, if I have more energy to help them clean up, we do the same thing with flour. The other day the kids played with flour for three hours(!) straight, so it was well worth the cleanup afterwards. 🙂
Whoa! Three hours! I need to try this!! Thanks for sharing!
These are awesome ideas! Totally stealing them. Another one we’ve been using heavily are Bill Harley’s audio stories. Some of their favorites right now are “the boy who hid in a peanut,” and “the best candy in the whole world.”
Looking those up ASAP- Thank you for sharing!!!