Mama Keeps Her Cool….5 steps to not losing it when the kids suck

Let’s face it -sometimes being a mum is pretty shitty. Especially during the school holidays in the winter…kids cooped up inside driving each other crazy means that pre-holiday zen mum with visions of crafting and baking with her angelic offspring turns into a yelling, screaming banshee. Not fun. Here’s 5 ways to hold on to the zen when WWIII erupts over whose turn it is to wear the ballerina dress-up (yes, I’m looking at you Mr 4!)

1 – Count to 5. When that doesn’t work (and let’s be honest about this, no matter how often we tell our children to do so, counting to 5 NEVER works), count to 10.

2 – Calculate how long until bedtime. Or until you can crack into that bottle of wine. Break the remaining time down into manageable chunks – afternoon tea, play time, put a move on, make dinner, baths, bedtime. Woop woop! (If you’re starting your countdown at 7.30am, that’s a lot of chunks!)

3 – Remind yourself that they’ll be all grown up before you know it, with children of their own. Then you’ll get to sit back and laugh at them – the ultimate parenting karma.

4 – Ask a friend or family member to have them for an afternoon. Swap childcare so you both get a bit of a break. But here’s the key – don’t rush around cleaning while they’re gone. Sit down with a good book and enjoy the silence.

5 – When all else fails change it up! Put some  music on LOUD and dance around like a maniac (if your children are young they’ll join in and laugh. If they’re older they’ll be embarrassed by you and laugh. Either way, surely laughter is better than the constant whining that’s been going on until now!) Bundle them up and go on a treasure hunt. Bake. Paint. Look at photos of them as babies – children LOVE hearing stories of what they were like when they were tiny.

When you get through your shitty, crappy, sucky day, go and peek in at your babies on your way to bed – even as they get older, there’s something angelic about their little sleeping faces that will make you remember that they don’t always act like little demons and you’ll be ready to face the next day.

xo