Learn the secret to getting more done with kids at home!
I have a boy that is needy, crazy and OMG wants ME, ME, ME all the time!
Now that I’m a stay-at-home mom, there are things that have to get done in a day.
Every day I do two loads of laundry from washing to folding.
I have to make three meals for me, my little one and my big one (aka husband).
It’s tough when everyone in my family eats entirely different meals. While my son could eat tomatoes and avocados for every meal, my husband could care less about avocados and I can only tolerate so many tomatoes in a meal, EVERY DAY.
There are also chores to do like dust and organize and vacuum and now that I started a blog, I have blogging on my list of to-dos!
But, there’s just one thing: my son won’t let me get anything done around the house.
He wants me to play, play and play some more.
He loves his dinosaurs and trucks and if he could, he would play all day…but with me only.
My house is a mess.
It’s not that easy to get things done now that I’m a blogger (wow, so official!) and my son stays home with me. There are dishes in the sink, a bucket of laundry that needs to be folded and my son comes to me to fix his toy…while I’m in the bathroom.
Here’s what I mean via Mum’s Grapevine:
Exactly, right?
Then I feel all guilty about it.
My son is still little and not yet in school. I’m staying home to take care of him and all I want to do is clean? Kill me right now. I feel guilty just feeling like that. Mom has to go now to clean.
This is the time when I should be developing themes for the week, art projects and science tips. Well, that’s what I feel I should be doing because I feel guilty for having all this stuff that needs to get done and no time to do it and a son that wants my undivided attention.
I hope I’m not the only mom feeling like this or going through this.
When I mention this to my work moms they look at me funny because they think I have a ga-zillion hours to frollick, play and clean.
I wish. Staying home is a full-time job. But, I think I figured it out.
The secret to getting more stuff done is to:
Think of your home and chores as a business.
Now moms, that’s a smart mom idea for you 🙂
Under all the toys, the laundry, dirty dishes, messy closets and unmade beds is a business. There are set times for meals, block times for cleaning and schedules for organizing.
It’s all in the mindset to really change how you delegate your day smart moms! I’ve recently started doing this and it REALLY has changed my frame of mind. I have to implement schedules for me and my child so that we can get everything that needs to get done.
And, what about your child? What if he or she wants to just play all day? I have some solutions for that.
Remember how I told you my son just wants ME,ME,ME all day, ever day? Well I give him ME, ME, ME all day and every day by doing this one thing:
Sit, Play, Walk Away
(and try not to say no all the time when your child asks for something of you).
When my son wants to play dinosaurs I sit with him. I get engaged with him and put all my attention to him. We play and I help him create a play time that he enjoys. Then, well then I walk away.
By that time, my son is so engulfed with his playing that I can slip away to get dinner ready, finish that load of laundry and get my cleaning done for the day.
The Little Helper
My son also loves to help me with chores, so when I’m ready to “clean up” after him I will let him set the table (all plastics of course), vacuum (quick vac), make his bed and pick up his toys. When I have to organize he helps me pull things down and categorize them.
For little ones, you might have to create activities around your chores. Little ones like putting objects into containers, pounding pans and doing more sensory things like that.
Let me know how you get stuff done around the home!
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