Almost every family with kids has faced that mad morning dash of trying to get up, get dressed and eat breakfast before making it out of the door on time. Even celeb families, like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s feel the pain of the morning chaos.
Kim took to Instagram to share a slice of life at the Kardashian West household in the morning. The image she posted featured the parents seated around the breakfast table with their four kids North, six, Saint, four, Chicago, two and eight-month-old baby Psalm. “Morning Madness,” she captioned the photo.
Plates of food surround baby Psalm who is actually on the center of the table in a baby seat looking very calm amidst the morning rush. Meanwhile, his bigger siblings seem to be keeping mom and dad’s hands full with pets and toys. Just a regular day with four young kids for this famous family!
Who says you need a ball to get dressed up in a gown? Now you can get dolled up like a princess just to snuggle up for a movie or a nap with these Disney Princess Blankie Tails.
Using the same concept as the popular mermaid tail blankets, these Disney Princess-themed blankies dress you up for bedtime as your favorite Disney princesses.
Just pull these snuggly blankets on up to your chin and you’ll be transformed into Elsa, Anna, Cinderella or Belle.
The collection also features an Arial mermaid tail and if princesses aren’t your thing, there is also an Olaf blankie tail.
At the end of a very long day you probably look forward to a little bit of quiet time. One mom couldn’t wait for the kids to go to bed to enjoy a restful moment so she came up with a clever pajama hack to help settle her kids down.
Mom of two Jessica D’Entremont recently shared her hilarious hack to get her kids to quiet down for bed time and parents are loving it. “Looking for a way to keep your kids still….” she wrote in her Facebook post. “Buy them glow in the dark pjs. Tell them they have to lie really still under the light to “charge” them…..”
The photo shows her pajama-clad kids laying on the floor as quiet as can be and you can almost hear a pin drop just looking at the picture.
Of course, the only way this clever hack will work is to ensure that the glow-in-the-dark pajamas are in need of recharging. Luckily, D’Entremont has the answer for that too. “To expand on the trickery I’ve started putting the pjs back into their drawer when they get dressed in the morning……unexposed to light all day they dim and do not glow in the dark when they tried to test me last night until they laid down again. Reinforcing the need to lie quietly under the light before bed,” she explains in an update to her original post. Genius.
Many of today’s parents find it difficult to keep up with the ever-changing fashion preferences of their teenage children. This is particularly true for outfits that you feel are too revealing or anything else that you are not comfortable with.The best way to deal with a teen’s fashion choices is to talk to him or her and set certain guidelines around your expectations. Having said that, it is also important to accept the fashion choices of a teenager and help them build a healthy and confident self-image.
Talk to Your Teen:
Find a quiet and comfortable place to sit down with your teen and discuss her or his fashion choices. Make sure that your child is in a comfortable space throughout the discussion. To make this discussion casual and natural, you may bring up the issue when he or she is getting dressed for school or an occasion.
Please make sure that your tone during this discussion is neither defensive nor accusatory. It should not appear that you are providing an ultimatum to the youngster about what he or she should and should not wear. Start the conversation casually so that your teen doesn’t feel cornered and defensive right away.
The tone of the conversation should not create an impression that you are giving orders to your teen. Instead, simply advise them about what you think they should wear at this stage of their lives.
Be well aware of the fact that your teen may not be open to your suggestions with regards to their fashion choices. In these circumstances, being too authoritative will only lead to more anger and arguments. Instead, have the mindset to compromise with the choices of your teen. In this way, you may still be able to put across some of your points. Moreover, this will make your teen feel respected.
Set Guidelines:
One of the best ways to do this is to start guiding the fashion choices of your teen from a very young age when he or she is just getting into the world of fashion. Help them get dressed and encourage them to wear certain types of clothing and other items so that they get accustomed to these styles.
Even if your teen doesn’t want to listen, clearly explain your idea about what you consider to be decent and inappropriate as fashion choices. However, make sure that your expectations are clear and consistent.
As a parent, you can always set an example for your teen to follow by always dressing in the most appropriate manner. Teach your child that it is possible to look attractive even without being too loud with fashion preferences.
Another great way to set guidelines is to go shopping with your teen. Always provide your input, but try not to control what they buy or where they shop. However, when absolutely necessary, do not hesitate to put your foot down.
Accept Their Choices:
Accept the reality that your sense of style can be entirely different from that of your teen. Unless something is really wrong about a certain style, try to accept their clothing and fashion choices.
Don’t be extremely strict and never force your teen to wear things that they are not comfortable with. After all, we don’t want our children to be stifled by our opinion and lose the ability to express themselves freely.
In general, the fashion choices of the teens have a lot to do with their search for self-image and identity. As parents, we can always remind our teen that dressing in certain ways may be completely against the self-image they intend to build.
In a nutshell, be it a prom dress or the latest fashion jewelry, it is unlikely that our preferences will be the same as today’s teens. It is true that we should guide them towards making the right choices, but care should be taken that we don’t hurt their self-esteem and sense of freedom.
I love RedTri authors, publishing, and talking incessantly about them. My passion is partnering with authors to bring worthwhile content to publication. I started blog as a way to create a community of writers, both published and seeking publication.
Don’t judge me, but I recently looked at Brian and confessed, “I’m ignoring them.” I can’t help it, it’s the end of the week for me, too and I just need a break from the countless, seemingly endless string of questions and requests. I truly feel like we are raising good, smart, solidly kind children but I worry about their need for me to intervene in their lives. Brian and I recently heard John Rosemond speak at our school and he assured us that children today are not in any way genetically different from children 50 years ago. If this is true, my 8-year-old daughter is the same, typical third grader that I was in 1982. Thinking back, I was insanely resourceful, especially when it came to bird-dogging my mother.
Here’s the scenario:
“Bon soir, La Cuisine, may I help you?”
“Yes, hello sir. I need to find one of your customers. There’s an issue at home and I need to speak with her.”
“Oui, Madame. Who can I find for you?”
“Her name is Elaine Forstall. She’s tall and thin with straight shoulder-length blonde hair. Tonight, she has on a gold and turquoise peacock print dress, it has a jewel neck and drop waist, three-quarter length ruched sleeves. She’s with her husband, Rick. He has salt-and-pepper hair. He has on a white button down shirt, no tie, and a grey suede sport coat. I think they are dinning with two other couples.”
“Oui Madame. I think I see her. I will get her for you.”
**wait**wait**wait**
“Hello?”
“Mom?”
“Melanie, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was just wondering, when are you coming home?”
I had mad skills. With a phone and white pages in hand, I could make just about anything happen. I had the communication skills at 8 to be a CIA operative and yet sometimes my kids get stumped opening a single serving pack of Sweet Tarts. How is this possible? No one taught me how to do this. My mother never sat me down to discuss the finer points of stalking people. I was driven enough and I just did it.
My parents fondly named my skill the ‘Mel-A-Phone’ knowing that they could never go too far without me finding them. They really were never safe. While I don’t condone the idea of constant invasion of parental privacy, I give my 8-year-old self kudos for having the drive to get stuff done.
So, what’s my plan with me own kids? I’ve decided that I am no longer helping. Nope. No more…everyone can tie their own shoes, so please by all means tie them. Everyone can get dressed on their own, I am not needed. Look for it. No one in my house has a weight-lift restriction which means everyone can pick up their own stuff and put it where it belongs. I am not needed for this task. If you can’t open an item on your own, the likelihood is that you don’t really need it. I bet you big bucks that if you were dying of hunger you would figure out a way to get that wrapper open. Look again, look harder, and look one more time. You do not need me.
But you do need me.
Come to me for hugs. Come to me for snuggles. Come to me and ask questions about life and tell me about your day. Come to me when you are scared, happy, lonely, or sad. (Not bored, don’t come to me when you are bored. I cannot help bored.) Come to me with excitement or worry. Lay your fears at my feet and I will always wipe your tears. Come to me to laugh. Ask me to play with you. I will love you ultimately forever. Come to me for encouragement. Come to me for a reminder of the beautiful soul you are and how much you are truly loved.
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Melanie Forstall is a full-time mother, full-time wife, full-time teacher, and never-enough-time blogger at Melanie Forstall: Stories of Life, Love, and Mothering. She holds a doctorate in education and yet those many years of schooling have proved to be utterly useless when it comes to actual mothering.
The school year is coming to a close which thankfully means no more homework or mad dashes to get ready for school. If you spent the entire school year rushing your kids out the door, you’re not alone.
According to a recent survey, the biggest challenges parents face in the morning is getting kids out the door on time. Conducted by Nutri-Grain, the survey found that by the end of a school year, parents will have asked their kids to hurry up almost 540 times on average!
Nutri-Grain’s survey, which included over 2,000 American moms and dads, found that parents need to remind their kids at least twice in the morning to get dressed, brush their teeth or put on their shoes. It also found that 84 percent of parents make resolutions for the academic year ahead, but 63 percent break those resolutions due to lack of energy to keep up.
The results are all the more reason to use summer as an excuse to take things slow and stop rushing out the door as much as possible. Instead of resolving to speed through like the school year, perhaps we should all resolve to slow down this summer.
Need a pick me up? As we roll into the final month of school you may find yourself limping through the final stretch. Never fear––funny tweets are here! Keep scrolling to see our roundup of hilarious parent battles and toddler musings that will have you chuckling into the weekend.
1. Moo haha!
No one is more shocked than my 5 year old who just tried to open the door to the bathroom, which I locked this time.
Okay crew just stack the bricks as high as they go. Okay good now knock them over. Okay good now stack them up again. Okay good now knock them over. Okay good now stack them up again…
As a mom, my hobbies include ignoring the fact that I have to pee until my left eye is twitching, and chugging lukewarm coffee until I’m on the verge of a panic attack.
All research: more active play for children correlates to better learning outcomes across the board Kindergarten: you have 12 minutes to eat and 13 minutes for recess and you will use all of that time trying to insert the straw in your juice box
You made it! Winter break is over and the kids are back in school, and hopefully back into a routine. While everyone is adjusting to normal again, take a few minutes to see our collection of the funniest tweets on Twitter this week. You won’t be disappointed!
1. Picky eater probs.
9yo: What can I have for lunch? Me: What do you want? 9yo: What are my options? Me: You literally eat 5 things.
Between running to the restroom and weathering the wild hormone swings that should have their own ride at Wally World, being pregnant is not for the faint of heart. But don’t cry, baby! Keep reading for a collection of funny pregnancy memes that’ll be a hilarious reminder that you’re not going it alone during these nine months (40 weeks, but who’s counting?). And after baby arrives, be sure to check out these funny mom memes to keep you going strong during those sleepless nights!
You took a shower. Isn't that enough? Now they expect you to get dressed, too? UGH!
And it doesn't even have to be July. The AC is on time in January, too.
We like to call it "the Midnight Back Slide."
You didn't need that, anyway.
If it has a collar, we pretend we're Elizabeth Taylor. It works.
And I'm glowing, too, dammit!
Ice cream is really the sweet spot.
Seriously. It's not like we aren't trying. Baby's comfy in there!
Leggings let us live our best lives, today.
Right. Be right there!
Toxic waste glows. You? You rock, mama.
Yup.
The word he was looking for was "Goddess." Duh.
Or Halloween. Or the Fourth of July. Or Groundhog Day.
When you're filing this one away as part of your birth plan, you're definitely in your 3rd trimester.
Be quiet, Fitbit. Don't nobody like you, anyways.
Dadgum crumbs! They give us away Every. Time.
If you squint your eyes, the Cheetos could be carrots.
Riiiiiight. And that baby had better be wearing seven pieces of flair, too.
At least they're your "cute" sweatpants. Work it, girl.
Which pregnancy meme gave you a giggle? Share with us below!
I can see you reading the title: “The Secret to Getting Kids Dressed & Out the Door in 10 Minutes or Less.”
Yeah, right. You must think this is a joke, right? I must be kidding you. How in the world can any parent get multiple children dressed and out the door in under 10 minutes? In truth, I’ve never been able to do it. But—I am going give you my suggestions anyway (which may absolutely work or not at all) and at minimum, I am going to make you laugh, okay?
So, here you go: The Great Big Secret to Getting Your Kids Dressed and Out of the Door in Under 10 Minutes. (Drum roll, please…)
Make them dress themselves. Tell them you are leaving in 10 minutes, and if they are not ready in time you will leave without them. Then, you actually have to leave without them.
Crap. Scratch that. If your kiddos are young you will get in trouble for leaving them in the house alone. Okay, maybe simply walk out the door at the 10-minute mark, hide around the side of the house and spook them when they frantically come out to see if you truly left without them.
You’re telling me that’s mean? Okay. Fine. Don’t do that either.
Okay, I’ve got some new (better) suggestions, and ones that are more realistic and kind. (Thank goodness.)
Layout clothes ahead of time. Whether you pick out their clothes or they do, lay out all outfits for the next day the night before. This simply eliminates the frantic search for your child’s favorite pair of leggings.
DON’T FORGET THE SOCKS. I don’t know why and I don’t know how but each and every time I lay out my kids’ clothes, I forget to lay out socks and then I can never find matching ones.
Nothing needs to match. Be fine and even encourage your child to wear mismatched items when a match cannot be found (which is every day in my house).
Time checks. Give your children time countdowns and embellish about how close they are to the deadline. Yes, it is totally fine to lie to your children when you are trying to get them out of the house on time.
Don’t leave your house. Okay, that’s not really doable, but try to leave it less if you can. If you leave your house less, my thinking is that you and your children will likely both be bored and more inclined to put a little pep in your step when it is time to go somewhere.
Don’t dress them. If you leave the house naked, things will move forward a lot faster, right? Oh, that’s not allowed? Okay, how about don’t stress how they get dressed. Your princess wants to be Elsa today? Great. Let it the freak go and let her do her. Your son doesn’t want to wear his rain coat? Let him get wet and learn for himself. The point is for each and every battle in which you choose not to fight, you are one step closer to the front door and leaving your home in a timely manner.
Forget the freakin’ deadline. Because no matter how many of my suggestions (or suggestions from a real expert) you follow, you will rarely meet it. Drop the anxiety and the guilt.
Well, that’s all the advice I’ve got for you. Hope it helps, but it probably won’t. I’ll see you at the next event to which we are both invited. I’ll be there late and so will you and we can commiserate—or better yet, celebrate together in the fact that we are winning at parenting by not giving a hoot about ever trying to get out of the house in under 10 minutes.
Nicole Merritt is the Owner & Founder of jthreeNMe; an honest peek at real-life marriage, parenting and self-improvement. jthreeNMe is empowering, inspiring and entertaining. Nicole's work was been published by Scary Mommy, The Good Men Project, BLUNTmoms, Motherly, Red Tricycle, Thought Catalog, EverydayFamily, The Spilled Milk Club & many more.
