Mastering the meltdown moment of the day.

Those stressful hours when kids and parents are tired can be transformed into great family times.

It doesn’t matter if you are a stay at home parent or working parent, the worst part of the day can be 3–8 pm. Kids are tired and getting hungry. Mom and dad are running out of energy and need to still get dinner on the table. There may be homework to tackle, after school activities pushing us to run around just when we want to call it a day, the house may be in disarray from running out in the morning, that school project that took a little too much time is still spread all over the dining room table, maybe the baby’s nap went on too long or they didn’t take a nap today….whatever is making this time of day the melt-down moment can be mastered. Here are some ideas for you and your family to try.

Resist technology

No matter how old your children are or how convenient it is, resist using a tablet, computer or phone to occupy your family. We spend so little time home with each other anymore. We all need more “people-time.” If your family is in the same building then do things to connect heart to heart. Talk, sing, play…your family will be stronger.

Infants and preschoolers

When I had two preschoolers I found that if I scheduled a bubble bath about 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. it settled and refreshed all three of us. I would run a bubble bath for my two little ones with lots of toys to play with while in the tub. The bathroom was filled with classical music coming from my portable CD player and I lit a candle and put it on the sink (out of reach of the kiddos). I don’t know why but when you light a candle kids whisper…it’s great. The music, the candle, and the warm water just seemed to soothe my little ones and it helped my nerves too. I would sit on the floor next to the tub while they splashed and played and just enjoyed the atmosphere. It lasted maybe 20 minutes but what a wonderful pause in our day.

Kindergarten

Kids at this age want to help but there isn’t much they can do. Never fear. Give your child a basin of water and ask them to wash some plastic containers for you while you get dinner in the oven. Playing in the water seems to keep kids busy. They’ll get water all over the floor but it’s easily cleaned up with a mop and your floor will be sparkling clean in time for dinner.

School-Age Kids

The best advice I have for moms once the afterschool activities season begins is to make good use of your crockpot. Your stress level will go waaaaaay down when dinner is not an issue. It also helps to have the family help with the meal preparation and table setting.

While you are preparing dinner is a perfect setting to review spelling words, multiplication tables or history facts with your child. Growing up our cozy kitchen was the place to be with mom.

Having your child read aloud to you while you work is a great way of connecting too. Pick a book they love and maybe take turns reading. Getting wrapped up in a story means you can take a trip to another time and place from the comfort of your home.

Make family time inviting and use the time you are “trapped” to interact with your child.

Whether you homeschool or send the kids to a brick and mortar school there are those days when they are in the middle of a school project that takes up your table. Often the project needs to live on your table until it gets finished the following day. No reason to stress of where to have dinner. It’s time to think our of the box and plan a picnic meal in the living room. Always have some disposable plates on hand for those hectic nights to make clean –up simple.

Work together and make it fun.

Our family loves to work together to clean up from dinner. We usually listen to a favorite CD or book on tape from Lamplighter Theater or Adventures in Odyssey episode while we work.

One sentence stories can be fun while doing work that doesn’t require much thought. One family member can begin a story with only one sentence. Each family member adds one more sentence to the story until it ends. Another version of this game requires players to use only one word each. This activity develops creativity, literacy and listening skills.

Some evenings we break into song and dance while we wash up. We might pick a soundtrack of a favorite musical and see if we can recite lines from the show. Big band music, jazz, disco, and good old rock and roll can help get the work done.

If you are not a musical family how about testing each other with multiplication tables, spelling bees or history facts. It is fun for the kids to test the adults too.

If everyone cheerfully chips in, no one will want to be left out.

What’s your best strategy for mastering the Melt-Down Moment of the Day? Share in the comments below.