A lot of us get so stressed out on weekends that we can not wait to send the kids back to school on Monday. But it does not have to be that way. Our 10 tips will help you enjoy the weekend, get housework done, spend quality time with family, and emerge well-rested and ready to face a new week.
1. Start slowly
Weekends are so much sweeter when they start slowly, with no rushing and no screaming. We love to snuggle with the kids in bed, have breakfast in our pajamas, watch cartoons, read books or talk. Kids love our weekend morning pajama dance party! The trick here is to give yourself permission to relax and to tell yourself that this is the weekend, you do not need to run anywhere and everything else can wait.
2. Spend time outside
Mid-morning kids start getting restless and acting up. That means it is a perfect time to get dressed and get out of the house. Park, playground, library, museum, beach, swimming pool, zoo, nature walk, farmer's market, walk around the neighborhood - are all great places to go, even when there is nothing special going on. Kids love unstructured play, they love to explore and discover new things. Little kids especially need some time just to run around and get their wiggles out. That will also make them hungry for lunch and extra tired for a nap.
3. Make everybody help with lunch
To take the stress out of lunch it helps to focus on easy to prepare foods that the whole family will love and help to prepare. Try macaroni and cheese with veggies, soup with cheese and crackers, sandwiches and salads, baked french fries and chicken nuggets, chips with salsa and guacamole, hot dogs or burgers. Make sure kids help set the table and clean up by at least putting their dishes in the sink. Parents need to remember to get the kids involved and excited about helping out.
4. Have quiet time for both parents and children
After some initial conditioning and power struggles, this will be the best and most relaxing part of the weekend. There must be a rule that says everybody must stay in their room (preferably in their bed) and be super quiet. They do not have to sleep if they do not want to. They can read, color, play, stare at the ceiling - as long as it is done quietly. This rule has numerous benefits. First, everybody gets some downtime, which prevents temper tantrums later in the afternoon. Second, parents get some much-needed break to rest, nap, or read a book in bed. It is important that a parent announces that parents need to rest too and stays in their bedroom.
5. Do chores in the afternoon
After nap, everybody will be rested and looking forward to a yummy snack. Try cheese sticks, apples, oranges, peanut butter, pretzels, cookies and even ice cream for an occasional treat. If you need to go grocery shopping, now is the perfect time since the kids are rested, full, and more likely to be cooperative. This is also a good time to cook dinner or bake a special dessert together, get kids to help put laundry in the washer, dust, and vacuum or do their other chores. Make sure you have music on and a lively conversation going. With everybody in a happy mood, in less than an hour you will have a relatively clean house with yummy smells from the kitchen.
6. Play with your kids
The kids will be eager to help if you promise to do an activity of their choice as soon as all the chores are done. This might involve playing ball outside, coloring, dress-up, manicure, video games, hide-and-seek or running around the block. Whatever it is, you have to follow their instructions. Chances are that all of you will be laughing and having a good time. You will also be getting to know your children better and learning more about their interests and personality.
7. Make bath-time extra special
Kids will be running to take a bath with very little effort from the parents. Lots of bubbles is usually enough to do the trick, but if you let the kids choose which bubbles they like and pour them in, and provide plenty of bath toys, getting them out of the bathtub will be difficult. Having attractive towels and bathrobes helps, but what will help the most is the special incentive of movies and popcorn.
8. Movies and Popcorn
At this point, everybody is worn out but not quite tired enough for bed yet. This is a good time for everybody (yes, parents too) to change into cozy pajamas, make some popcorn and cuddle up on the couch for a nice movie.
9. Talk about your day
After a bath and a movie, kids should be getting pretty sleepy. Before turning off the lights, have them pick out one short book to read or bedtime music to listen to. Tell them how good they have been all day and talk about all the fun things you did during the day. Ask them what they enjoyed the most and what they would like to do tomorrow. Tell them how much you love them and how big they are getting. Assure them that you will come and check on them every few minutes until they fall asleep.
And the most important tip:
10. RELAX!
This is the most difficult and the most important thing to do. The things that stress us out are usually just inside our head. They are caused by our own unrealistic expectations of a perfectly clean house, little kids with perfect manners, our ability to foresee and prevent all falls, scraped knees and temper tantrums. We just need to accept that our house will never be clean for longer than five minutes, and the kids will occasionally disobey. We have to learn to let all those things go, and instead seek out every single positive happy moment and savor it.
Yelena Lipovetskaya is a mom of two beautiful girls, 2-year-old Veronica and 5-year-old Sasha. She lives in sunny Santa Barbara, CA. Read more of her parenting articles at www.ColorfulChildhood.com and visit Yelena's online store of high-quality made in USA colorful products for children at www.ColorfulChildhoodStore.com.
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Editor's Note: Don't forget to sneak in some fun events into your weekend... check out our calendar full of local family fun!
