Parenting a toddler: Why it helps to sometimes be silly

Today I want to share a simple experience with you. It’s about turning a crappy day into a great day. There was no magic in how it happened. It’s totally obvious and it will work every time…

It was a week night around 4:30pm. It wasn’t quite dinner time yet and I was home alone with the children while my wife was out teaching a fitness class.

The children were starting to get a bit hungry, tired, cranky, and perhaps most importantly, they were a bored. We all know that boredom is a massive trigger for misbehavior.

Sometimes all you need to do is give your children some positive attention. But I’m talking about REAL attention, not half-assed pretending to listen to them or pretending to interact with them while you prepare dinner or clean the kitchen.

I was getting dinner prepped that night and I noticed that my children were not in the best mood. Quite frankly, neither was I. I don’t remember the exact details, but we’ve all been there. I just didn’t feel at my best. I knew I needed to start prepping the meal but I decided to change the mood first.

I went over to my computer and fired up iTunes. For some reason I put on The Village People (In The Navy, YMCA, etc). It’s classic stuff that makes everyone want to dance like a total idiot (I mean that in a good way). The three of us (my two daughters and I) all just smiled at each other. I grabbed their hands and we started to boogie on the kitchen floor. We did this together for about 10 minutes. We got our blood and oxygen flowing. We laughed. We smiled.

After the dancing was over, I left the music playing and I got them involved in helping me prepare the food. But the good feelings from the music and the dancing totally transformed the way everyone felt for the rest of the evening.

Dancing and acting silly makes people feel good. All people – not just toddlers and children. Turn on the music and turn it up! Dance with your children, sing out loud, act like a fool and enjoy yourself. You’ll love how it cranks up everybody’s positive feelings.

The best part of it all? The feeling lasts for a long time after you stop dancing and singing. It brightens the rest of your day. It makes you think back and smile.

Just do it.

About the Author: Chris Thompson is the owner of TalkingToToddlers.com. He wrote and recorded the “Talking to Toddlers” audio course that has become an international best seller in the category of toddler parenting audio books. It is the number one ranked toddler parenting course in the world (as rated by clickbank.com).