Preserving the Basics of Home starts with YOU!
Simplify your life and make lasting memories for your family by trying these 5 simple tips that I have found to be valuable.
- Make family a priority. This will show your family that THEY are the most important thing to you. You can talk all you want about your family being your priority, but no one will FEEL like they are a priority unless you show them that they are by putting them ahead of other activities.
- Quality, not quantity is what will be remembered. This statement applies to many aspects of life. Limit your family and your activities to one or two worthwhile ones. I know I get overwhelmed when I fill my calendar too full with activities. That is when I start stressing out and no one wants to be in the same room with mom when she is in that mode.
- Be consistent. There is something to be said about having a house of order. If you establish fair rules and practices in your family, and then are consistent in standing by those rules and the rewards and consequences that come with them, you will have a much less chaotic family life. At first it may be really hard as children like to press you to your limits, but soon they will realize that you are consistent and that you stand by the rules in your family. If you don’t have rules, then sit down as a family and make those rules together with fair consequences for breaking rules. Children will most likely keep the rules that they helped create.
- Step out of your comfort zone. This is a VERY HARD one for me. I’m a homebody and would rather stay at home and read a book than go out and socialize. Tonight I stepped out of my comfort zone for my children and went to a Scout Court of Honor held in a backyard where they were going to have a fire and roast marshmallows. I love the thought of doing that with my children, but the thought of being in dirt, getting possibly eaten by mosquitos (they love me), and then coming home smelling like a campfire (giving me a headache), just doesn’t appeal to me. I went though because my son was getting a rank advancement and I knew it would be a wonderful memory for my children. They wouldn’t remember all the dirt and bugs. They would remember the fun of being together and roasting marshmallows and my son of his mother being there when he got his new rank.
- Learn by doing! Involve your children in all the household responsibilities. Children are never too young to learn how to help plan, pick up, or cook. (Yes, I did say that!) Now I wouldn’t let them cook on the stove or cut with a sharp knife without my help, but children will step up to the plate so to speak and can amaze you at what they have learned by just watching you. Let them grow and stretch by giving them opportunities at home. Just today my 4 year-old surprised me by CLEANING the very messy corner of his room that was piled with toys, right down to getting out the handheld vacuum all by himself and vacuuming the corner. Believe me, I was quite SHOCKED and praised him to no end!
- What activities do you think you can do without?
- What one of these 5 things will you try to work on?
Stepping out of my comfort zone is (and has always been) my big challenge, I am getting better and deciding what have I got to lose? Nothing really, but I have more to lose by sitting there & holding on to fears, past failures or just doing something “different.” It has paid off in ways I cannot count to do this.
beth confusedhomemaker recently posted..Projects Starting
I’m a homebody, too, and it was hard when the kids were little to get out and do stuff with them, but I made the effort, and now I wish I’d done so even more.
Serene recently posted..OPMF: Kimchi
This is such a timely post for me, especially tomorrow when the kids are home because the teachers are on strike. It’s so hard for me to get away from the computer. But I know how important it is.
Lady Jennie recently posted..Honey-Mustard Pumpkin Soup
Oh no! Does that happen often Lady Jennie? Are they supposed to be on strike for long? I have to pull myself away from the computer too and realize my blog is NOT my number one priority, although it is a lot of fun when I have time to do it.
I love these points! I grew up with 2 siblings. We each “only got to” do 1 activity a year. So I chose gymnastics one year, then another year it was girl scouts etc… I always hated not getting to do ALL the things I wanted to do, and SWORE my kids would get to do whatever they wanted. Now I remember my mom citing cost and time… and I couldn’t agree more! HA…. Now I see my neighbor going in the whole to pay for all the sports etc, and ripping her hair out being so overscheduled. I told her, you know what…. they just can’t do it all. I am soooo going the route my parents did!
I am an introvert. I have been trying to challenge myself by inviting new aquaintances for breakfast and coffee- that can be rough! lol
As for the kids helping- I am SO with you on that!!! I had no clue what I was doing- never saw how much I was a slave to my able bodied kids. My son’s therapists started telling me, know let him do this, and that. I was shocked and thinking but he’s only 2 1/2! Turns out, yes, he was able to do all KIND of things that I did for him. Another time I read something written (forgot where!) that said “remember the point of raising kids is to raise able bodied adults”. That hit like an arrow. I complain about ho I learned to cook, clean, wash clothes starting at age 7, yet kids I know today can’t do anything for themselves… then I realize, we don’t make them, that’s why! lol I mean starting them young. My son now does a LOT of stuff for himself. He picks up his dirty clothes into the hamper, cleans his toys, and clears his place. I hope I keep learning these things in time!
Jill recently posted..Cherish Your Friendships and Relationships
I couldn’t agree with you more Jill! I think when we over indulge our children by providing them with too many activities and we do all the chores in an attempt to make their life easier than our childhood was, we do them a disservice by not teaching them how to be a productive adult. As a mom you know that time sure flies by and if you aren’t careful you can find that all that time to teach them how to be an adult will be gone all too soon. The older they are, the harder it gets to reverse any bad habits. Teach them young! Thanks for your comments Jill!
I love the learn by doing advice – so very true!
Megan (Best of Fates) recently posted..An Embarrassing Weekend in Baltimore
I love all of these! Great basic rules to live by. I love the rule of not overbooking now too. In the beginning there would be so many things I wanted to take advantage of on the weekends so I’d overdo it. I had to remember that we don’t always have to be doing an activity to feel close.
I’m also an introvert so I NEED time alone in order to rejuvenate so I guess that’s why I would try to make up for it by scheduling activities because otherwise we’d never leave the house. lol
Nia/Chic Working Mom recently posted..Kanye West Launches New Clothing Line: DW
I don’t have children but this post reminds me on how my dad raised us. He didn’t let us have tvs or phones in our rooms (did I just date myself?) because he knew we’d never all be at the same place together, little things like that.
As far as my biggest challenge? It’s always been stepping out of my comfort zone. For me, it’s stage fright. I took up ice skating last year & you couldn’t pay me enough to skate in front of a crowd. This year I’ve done two competitions and while the butterflies in my stomach were huge, I still had a feeling of accomplishment when I was done.
Bianca @ South Bay Rants n Raves recently posted..Peasant Pasta Stew
I struggle to get my child to pitch in with picking up her things. Sometimes I feel like a broken record. Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
Joanne recently posted..DIY: How to Repair Drywall