How to Use Fun and Play to Get More Cooperation and Connection|POF 33

Are you silly?  How comfortable are you acting goofy?  Sadly, we don’t have much room in our lives for fun and games.  We are tired, stressed, rushed and exhausted. We may be stiff and tired and easily bored when we try to get on the floor and play – especially when it means we have to switch gears from our stressful days or when you know there are a million other things you need to be doing.  BUT fun and play makes our kids happy and us too!!!

Did you know that play is how kids sort out and make sense of their world and experiences?   If your child is too young to tell you what’s going on with them, you can find out through play.

Does your child refuse to do what you ask?  Why not diffuse the situation with a joke or a tickle?  We don’t always have to be so serious!

Listen to find out how you can harness the power of fun and play!

About Robbin McManne

Robbin is a Certified Parent Coach, author and speaker.  She works with parents from all over the world to help them build more connection and find more joy and cooperation in their parenting.

Robbin is a former ‘Angry Mom’ and for over 12 years, Robbin juggled a full-time corporate career while being a mom and wife, prior to becoming a Parenting Coach.  In her corporate career, Robbin has a background in marketing and public relations, training, and event planning. She understands firsthand how many moms struggle to balance work and family.

It’s because of her struggles as a parent that she found the world of peaceful parenting and has dedicated her life to teaching parents how to build a strong family, so their kids thrive. 

Robbin’s work focuses on building and strengthening the parent-child relationship so that children grow up with resilience, confidence and strong emotional intelligence.  She works with parents to help them understand their own emotions and frustrations in parenting, so they can help build their children’s sense of self without losing themselves in the process!

In October of 2018, Robbin released her first book, “The Yelling Cure – How to stress less and get your kids to cooperate without threats & punishments.” Her book is being read by parents all over the world 1000,000 copies sold to date. www.yellingcurebook.com

Robbin divides her time working with her clients, speaking at events and spending time with her two boys and husband.  You can usually find her at a hockey rink or sports field cheering on her boys.  Most importantly, Robbin has changed the way she parents and connects with her sons and is dedicated to helping parents find the same joy, connection and cooperation in their families.

www.yellingcurebook.com

Robbin@parentingforconnection.com

www.parentingforconnection.com

www.facebook.com/parenting4connection

www.instagram.com/robbinmcmanne_parentcoach

From the Podcast:

Here are some simple tips and guidelines to follow when you are playing with your kids (from Lawrence Cohen’s book, Playful Parenting).

• Follow the child's lead but make sure the game is safe, don't allow it to get out of control.
• Play with the child but don't take over, let the child change the game.
• Listen but don't tell what to do.
• Talk about what the child is doing and encourage, eg. "It looks like the spaceman wants to rule the world. What are the people going to do?"
• Allow plenty of time.
• Allow for experimenting and mistakes.
• Don't compete with young children; this can discourage them from wanting to play with you.
• Appreciate and encourage your children's effort, eg. display their works of art. I like playing with you. That was fun. 

Play Ideas

• Card Games
• Dress Up - Instead of simply watching your child play dress up, join in! Put on a fancy dress or suit and have fun.
• Sports Games -Get outside and throw a ball! It’s exercise and it’s FUN!
• Science experiments and really cool! Bonus: it’s an excellent way to clean a shower!
  Go on an adventure or scavenger hunt
• Play Grocery store where you take turns to be the cashier
• Build a fort
• Have an inside or outside picnic – we love this
• Random parties – have a surprise birthday party for one of your child’s stuffies or favourite toys!
• Opposite day
• Pretend you are mad at something your child did right
• Pick up a book and open it backwards and announce THE END and then argue with them about putting it back.
• Have them make you laugh as you sit straight-faced 
• Pour water down your front and pretend you can’t drink (great for a hot day)
• Put drops under your eyes to fake cry and pretend you are really upset about something
• Pretend you can’t find your child even though you are right in front of them

Thanks for listening!

It means so much to me that you listened to my podcast! If you would like to purchase my book or other parenting resources, visit me at www.yellingcurebook.com

With this podcast, my intention is to build a community of parents that can have open and honest conversations about parenting without judgement or criticism.  We have too much of that!  I honor each parent and their path towards becoming the best parent they can be.  My hope is to inspire more parents to consider the practice of Peaceful Parenting. If you know somebody who would benefit from this message, or would be an awesome addition to our community, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a note in the comment section below! 

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