Day after day it is very easy to get caught up in being serious and professional at work and bring that home to your relationship with your kids.
This weekend I want to challenge everyone to mix it up a little. Get crazy! Break your normal routine and do something fun with your kids that you normally don’t do.
They’ll have an experience that they will likely talk about for weeks, months, or even longer depending on just how crazy you get. But the best part is that you too will have an experience to remember and you will likely feel refreshed and recharged to start the next week.
It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant either. Here are 5 ways that you can break your routine and have fun with your kids:
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Have ice cream for breakfast.
Gasp! You might be shocked at the idea of having ice cream for breakfast but I guarantee that your kids will remember it for a very long time.
And I’m not talking about a single scoop of vanilla ice cream either. Break out the whip cream, hot fudge, and sprinkles. Magic Shell! Let your kids create their own concoction and see if you can top them!
We’ve done this with our kids a couple of times and they still talk about it and get that big cheesy grin on their face!
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Let your kids dress you on Saturday.
Think about it - many young kids have their clothes picked out every day by their mom or dad. Switch things around by letting them pick out your clothes for the day.
If you’ve been nice to your kids, they might spare you the embarrassment of a completely mismatched outfit but they might go a little crazy. The deal is that you have to wear the outfit wherever you go that day. To make sure the kids really get a kick out of it make sure you at least run a few errands with them so you are seen in public wearing their fashion design.
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Watch early morning cartoons with them.
When is the last time that you sat down with the kids and watched a few cartoons? It is a great time to share something they enjoy and it will likely generate some conversation about the cartoons that you used to like as a kid.
Better yet - try to find one of the channels that still run some of the cartoons that you used to watch and share that with your kids. Does it get any better than Tom and Jerry, Woody Woodpecker or Scooby Doo?
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Put up the tent and camp in the family room.
You might be in an area where it is warm enough to still camp out in the backyard but doing it inside adds a little something to the experience. You can rent a couple of movies and make some popcorn. Everyone can pile in and stretch out on the sleeping bags while watching the movies through the door of the tent.
Friendly tip - once the kids crash in their sleeping bags, move to the couch to sleep. That way you will be able to walk in the morning!
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Combine it all into one blowout event.
When you wake up on Saturday, let your kids dress you for the day. Regardless of the crazy outfit that they come up with, take them out to the movie store to pick out a couple of movies that they want to see. When you get home, set up the tent and prepare for the in-house camp out. As the kids wake you up much too early on Sunday, break out the ice cream for breakfast and watch cartoons while downing your sundae!
Now that will give your kids a story to tell their friends and will be something they remember for quite some time!
Once you’ve had a chance to have fun with your kids be sure to come back and share how you were able to break the routine and get crazy!
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Reminds me of the Bill Cosby sketch: “What’s wrong with giving them chocolate cake for breakfast? The cake is made of flour and four is made of wheat so it’s good for you!”
LOL. Cool attitude dad. I like.
Haha, just make sure the kids don’t start expecting ice cream for every meal.
I like these ideas. Being silly is always fun. Oh yeah, and old cartoons are certainly better than new cartoons. Some new ones nowadays are just plain bad…
Derek,
I love this idea. These silly little things are the one that kids will carry with them as special memories of a great day spent with dad. This is awesome.
Derek… Nice post. It is so important to just have fun with your kids. Sometimes we get wrapped up in the daily grind that we forget whats really important. Definitely doing the ice cream for breakfast one saturday! FUN!
@Damien :: Bill Cosby has done some great skits about that.
@Kelvin :: Lol, ice cream for breakfast is a very rare occurrence as otherwise the kids do seem to expect it more. The silly times are often remembered for a very long time so I try to be silly as often as possible.
@Lorna :: Thanks, it is fun to build these special memories with your kids and be silly at the same time.
@knupNET :: Thanks for the feedback. I’m sure the ice cream breakfast will be a big hit!
I actually have lost a lot of my childhood memories, but I always remember the night my parents tried to teach me about the Cuban Missle Crisis. They illustrated the point with a food fight at the dinner table.
Those crazy things really are the ones your kids will remember with a smile for the rest of their lives.
Lol, that certainly sounds like an experience that would be hard to forget!
A timely reminder that the things our kids will remember us most fondly for is the fun we shared with them, not the times we spent in the office trying to ‘provide for them’
Hi I am a kid and am 13 can you pleeze try to say stuff other than kid stuff like play ps2 with them or let them have a party or somthin not that what u said was bad i just want more for teens
with all do respect
Justice Krambveer
Iment Krambeer lol srry
Justice, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I can certainly try to write more with teens in mind and apologize for the oversight.
With two younger kids at home, I used my experiences as a focus of this post. If you ever have an idea that you would like to see explored, please don’t hesitate to contact me.