Just Call Me Mrs. Sillypants
Sometimes being a Mom is simply about relishing The Silly. Wes’s favorite thing now is to make me create a new night-night song that goes along with whatever book we read each night. Last night? Moon song because we were reading Good Night Moon. Last night: Train Song because we read a Thomas book. He gets a kick out of them because I am so terribly bad at song writing.
Then he wants me to sing the Barney Song (I love YOU…YOU love ME) but he wants me to sing it with the word “Mommy” instead of “You” because he thinks it’s hysterical that I’m singing a song about myself. These are the simplest moments of parenting. Just doing something ridiculous that makes them laugh.
Lately, as I’ve started back to work and my stress levels have increased a bit, meaning my parenting is sometimes cramped. I’m more about getting stuff done: baths, dinner, bedtime in the little bit of time we have. BUT…no one wants to spend their limited time with their kid just completing a task list. So, you add a bit of silly. You deliver their dinner plates to the table like you would if you’re a waitress. “Excuse me, sir. Did you order the orange juice or the milk?” Or maybe everyone rides the Mommy Horse to the bathroom for bathtime. And of course – there’s always the random Silly Dance. You’re having a normal conversation, asking them about their day, and then you break out into a Carlton/Elaine combo dance. FOR NO REASON. This is the best parent move you can make because kids laughing hysterically? Automatic stress reliever. I guarantee it.
Silly – is basically my parenting technique. It’s my go-to in the arsenal of tools I use to raise my children. Especially when I have to do maximum amounts of parenting in a minimal amount of time. Throwing in a bit of silly with the tasks at the end of the night, makes those tasks go more smoothly and makes them more enjoyable for all of us. Meaning I don’t go to bed looking back on the small amount of time with my kids as BUSINESS. I hate just completely a task list, adding the Silly in the middle of those tasks? Makes it more like bonding time. Or play time.
How are you with the Silly? Is that in your arsenal? What types of Silly do you implement into your parenting? I could always use some new tools. The songwriting part of my brain needs a break.
I depend on Silly. When “someone” is in a bad mood (which admittedly, can include Yours Truly) I break out the Silly. Odd child, are you sure you don’t want to drink a glass of mud? Or eat a monkey sandwich for lunch? No, for the 1000th time, we are NOT going to Target, we are going to Australia. Anjali always laughs and says “Mama, you’re TRICKING me.”
Please tell this works on teenagers because otherwise, I will be lost when they grow up.
We are basically all silly, all the time. My kid is not amused by silly dancing though, which is unfortunate because I’m pretty sure my silly dancing is pretty awesome.
Wow, this one really resonated today. Jackson (7) is constantly asking me to tell him about when he was a baby. It is getting so boring I just start making stuff up. Last night I pretended that he (the baby) kept answering me back in a terrible french accent (“But, mommee, it eez not cold. Please do not make me put on a blankeeet”). He cracked up. That was the silliest thing he had ever heard. Today he kept saying (all the way to school) “do the french part.” Now I will have to find some Pepe LePew cartoons to show him where my french accent comes from.
Funny, that shirt Wes is wearing is part of my arsenal on rough days. Kiddo loves his fish shirt.
Lately I’ve been stealing lines from his favorite stories. It won’t stop a fit, but of we’re on the downhill slide, anything by Boynton out of the blue is good. Or I go through the usual list of Hot? Cold? Hungry? Wet? And if it’s none of those… “I know- you want a hippopotamus?” Yes, he does, and so do I , so we plot what our suburban house would need to host a hippo.
Silly voices or accents. Silly words – our family is known for our particular brand of made-up words – we claim to speak “Manglish” (as in mangled English). And, for the commenter above who worries about teenagers not being silly – I’ve got a 10-yo boy, an 18-yo senior in high school, and a 22-yo married daughter w/two kiddos of her own – they ALL rock the silly words with me!
Well, here’s mine. The girl (age 7) and I were in the eye Dr. office a couple of years ago. We waited and WAITED, then we waited some more . You get the idea. We both had our shoes off and they had us in a hallway on a couch. The girl was pressing her sock feet into the bottoms of my sock feet and I said ‘oh that’s so sweet , the little feet are getting foot milk.” She cracked up so hard and we still do this at least once a week. Good times… good times!
A good moon song is Moon, Moon, Moon by Laurie Berkener.
I’m very silly! I’m pretty sure that’s the best part of being a parent! My son thinks it’s hilarious to ask me to laugh and I’ll make up a goofy sounding laugh- or I’ll laugh uncontrollably like a lunatic. He loves it. Silly walks are also fun- especially when my little weirdo joins me!
Haha this reminds me when I was working and making the carrots sing to the kids, “Oh I want to be your snaaaack” (and something about how it was fulfilling its existential purpose), and when I stopped for a moment, the eldest said, “Keep being silly!” Well now, THAT I can do! Heh.
Well, I’m not a parent ,but I do help out with my nieces about once a week when my mom (their grandmother) has them. It’s a weird arrangement and too much to go into here.
I have relied on the Silly on many occasions.
At bath time, I’ve taught them to blow bubbles through their fingers and make lots of silly hair while shampooing. At bed time, I’ve rolled them into “cocoons”
However, The Silly that’s worked the best is turning homework (especially practicing spelling words) into a gameshow. . .much like “Who wants to be a Millionaire” – “Your NEXT word is. . . .CUPCAKE”
Fun stuff!!