3 Tips to Stay Cool When Your Kids Are Driving You Crazy

3 Tips to Stay Cool When Your Kids Are Driving You Crazy

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But you chose to stay home with them and be a stay-at-home mom/homeschooler/work-from-home super woman, so surely your children must be angels and your patience must be amazing!

After all…you chose this life didn’t you?

Didn’t you, Ms. Exasperated Mom?

What is wrong with you for saying that your kids are driving you crazy?!?!

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing is wrong with you.

Look, children are people too and not everyone gets along all of the time.

There are ~~days~~ ~~hours~~ short moments in time when it’s smooth sailing and you thank God that everyone is happy and smiling and not hitting one another with blocks or books or swords.

The play kind of course.

Those are the moments for sure!

And then someone gets cranky (okay, sometimes me) and short on patience.

And it’s lunchtime or nap time (those were the days) and if you have to referee one more disagreement you’re sending them to their room until they’re 30.

You’re tired, you’re overworked, you’re mentally drained and sometimes, yes, sometimes those kids are going to drive you crazy.

And that’s normal.

Completely, totally, 110% normal.

So, to help you keep cool in those moments of frustration, here are three tips to stay cool when your kids are driving you crazy.

3 Tips to Stay Cool When Your Kids Are Driving You Crazy

3 TIPS TO STAY COOL WHEN YOUR KIDS ARE DRIVING YOU CRAZY

1. Time Out

No, not time out for the toddler, time out for mama.

I’m serious.

Give yourself a time out.

Put your child in a safe spot where he won’t get hurt and sit on the stairs for 5 minutes.

Alone.

Practice your deep breathing, massage your temples, close your eyes briefly, and sit.

By removing yourself from the situation, you not only give yourself a chance to cool down, but you give your child a chance to simmer down too.

The tension is the power struggle between what he wants and what you want, so removing that struggle helps you both calm down.

2. Drink a Glass of Water

Huh?

Yep, try getting a big glass of water and drinking it.

No need to chug it or give yourself brain freeze, just drink it normally.

Why does this work, you ask?

It combats dehydration.

There have been some studies done that report that up to 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

You’re probably one of them.

Dehydration can make us irritable, less patient, less focused, dizzy, and contribute to those dull headaches that appear so frequently during the week.

Re-hydrating your body, even with one single glass of water, can help you keep your cool while giving you a moment to focus on your own needs.

Drink up, Mama!

3. Send a Text

You probably have one friend or relative who consistently makes you laugh.

She gets you, she knows what it’s like to have kids, and she knows how frustrating it can be sometimes.

Set up a code with her and when you’re about to lose your mind, text her.

“The monkeys are running the zoo today. Help!” can translate to “These kids are driving me batty! Make me laugh.”

The amazing thing about this tip is that when you text her, you’re connecting with another adult and sometimes that can mean the difference between wanting to throw in the stay-at-home towel and putting things in perspective.

It’s different than posting on social media where you have to then worry about the backlash of being judged for being frustrated (crazy, right?!), because this friend or relative totally gets it and there’s no judging. Just support and love and usually something to make you smile.

One of the biggest lies in our society is that staying at home with your kids is easy.

It’s not.

At all.

Whether you chose to be a stay-at-home/homeschooling/work-from-home parent or not, it’s not easy.

Give yourself a break and don’t judge your frustration and impatience too harshly.

Feeling like your kids are driving you crazy doesn’t make you a bad parent.

It simply makes you human.

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