How to stay sane when school's closed
Snow storm or holiday kept your kids out of school? There, there. Here's help.
Of course we love our kids. They make our worlds go 'round. That said, when school's out and you've got a million things to get done, it's a challenge for even the best, most Pinterest-y, crafty, patient, attentive parents on the planet.
Maybe you're a working parent trying to get your job done at home while your kids pepper you with nerf darts and questions about Pokémon character statistics.
Perhaps you're simply exhausted from playing 84 rounds of Mario Kart and your duties as a short order grilled cheese sous chef. You're a great parent. And you're irritated, burnt out, at your rope's end. We get it, frazzled moms and dads, and fret not - we bring you these ways to stay sane when their school is rude enough to close, whether for a holiday you didn't get off from work or an inconsiderate act of nature:
- Play the "How long can you stay quiet?" game. It's really fun. You get the kids upstairs into the playroom and you tell them that whichever one stays quiet and plays nicely the longest gets a prize. And that anyone that comes downstairs tattling is immediately disqualified.
- Bubble bath time. Get bath paints, bubble bath and a whole bunch of plastic cups and containers. Get into the bath. Make sure your kids aren't in the bathroom with you. Lock the door and tell your kids to go play hide 'n seek.
- Get out crayons and paper. Draw squiggly lines on them. Ask your kids to turn your scribbles into actual pictures and then have them guess each other's drawings.
- Drink. Drink a lot of wine. If that's not an option for you, eat. Eat a lot of Girl Scout cookies.
- Hand them your iPhone. Your Kindle. Your Surface. Your life's savings. Anything, really. Just hand them things.
- Get out a stack of your old high school yearbooks and have them vote on the funniest looking person on every page. Bonus points if they happen upon your old crushes. Take points away if they find you and your giant crimped hair-do and double polo shirt ensemble.
- Have them organize the junk drawer, their sock drawers, the shoe closet, the garage. If they tire, just go back to the 'How long can you stay quiet?' game. Lather, rinse, repeat.
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