My kids are the definition of too much to handle, I mean the parent:child ratio is so out!
I am not sure if you all know this, but besides being a mom/blogger/influencer/content creator, I also work full time.
Being a working mom requires the balancing skills and tricks of an entire Circus crew – yes it’s literally a circus most days. At one moment I am being pulled in one direction and at the same time I have another toddler hugging my leg for some attention. At the next moment I am cooking while unpacking the dishwasher with a hundred other thoughts in my head. And at the same time there’s a tv on high volume for some reason, toys scattered on the floor and if I am lucky that day, there won’t be any fights where I have to take on the role as referee.
It’s so difficult to prioritize when you have so much going on on a daily basis and that is why I prioritise my day when it’s quiet, basically when the kids are asleep lol. Trust me, I used to be hella organised and had all the time to make lists and stick to them. My older boys are 3.5 years apart so they were much easier to handle and deal with than 3 little boys all in the same age bracket. Zaeem and the twins are just 18 months apart and let’s just say that I am still organised (sometimes) but with a little (okay maybe a lot) of help.
Even the most organised mom in the world needs help or she already has the help. I would love to share with you the help I need, ask for or pay for.
Order everything online
In my previous post around budgets, I indicated that I do not ever go grocery shopping with kids. Same goes for trying to have an organised day. If you have more than one kid, DO NOT attempt to do the weekly grocery shopping by tagging your kids along. No one wants to come home from grocery shopping with moody kids who wanted a toy not budgeted for plus you don’t want to come home feeling more exhausted than when you left.
Hire help OR ask for help
There’s no shame in admitting you can’t do it all and paying for help to help you keep your family’s life in order, whether this is take-aways, a domestic worker or a babysitter.
If your’re a working mom and your kid's school offers aftercare where most of their homework will get done without having a battle at home, do it.
Too tired to clean up when you get home from work, hire that cleaning lady.
No budget for a domestic, get a family member to watch the kids for an hour or 2 so you can just take a breath!
Keep busy fingers busy
One of my twins needs extra stimulation, when he seems to be all over the place hopping from one toy to the other, or irritating any of his siblings I always do this and it works all the time. I hand him some scrap paper and a blunt nose scissors and I let him cut. This keeps him busy for so long, I have cooked an entire meal with him cutting to his hearts conent at the kitchen table.
Get your kids to pitch in with simple things
Picking up toys may seem like a quick and easy thing to do, but why should I (as a tired mom) break my back when I did not throw the entire basket of toys?!?!
I am positive when I approach the boys to pick up their toys and pretend if I have a big boy job for them, or reward them if they pick up the toys in a certain time frame.
Make cooking a family affair
Don’t get confused with this heading, pretending that kids are involved from start to end of cooking is not that difficult when in actual fact, they took 40 minutes to peel one potato with a plastic butter knife.
It’s all about the hype, make a big deal at the dinner table about the delicious meal the kids have cooked.
Ask your partner for help – it’s called parenting!
Whether you are a stay at home mom or a working mom and you are in a living relationship with your partner, ask for help! Whether it’s with starting dinner, sorting out lunchboxes and homework, putting in load of dishes or laundry.
Team work is dream work.
As you can imagine, bathtime with 3 little ones can daunting and stressful for us as parents. Bashier and I have bathtime under the belt. Firstly, we shower the boys instead of bathing them. This saves water and time. Bashier showers them one at a time, I dry and dress. So as the one steps out of the shower the other one is getting dressed. A perfect bath time conveyor belt.
I hope some of these tips and tricks help you.
Let me know in the comments what tips you use for your family.
xxxZ
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