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How To Be a Fun Mom The Super-Simple Way

It’s easy to get hung up on overcomplicating how to be a fun mom. Crafts aren’t your thing. Your body can’t handle jumping on a trampoline. Getting lost in a game of imagination doesn’t come easy. What’s left? How can you find ways to be a fun mom when it doesn’t come easy and you’re just not feeling it? Learn how to be a fun mom the simple way!

woman in bright colors flipping her daughter while learning how to be a fun mom the simple way

I was always a bit-too-mature-for-my-age kid.

Come to think of it; I don’t remember truly “playing” very much at all. I do have one video of my dad chasing me or following me or something. I was giggling, and it must have been a fun time.

I’ve been diligent in looking for signs of precociousness with my kids for this reason. I don’t want them growing up too fast. Once a day is over, it’s over. Gone. Never to get it back. Many of those sweet childhood days need to be filled with fun and joy while developing their future selves.

Simple Is Fun

One way I have had to be intentional to do that is by having fun with my kids, on purpose. For whatever reason, it took me a while to understand how simple this can be. I blame my overachiever-perfectionist personality.

I would get caught up thinking I needed to put on a 3 act puppet show, complete with stage and lights, in order to be fun. Let’s just be honest… that just doesn’t sound like something you or I will be doing!

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Being a fun mom doesn’t have to be a major production. Your child is actually pretty easy to please when it comes to having fun. The best things you can do are simple. And the way to do them is just to do it.

Is there a process for being a fun mom?

Well, yes. I have a process for everything… so here we go.

How to be a Happy Mom and Have Fun

Step 1. Embrace simplicity.

Remember, the stage and lights are not necessary. Stop thinking “stage and lights” and start thinking “tube sock on your hand!” Quit thinking – a trip to the water park and start thinking mini squirt guns inside the house. Stop thinking you don’t have enough ideas for charades and just be a tree or a table or a rock!

Step 2. Live in the moment (from time to time.)

Every day your mind is filled with thoughts of how your child will turn out. Am I making the right discipline decisions? Should I loosen up? Tighten up? Save a bit of brain power for a question like this: “What can I do right this moment to make my child laugh?”

Step 3. Play younger.

Let me explain this one. If you’ve ever spent any amount of time around little league baseball, you know what the term “play up” means. Some kids have above average ability for their age, so they play on a baseball team that is actually a step above their age division.

Do the opposite when it comes to playing with your child. Whatever you think she’s “too old” for, she probably still loves. You’ll help her hold on to her precious childhood as long as possible by not sweeping away fun things prematurely.

Step 4. Try to say yes.

Yes and No. Both of these words should be in your parenting vocabulary. They serve different purposes and are equally important. Don’t allow this to confuse you. Trying to say yes does not mean some convoluted way to spin every possible child training experience into a positive experience. Trying to say yes means asking yourself, “What’s it really going to hurt if he wears batman jammies to church?!” If you can say yes, and it doesn’t have any negative eternal impact, and it’ll make your child smile… then say yes.

Step 5. Get over yourself.

And of course, I mean that in the most loving way possible, really I do. Getting over yourself allows you to do a lot of things better. Being a fun mom is certainly one of them. No one cares as much about how you look or act than you do. Have fun. Laugh for no reason. Burst into song. Make funny faces. Kiss with fishy lips.

Now that you’re ready to stop over-thinking how to be a fun mom, let’s spell it out in real life application. What are some actual ways you can be fun? Some real-life ideas of day-to-day smile-makers?

How to be a Fun Mom The Simple Way – 10 Real-Life Fun Ideas

#1. Chase him.

#2. Surprise her.

#3. Play along.

#4. Hide and seek.

#5. Let him help.

#6. Make a big deal.

#7. Have a coffee date.

#8. Save Amazon boxes.

#9. Question game at dinner.

#10. Greet your child every morning.

Being a Fun Mom is ‘Seriously’ Not as Difficult as You Think.

(pun intended)

It’s easy in the midst of all the #adulting that we have to do every day to forget what fun feels like. Fun for your child is different than fun for you.

Fun – does not have to be a production. And fun certainly does not have to be difficult or tedious. If you allow yourself to keep being uptight because you think fun – isn’t who you are, you’re going to miss out on a crap-ton of chances to speak to and reach your child’s heart!

Take the first 5 steps listed above to a mindset-shift of what fun is. Then grab a few of the real-life examples listed and start doing them every day. Then add some more and come up with your own! Consider what your child will remember most about her childhood. Be a fun mom, while the fun is simple!

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Hi there! I'm Mama Duck,

I'm a stay-at-home/work-at-home, homeschooling Mama of 4 beautiful kiddos, wife to my loving husband, Parenting Coach, Speaker, and Writer. I adore the sound of my children's giggles, that first sip of hot coffee, and a snuggly blanket fresh out of the dryer. Here on Faithful Parenting, my heart is to equip mamas with the skills, knowledge, and biblical wisdom to raise fantastic kids and build a tethered family!