Games to make your day run smoother

Games to make your day run smoother

Do you find that sometimes your children just don't do as you want? You ask them, you tell them, you plead with them, you get cross with them. None of it works. I'm sure you've had one of those days. One of the best ways I've found is to make it fun for them. So I invent a game, or two. Here are some of my favourites.

Trapist monks

Games to make your day run smoother

You know when your head is still lying peacefully on its pillow but your body has been rudely dragged down to the breakfast table, and there seems to be a lot of noise. Well, that is the time for 'trapist monks'. Essentially, you can't speak and you have to mime everything. Works a treat.

(Although I did once try it in the car when the boys were really excited to be picking up a friend from the airport. The version of yelling 'trapist monks, trapist monks, trapist monks' at the top of your voice wasn't so good. I gave up.)

Duvet monsters

Games to make your day run smoother

Equally, when your head is still actually on its pillow, but there seems to be too much noise. Duvet monsters is great. They have to lie very still and quietly under the duvet and can pop out for the occasional 'peek a boo'.

Hide and Seek

If duvet monsters isn't going too well. Try 'hide and seek'. You count to ten and they run off and hide. Enjoy the peace and quiet. Finding them is optional.


We seem to make everything into a race. It appears to be the only thing to actually make my children move. If I tell them to go and get dressed (an activity they are perfectly capable of) I come back to find them with pants on their heads, seemingly having forgotten about dressing, they are playing with cars. Make it into a race and you can turn a 2 minute activity into a 10 minute activity (rather than a half hour activity.) The only down side is that you can't win all the time. Or at least, they can't all win all the time. Oh well, a life lesson to learn.

Collecting things.

Games to make your day run smoother

You want to go for a peaceful Sunday stroll but suddenly your children seem to have lost all power in their legs. It's like trying to move a stubborn donkey. But get them to collect things and suddenly it's a treasure hunt. Our recent 'kindling' collecting walk was fabulous. We collected 3 baskets of sticks. What better way for a small boy to spend their Sunday afternoon?

Naughty little aeroplane

And when we're all flagging on said afternoon stroll and your 3 year old's legs have stopped working (again)...Naughty little aeroplane to the rescue. Some poor adult (my mother) has to be the police man and say "you can't go past" at which point the naught little aeroplane runs past. About 200 times. If you're not into naughty little aeroplanes, invent your own!

Games to make your day run smoother

What about you? Do you have any great games to help your day run more smoothly? Please share. And please keep in contact by signing up to the newsletter.