It is Monday, which means it is time for a fresh Playdate!
Everyone is welcome to link up to this post all week long with your play related posts, pics and ideas!


Thanks to our intrepid moms who joined in on the first playdate last week!
How the Sun Rose & Butterfly Wishes and Wonderland Dreams

Each week, I will feature one of our playdate folks and wax poetic about something play related that might inspire you to blog in response or to a similar theme~ but you don't have to, any and all play posts are welcome to link up.

You know when you read a book and it just resonates with you?
Playful Parenting has been that way for me.
My daughter is a free spirited kid, a sensitive one, at that.
So things aren't always easy.
But reminding myself to be playful has been my go-to in tough parenting situations, especially those head to head battles my daughter (admits to!) enjoys.
"Do you like fighting with Mommy?"
"Yes. I like it a lot!"

When she was three, I got so much mileage out of saying "Did you just say 'no' to your mother?' in silly, aghast voices when she said no. By the time we played out that little shtick the 'no' was forgotten and we could move forward. These days, as she finds her saucy 5 year old attitude (since *when* do words end in 'uh'? Like "I don't want-uh to get dressed-uh"? UGH!) I can usually shake it down by pretending she is being sweet to me and responding with something sugary like "Oh sweetie, I love it when you talk that way! You're so sweet to me, I could just eat you!" followed by a lunge and grab and giggles. The great thing is that now that she knows how I respond, it sucks all the saucy out of her responses because she can't help but say them with a smile ♥.

"Following the giggles" has been a great tool as well, reminding me to laugh more.  If Rowan begins to giggle, I do it too, and while it may start out forced, once you make eye contact and connect, it flows freely... and is good for the soul! And wrestling... my daughter doesn't naturally seek to wrestle, but after a friend talked about how effective wrestling her 4 year old son is when he is out of sorts, we have been incorporating it into our play.  And the sensory experience of touch and exertion really does seem to help harmonize things for Rowan on a tough day.

And, it works like a charm to be playful with the kids in Rowan's Kindergarten class when I am volunteering, they love to be engaged on their own 'turf' of play and I learn so much that way.  I think it is time to pull my copy of the book out again and refresh myself for this new age and stage we are entering!

How do you incorporate play into your parenting?  
Blog about it, or any other play related topics, photos or ideas and use the link up tool below!  If this is your first playdate at BTRT, follow this link for the button and complete (but simple!) instructions for participation!