Before reading Parenting Tips below, you might want to take the fun Parenting with Love and Laughter Quiz. Once you return here, it might add your own insight to the tips.

Parenting with Laughter

As a family therapist for over twenty years and a parent myself, I know that parenting is important--probably the most important role in life--but we don't need to approach it so strictly and seriously all the time. Parenting can be fun if you lighten up. It makes family life more stimulating and relaxed; children are more cooperative and learn effortlessly in a light-hearted atmosphere. Problems are more easily solved and worries are better kept in perspective. When you incorporate the light-hearted approach in your parenting style your child develops a sense of humor and reaps the benefits at home and in school.

Seven Ways to Put a Lighter Spin on Family Life.

1. Keep messes in perspective.
1. Keep messes in perspective.

Use your energy to create a home where things are happening. A home that is cozy and lived-in is a good place for active families. Your friends won't feel uptight dropping by to visit if they know you're relaxed about how the house looks. You can keep the messes in perspective, when you remember that one of these days when the kids are gone and you'll have the house all to yourself, and may sigh wistfully at the thought of those wet towels on the bathroom floor. Messes don't matter so much--it's how you handle them.

2. Listen to music.
2. Listen to music.

A home that is filled with music is an exciting place to be. Begin when they are young by sharing lullabies from your childhood. Create a personalized version of a favorite tune. Sing silly songs. Encourage your children to teach you songs they've learned and check out tapes from the library. Play music when you're doing the dishes; do a little jig when you're shaking up the orange juice.

3. Enjoy jokes and riddles.
3. Enjoy jokes and riddles.

Age appropriate jokes help children develop language skills and cope with anxieties and frustrations. Pre-schoolers like toilet jokes perhaps to cope with the frustrations of potty training. As language develops five and six-year-olds like making up nonsensical jokes.

4. Switch gears.
4. Switch gears.

Do something unexpected. Treat your family swimming in the middle of the week. Go for evening walk. Change your routine.

5. Make mealtimes enjoyable.
5. Make mealtimes enjoyable.

Have a indoor picnic on the floor. Serve banana splits for dinner or pasta for breakfast.

6. Whistle while you work.
6. Whistle while you work.

Make doing the chores fun by telling jokes and riddles. Hide surprise treats behind the sofa or in laundry that needs folding. Hold a contest and give a prize for completing the job first. Laughing makes time goes by quicker as the drudgery turns to fun.

7. Smile and make silly faces.
7. Smile and make silly faces.

When was the last time you smiled directly at your child. Make an effort to look pleasant. Make silly faces and play a game of peek a boo. Put on a red nose and greet your kids at the end of the day.

In Conclusion

When you find yourself overloaded with responsibilities and ready to scream because the laundry is piled high, the check book unbalanced, the dog unfed, and no one is helping out, stop for a moment and ask yourself will this matter tomorrow, next week, next year? Chances are it won't, but what will matter is the quality of the relationship with your dear ones. Seriousness and unhappiness are habits, which you can change with a shift in your perspective. You can do your daily routine with a grudge and a groan or with a cheerful spirit. The choice is yours.