Be a Better Parent Challenge - Day 15 - Start a tradition

So, thanks for all the baby naming advice. It's clear as mud now.

Ha.

But back to the real business, I caught my kids being good yesterday. My son really responds well to this which is always fun, but I did notice I tend to do it more with him that I do with Quinlan (mostly because he's the super challenging one of the two thus far), so I need to be sure to give them equal attention in that vein.

Since it's Sunday, I thought it would be the perfect day to talk about starting traditions, hence today's challenge: Start a Tradition

I know it may seem odd to just whip something up for today, but the least you can do is start thinking about it. And by tradition, I mean some sort of weekly family ritual that you do every week - something that your kids can count on and something that's uniquely yours (and theirs).

I suppose the most obvious is the big Sunday breakfast - whether it's going out to eat or making something at home, but it certainly doesn't need to be that at all.

Maybe it's a weekly game night or a sandwich dinner night where every week one kid gets to pick the sandwich you eat for dinner. Perhaps it's ice cream on Saturdays or a Thursday night dance party where you dress up and blast the music in your living room.

You may even already do this, and if you do, please share. And if you don't, now's a great time to come up with one. I figure a part of better parenting is creating fun, positive memories for our kids, and something like this will do just the trick.

Comments

[Amelia Sprout]

We go out for breakfast at an old school diner car every Easter morning. We've done it since I was pregnant with M.
We do kisses on foreheads "because we love you". Something she hopefully won't mind as she gets older. Now she kisses everyone she loves on the forehead. Including the dog (has to do it before we leave her at the hospital lately), her grand parents, and some of her stuffed animals.

[SoMo]

Nice to see others have traditions that are centered around food. LOL! I started every Friday as Mac and Cheese night, because my son bugged me for it everyday and it became tiring. Now, I can say you can have it on Friday.

We have been going out to eat after church since our oldest was a baby. It is just something you do. *shrugs*

I didn't really see these as traditions. I do find that if the kids and I do much better with routine. I am a little better at diverting from routine these days with 3 kids, but I still like routine.

[Jac]

Friday nights at our house are picnic/movie nights. We put a picnic blanket on the living room floor, make finger-friendly food, and watch a disney movie all together (even DH, who loathes Disney). We're hoping it will translate into better movies as the kids get older.

[Julie]

Saturdays are bagels-fresh-from-the-bagelry days. One child gets to go to the bagel store with Dad and pick them out. They usually come home with lots of chocolate chip and one Jalapeno cheese for the Dad.

[Amy]

On Saturdays, my husband makes pancakes and bacon for all of us. After that, we go to my mother's for some more family fun.

Once a month, we have breakfast for dinner. It's always a surprise.

Sundays are jammie days.

We have this thing where we do a "family hug" anytime any one of us requests one. We all huddle together and squeeze each other tightly, no matter where we are.

We have the usual holiday traditions, etc. The ones I mentioned are just a few of the extra things we do as a family that I hope the kids cherish when they're older. Maybe they'll even continue them with their own families.

[Tiffany D.]

We go to the Saturday Farmer's Market, and then my husband makes us all breakfast on Sunday from some of the things we bought. The kids love it.