10 Ways to Turn Around a Bad Day

“I really need you to get your room clean,” I say with all the patience I can muster. “We've been up for 2 hours and none of us even have our beds made yet. If you would quit arguing with your brother about whose stuff is out and just get to work we could get a lot more done around here.”

Crash! “Wahhhh!!!!”

“Oh no; what was that?!”

Someone was standing on a kitchen chair, trying to come up with a snack for themselves. Now we've got a jar of spilled coconut oil dripping all over the floor along with a crying toddler who slipped and fell in it.

“Okay. Breathe. It's no big deal. It's just life. Let me just go to the bathroom real quick so I can think and then I'll get this cleaned up.”

“Seriously?! The toilet is clogged! Somebody put a whole roll of toilet paper in here!”

“Okay. Okay. I've really got to get the baby's diaper changed before I do anything else. She's been waiting too long already.”

“Mom! I'm hungry!” “Don't go in the kitchen! There's still oil on the floor!”

And on and on it goes!

This is not an actual day's events, but it is a 100% accurate representation of some of the days we have at our house.

“Unbelievable.” I've told my husband many times. “You would not even believe it if I told you how today went.”

Can you relate?

Do you have days when kids are bickering, babies are crying, and messes are being created faster than you can clean them up?

Do you ever feel like you're are doing your dead-level best to hold it together, but it seems like the whole world is in a conspiracy to send you over the edge?

Do you feel like the harder you try to get back on track, the worse the day seems to go?

Frustrated would be a very mild description of how I'm feeling on those days.

What I've found is that sometimes the best answer is just to completely re-organize my day. The attitude of both my children and myself can sometimes be an indicator that we all just need to take a break.

So when I just can't seem to get those kids cleaning their rooms or keep them from getting into mischief every time I turn my back, I try one (or all!) of the following:

1. Turn on the music

Soothing music works wonders for helping bad attitudes. It's helps me calm down when I'm frazzled, and it helps the kids calm down too.

2. Go Outside

Sometimes we all just need a change of scenery. When the kids get too much energy inside and they start letting it out in not-so-good ways, take 'em outside and let 'em run!

3. Laugh

The Bible says “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine”. So when everyone is out of sorts, create some intentional laughter! Tell a joke, watch a funny video, or get everyone to do their best monkey impression.

4. Create a haven

As much as we'd all like to have a perfectly clean house all the time, that's simply not reality. But if you or your children are the type that start to feel uptight when things are disorderly, a haven can help you breathe and calm down. Have one area of your house that you keep clean no matter what and go there when you're feeling frazzled and out of sorts. (Mine is the master bedroom.)

5. Snuggle up with a book

Sometimes your children just want you. When they're being ornery, try gathering up everyone on the bed and reading out loud to them. It just might be exactly what they need.

6. Eat a snack

Is it possible people are in a bad mood because they're hungry? Feed everyone a high protein snack and see if they feel a little better.

7. Intentional gratitude

Sometimes we feel grumpy just because we're focused on the wrong things. Instead of counting our blessings, we're counting all the things that we don't like. Make it a point to stop and name 3 blessings to intentionally put your mind in the right place.

8. Intentional loving words

A lot of times children are acting out because they want some attention. Stop and say some loving words and extend some hugs or tickles. It's better to give positive attention to let children know they are loved than to give negative attention through punishment.

9. Get everyone on the same team

Instead of you being the boss and trying to get your children to take orders, think of ways to help them understand that you are a team. Sometimes I will set the kitchen timer and say “Hey kids! It's us against the timer! Let's see if we can all the dishes cleared and put in the dishwasher before the timer goes off. If we win, we all get a chocolate candy!”

10. Let go of expectations

When you can tell it's one of “those days”, you need to be willing to drop your big plans. You'll enjoy your day a lot more if you just drop everything and go outside with the kids than if you keep trying to pull the day together. Just give it up and you'll be a lot less stressed.

What do you think? Have you used any of these strategies in the past to successfully turn around a bad day? Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve that weren't mentioned here?