Lifehacks - MotherOfLions

Tips and tricks for more energy and time – More #Family Fun! 🙂

I believe that routines are the highways of life. What I mean by that is that the things we’ve practiced and made automatic we do most efficiently in life. A routine, a habit, is something that takes some effort to establish but that will become easy and seemingly effortless as soon as your subconscious accepts the new idea as something that you really want and your brain has had the chance to adjust the wiring. I believe that there are enormous possibilities in establishing routines if you do it consciously and with purpose.
Some science indicate a set number of days to make a new behavior into a habit. Some state that with enough emotion connected to the intention even one determining event can cause us to change our habits. In any case; think through what it is you want to achieve so you know what progress and successes to look for 🙂

Lifehacks are routines or strategies that help in reaching a set goal. There are some lifehacks that you can copy straight off, some that you need to make adjustments to so that they fit with your family and some that you just don’t feel like implementing. Use what works and give me some feedback or ask if you have questions!

Treasure hunt - #Family Fun #Family Connection

When we are on vacation and actually have some free time we adults have made it a sort of tradition to plan a treasure hunt for the kids. It usually starts with a letter that is somehow delivered – one year it was in the mailbox signed by Santa (in the middle of summer), one year it was a bottle floating in the pool left by the Easter bunny.. This year we “found a bottle on the rocks by the beach”.. who could have put it there??
The treasure hunt is always built on solving riddles of some sort and having to find new clues and in the end to find the map or a clue to where the treasure is hidden. The clues have had to evolve with the children growing older and us grownups are having almost as much fun planning the ordeal as the kids do in solving it 🙂

The kids are soooo grateful for this tradition and they have been inspired to make them for each other and for us parents. It’s a really cool way of connecting and laughing 🙂

Click here - Some ideas that we've used for Treasure Hunts!

– Photos of where a clue is hidden – the more zoomed the photo the harder it is to see
– Clues in forms of riddles that rhyme
– Leaving a piece of paper with a letter on it included with every clue so that the final treasure hiding place is described by a word consisting of all found letters
– Taking a photo and downloading it on one of the children’s Ipad and set it as a background image and refer a clue to their Ipad somehow
– Leaving a photo of a bumblebee as a clue to go look at one of the kids Transformers named Bumblebee
– Putting a clue inside a small container filled with water and leaving it in the freezer (remember to put a plastic bag around the clue 😉 )
– Hiding clues, all but one a blank, in toys that sink and leave them at the bottom of a pool
– Clues referring to the children’s personal belongings such as a stuffed toy, a book they are reading or a piece of clothing they like
– Use a crossword puzzle and highlight a number of the letters that will make out a new word once they have solved the crossword

Weekly calendar - #Family Fun #Family Routines #Skillset Parents

When you plan your family week it’s really helpful to use visual aids. It’s not only perfect for including children who haven’t learnt to read yet but it’s also really good for older children and us grown ups. “A picture says more than a thousand words” is really true in this case. We relate and understand pictures much faster than reading.

We hold our family meetings on Saturdays after breakfast. We’ve included the following in our meeting so far:

What is planned for the week in terms of school trips or after school activities
What homework needs to be scheduled
What will we have for dinner this week
What fun family things do we want to plan for this week
Who does what in terms of chores this week

We divide the basic chores and put the picture for each chore up on the board. We place the picture next to the name if it’s a chore that will need to be done several times like managing the dishwasher or on a specific day if it’s something that needs to be done once in the week like cleaning your room.

The most fun comes from planning family fun. My girls love to treat me to a massage experience on our living-room sofa. They play soft music, light a scented candle and ask me to close my eyes and lay down on my stomach. Then they go nuts in using the most unlikely items from their room to massage my back. Half the fun is trying to guess what it is they’re holding. The heals from plastic Disney princess Cinderella is reeeally ticklish… 😉

Pictures and photos you can use

Click here - What do you want to schedule with your family?

Having fun
– Massages – Very popular in our family. Both giving and recieving.
– Game nights. We usually plan game nights on Wednesdays. We finish dinner and then get out a board game. This has really been super educational in terms of handling bad losers, new games and understanding the rules, strategies and so on. It’s also super fun to tease and also to help each other.
– Writing letters. The girls thought it unfair that the only one getting mail in our family was me, never mind that it’s only bills.. I said that if you want letters then maybe you should send some? We bought some really nice paper and envelopes and started writing letters to friends and family members.
– Painting. When the girls were younger we had a coloring night every Tuesday. I bought big papers for each of us, then we divided our paper into 12 separate areas. Each Tuesday we decided on a “topic” and drew a picture according to that topic.
Dinner
– We have prepared a number of post’its with different dishes that we can eat for dinner. When I do the preparation for the meeting I pick 5-8 post’its and then the girls and I choose the dinners we want this week and place them on the board on the days we want. (This really helps me since I can do the weeks shopping according to our list)
Chores
– Dishwasher manager for the week. This includes starting he machine when it’s full, emptying it and filling it with whatever dishes that couldn’t be put into the machine because it was full.
– Laundry. Clothes that are put in the laundry basket will be taken care of by this person this week. Clothes left in someones room will not be considered. Washing includes washing, hanging, folding clothes and delivering the folded packs into each persons rooms for further distribution into wardrobes.
– Vacuum cleaner. If you want your room vacuumed this week you need to clear everything from the floor.
– Cleaning the bathroom. This is a chore that in my experience gets the most resistance. It’s also the chore that I usually feel that it’s easier that I do it than live with the level of quality they can deliver 😉
– Cleaning your room. I usually take an “as needed” approach to this chore. If the dust mice are becoming big enough to be mistaken for a cat it needs to be done! If the room is clean but messy I let a week or two go by – it’s their mess, they live in it.
– Showering and washing your hair. My girls never liked taking showers when the were small so this was a thing we had to schedule into our week.
Homework
– I want my kids to take full responsibility for their homework. That doesn’t mean that I won’t help them but I will tell them that they need to plan it so that I can schedule time for it. In our meetings I ask them which days they want to schedule for studying and if they want me to help with anything.
– We’ve learnt to schedule the studying as early in the week as possible since it feels SO good to have everything done in time.

Practicing honesty and keeping promises - #Skillset Parents #Skillset Children #Family Purpose

Two of the core values I would love to be able to give to my children are honesty and self-esteem (that comes from doing what you say you’re going to do). Not only because of the self-esteem and the pride in themselves, that I believe will come from these values and behaviors, but also because I believe living these values will make them greatly appreciated among their peers and future partners in both life and business.

Values are something that can be practiced but to be able to identify your current values you need to be able to “hear your inner voice”. Read Tell the truth and keep your promises for more information.

The story of your inner voice

To assist children in discovering their inner voice you can start by telling them the following story. Depending on how old your child is you can vary the story with examples appropriate to that age.

Start by creating a little mystery and curiosity by announcing that you would like to have some important alone time with your child to be able to explain something that you now believe your child to be “old enough to hear”. Start by saying:

“I want to tell you something that I now believe you’re old enough to understand. This is something that was told to me when I was young and now it’s time for me to transfer it to you. This is so very important and it’s something not all humans are told. When you learn to do this you will be able to teach it to others that you think will be able to use this knowledge in their life. We who know this and can practice it are very rare.. not even all adults know this..

Inside of you there is a voice.

It is the voice of your soul. It is a voice that comes from the most inner part of you and it is connected to your heart. This voice will always lead you true. This is not the fear voice. This is a warm and soft and unmovable truth saying voice. You will know that it’s the right voice because you will FEEL warm and calm when you listen to it. It will sometimes say things that will awaken your fear-voice and at those moments you might get confused and not know what to do for a while. But if you listen closely to both voices you will eventually learn to recognize your true voice really quickly.

Some children start hearing their inner voice just after having heard their mother or father telling them about it and some children want to start practicing even more by asking their inner voice questions. The inner voice LOVES questions and cannot resist making itself known if you ask it questions. I don’t know what you want to do to start hearing your voice – only you know. Are you ready to look for it?”

Most children will be onboard at this point and then you can just continue with the practices described below. However some children need more time. If your child is not thrilled to move forward right away then don’t push it. Let the subject go without feeling bad about it. My kids sometimes sense that their mom is trying to teach them something and immediately become suspicious. You can trust in the fact that you’ve planted a seed and patiently wait.

Naming your inner voice

If your child is ready to discover that inner voice then ask her to do the following.

Ask her to sit absolutely still, close her eyes and listen to your slow breath. Then go on to ask her to feel how her toes feel right now. Are they cold or warm? Ask her to how it would feel to be twice as relaxed as she is right now. This will help your child relax and focus.

Now say: “Quietly, inside your head, ask yourself “How old am I?””

Then ask: “Did your inner voice say how old you are inside your head?”

Say: “Now, quietly again, ask yourself “What do I really like to eat?””

Then ask: “What did your inner voice say?”

Say: “Okay, we’ve found your inner voice! Let’s get to know it a bit better! What is it’s name? How does it sound? Is it a loud or a quiet voice?”

Help your child to give a Name to the inner voice and as the parent take secret notes on the name and exact words your child tells you about that voice. It’s important that you help out in this way. If you can talk about that inner voice in the words of your child, without painting your words or life experiences over it, you will help her to remember it and connect to it so much easier.

Click here - Situation where you can practice Telling the truth and Keeping promises
- Set them up to tell the truth and to keep promises to themselves in the SMALL things.
  I’ve used the following strategy with my girls.
  Let some candy lay out on the table where your young child will see it and won’t be able to resist taking it. When you notice that the candy is gone, don’t make a big deal out of it. Later that day when you have your child’s attention tell her about the missing candy and casually ask if she knows anything about it. One of two things will probably happen:
  - She tells a lie. In this case don’t react at all and don’t make assumptions that your child is “a lost cause”. Just say “okay” and move on to talking about something else. Happily as if the candy-issue is not important at all.
    Later that day or even another day you might tell a story about how you once when you were little had not told the whole truth to your mom and how bad you’d felt until you told the truth and how happy that had made you and your mom.
    Ask a little while later “by the way, do you know what happened to that candy the other day? It’s so strange that it just disappeared”.
    Again; if she sticks to the lie then just don’t fret. Leave it at that and move on to another strategy.
  - She tells you the truth. If/when this happens just shower her with kisses and express how grateful you are that you got to hear the truth. Explain how you feel and how you know that you can trust your child to tell you the truth!
- When they tell you about their day and they indicate that they did something hones and/or scary, to keep their promise to themselves or someone else – point that out! “It looks like you feel good about handling the situation that way.”
- When they remember to do a chore (Even if it is something you’ve agreed on and that you really shouldn’t have to encourage) – just notice and tell them how happy you are that she keeps her promises to both you and to herself.
- Give them money to go to the store to buy something and when you get the change back thank them for how honest they were in returning the change!
- Telling them stories about things they did when they were even younger that proves that they were honest. E.g. “Have I told you when you were just four years old how you really insisted on doing that thing that you had committed to do even if….? ….”
- Tell a story about how you kept something from your parents and how good it felt when you finally told the truth even if they maybe got mad at you at first.

The story of Collecting golden treasures - #Skillset parents, #Skillset Children, #Goals

Are you looking to ignite the intrinsic motivation in your children? Maybe this story can help 🙂 I recommend at first that you read it through yourself so you maybe can add some examples of things you know your child can relate to. Read it with a secretive and playfully passionate voice to spark the imagination.

If you want some more inspiration and background to this lifehack visit the Blog section and read this blog post:

Who’s responsible for kids learning skills and acquiring new knowledge?

The story of Collecting golden treasures

“All children, you as well, get a magical treasure chest when they are born. It is located inside of you and in it you store everything you learn as you grow older. It’s one of those chests that are bigger on the inside than on the outside just like the suitcase that Newt Scamander owns, you know one of those you could even step into if you wanted? Knowledge and skills are stored in this chest as treasures. When you learnt to walk a golden shoe was added, when you spoke your first words a gilded book. The day you swam your first meters across the swimming pool an emerald tortoise appeared and a sapphire dolphin was added when you dared to jump in the deep end.

To find something, to put into your treasure chest, you just have to go out and prove that you’ve earned it. Without anyone even knowing, sometimes not even yourself, trinkets will be added. No one else have to even know about it. You just explore something new and the better you get, for every level of progress you make, the more valuable things will appear.

The treasures you get are yours forever. Once you’ve earned them you get to keep them and for each coin, jewel or gilded trinket in your chest the richer you are. No one can ever take this treasure away from you.

Do you know why having this treasure is so cool? It’s because the more skills you gather the more cool stuff you’ll be able to do in life. You might want to learn how to run like the wind, sneak up on people without them ever noticing you or climb taller trees than anyone? Or maybe you want to be able to get your parents to approve of you going somewhere great? In that case you just start looking for the skills of persuasion, negotiation and a win-win mindset. Maybe you want to be a stand-up comedian? Then skills that will be really good to get are storytelling, theatrics and timing. All you need to do is start collecting treasures!

Some skills are easy to get and some a bit more challenging, guess which are the most desirable? That’s right, the challenging ones – those are the ones that give you the largest gemstones. If you wanted to be able to sneak up on a super alert chipmunk, without it running away, what skills do you think you should look for? Who could be someone that’s already earnt those skills?

You see there is something else that’s magical about this treasure chest. When you’ve added something to it you have the power to multiply each treasure and give it to someone else who’s looking for just that skill. You can teach them and they can also teach you from things that are in their chest.

Treasures come in handy in life, they will help you get what you want. So, where do you get them? From people who already know where they are – look for someone who seems to be able to do what you want to do and ask them if they could share their knowledge with you. But remember, you need to earn it before the treasure is truly yours – and you earn through practice.

Some treasures appear almost seemingly without effort, all of a sudden you practiced those math equations enough and a diamond, in the shape of a number 1, was added. What do you think would happen if you practiced even more challenging equations for a while?

Some treasures you don’t know what you need them for, yet. But as you grow older you will realize that the more treasures you have collected and earned the more fun you will have. Go out and start searching and exploring. While you should focus on getting the treasures you know you want and need for something specific don’t forget to also gather EVERY trinket you can find on the way.

One more thing, remember to tell your family about new treasures you find. They might also want to collect those treasures, for their own chests, and they’ll be really grateful to learn about them.

Now, what is the next treasure you would want to add to your chest?”