Friday Fun Day: Children's Entertainment or (Parent's Sanity)

As a parent we all know that it can take going to extraordinary lengths to entertain young children. Car rides, family reunions, or even just at home. Children have a mind of their own and can be a tough crowd when it comes to entertainment. We go to such great measures to ensure our children's satisfaction and calmness level. I'm sure you can agree with me that such drastic protocol is necessary sometimes just to maintain mommy and daddy's sanity.

I have been known to spin a football while making loud crazy noises; Sliding across our tile floors in my socks then wiping out in the living room; Crawling into confined spaces, hiding, and scaring the kiddos. These are just a very small sampling of things I have done to get the grouchy level in the house down to a bare minimum and bring back the laughter. Hitting myself in the head with different toys, stepping on my own toes, even stretching my cheeks to the point I thought they were going to rip off of my face. Sometimes you just do what it takes, right? I asked the mighty Twitter what other parents have done to gain the upper hand in keeping their children calm. Here is what a few had to say:

@angiekinghorn - Blew up a glove a dr's offc 2 make it look like animals and sang Old McDonald while waiting an eternity for dr to come in.

@Call_Me_Heather - tried break dancing, also would intentionally hit my head and say "oh no I think I got brain damage" in a funny voice.

@bluecollard - One time I strapped about four diapers together put them on and ran around the house with the kids. #diaperparty

@krellpw - Crude noise & bad cartoon imitations are stand-bys. I've been known to "accidentally" fall into a pool fully dressed to get a laugh from kids. come to think of it, I tend to fall down a lot just to draw a laugh from the kids.

So now you can know that you are not alone when doing crazy, funny, and down right silly things to keep your children entertained and calm. Parents all over are going to the limit, pushing the envelope, and having the  envelope come back and pop them in the head just to draw a laugh, or gain attention. What do you do when the time calls for it? How do you get a laugh and entertain in a hurry? Share with us in the comments and let's all have a good laugh at ourselves and delight in the things that can create a smile.