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Being a silly mom is fun. It’s brought me closer to my children. They’re more relaxed around me. We laugh a whole lot more. And that laughter has laid a foundation for a relationship that enables me to reach my parenting goals much more easily. So let your hair down, mom. Let your kids poke a little fun at you. Try these 5 ways to be a silly mom.

1. Laugh at yourself. When you trip, say the wrong word, or do something else that makes you look goofy — laugh! Try not to get angry, blame anyone, or berate yourself. Laughing at our missteps is a great example for our kids, along with these 9 ways to be a mom worthy of imitation.

2. Lighten up. If most of your conversations with your kids are instructive or serious, try to inject some humor into your interactions. Tell a silly joke. Recall funny encounters from your day. These knock-knock jokes can get you started.

3. Bust a move. So you think you can dance? Even if you can’t, do it anyway! In fact, the goofier you are on the dance floor (in your kitchen, living room or anywhere), the better. Then you can throw in one of your really smooth moves to get an equally amusing surprise reaction from your kids.

4. Laugh easily. My husband cracks up – at TV commercials! My kids love it. In fact, the other night my daughter said, “It’s fun to watch Duck Dynasty with Dad because he laughs so much.” So be jovial! Laugh out loud and often.

5. Show affection. Hold their hand when they least expect it. Give them a crazy, out of nowhere hug (here are some fun hug ideas). Act like the “kiss monster” or give them a quick tickle as you’re telling them goodnight. Your kids will love the new laughing, lighthearted you! And if you’re already a silly mom, please tell me how you manage it!

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When you know your child is sad or down about something, grab a few sheets of blank paper. On the first one write, “Had a bad day? Come this way!” and tape it to a wall where your child will see it. Write messages on the other sheets of paper and hang them to lead your child to you or your husband. They can say things like, “Get ready! Hugs ahead!” Or, just draw a sad face then an arrow pointing to a smiley face. When your child gets to the end, have a sign that says, “Hugs Here.”

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Have your child write down what happened to make her sad. Or use angry & sad words/pictures that describe how she feels.

Read that list with your child, tear it into pieces, and put the pieces into a glass of water.

As the paper dissolves, talk to your child about sad feelings.

Tell her that it helps to share feelings with someone who cares about her, and by doing so, it helps those feelings leave her mind and body.

Pray with your child & ask God to help her

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The idea is, “When you fail to do your fair share, it causes other members of the family to have to work harder.

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Set the stage for this scenario by making it known ahead of time that the privilege in question is just that—a privilege, not a right—and that respect and obedience will be required to keep it.

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Starting from the outside working in is the rule of thumb I have always remembered when eating at a formal table setting. A very simple and easy way to teach kids how to set a table and remember what things are for is the word FORKS.

F is for fork, and goes to the left of the plate
O represents the plate
R is to the right of the plate
K stands for the knife placement
S for the spoon placement