This post is sponsored by Nucleus and contains affiliate links. See my full privacy and disclosures here.
Chaos. It’s the perfect word to describe life with little kids. It seems like we’re always running, always doing, always trying to stay on top of the mess. I sometimes collapse into bed at night and wonder what I have to show for all that crazy running around I did that day.
As my kids get bigger, and my house feels smaller, I find that I’m constantly seeking out ways to calm our environment and make things seem quieter, and happier, and just overall less chaotic.
It’s a work in progress for any family. There will always be moments of chaos, I’m afraid, but there are a few things I’m trying out right now to try to make everything more peaceful around here. After all, we could all use a little more sanity in our lives as parents, can’t we?
Here are some simple changes to a happier, calmer home that you can start today:
Ignore bad behaviors. I don’t mean not to discipline, but I mean when the toddler asks you a question and the answer is no, but he keeps on insisting or demanding, try to walk away. My youngest tends to repeat the same question over and over and OVER, driving me to madness. But, I’ve found that when I can just say, I already answered that question, so we’re not going to talk about it anymore and physically walk away, he quiets down and stops begging a lot sooner then if I keep trying to explain myself. This works well for older kids too that just want to argue a point to death. Stop the arguing, and go into another room and BREATHE. Lock the door if you have to.
Designate quiet time. When my kids stopped napping, I had to keep going with quiet time in my house. I still make sure we all have time where we turn off screens everyday and focus on reading books, chores, or some other quiet time activity like coloring or puzzles. Now that my kids are older and summer is approaching, I’m feeling a little anxious. Because, they are quiet when they are watching TV right? But, since I don’t want to just let them stare at screens all summer, I find that if we can turn it off, my kids actually gravitate toward fun activities like make-believe, reading, or art. What parent doesn’t want that. And if you’re desperate to keep toddlers busy I have ideas for that too.
Slow down. This is a hard one for me. I’m happier when I’m busier. If we don’t have a lot going on, I tend to get anxious and start to make everyone miserable. So, there is definitely an art to learning how to slow down. But, now that my kids are getting older, I realize that I can do more things on their time table instead of my own. So what if we’re a little late? Who cares if we miss the first 10 minutes of exercise class, or playgroup? If you can learn to slow down (which sometimes requires getting up earlier in the day to allow time to do that) then your home will be a lot calmer and more peaceful.
Focus on people, not stuff. This is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned lately. I started noticing that my kids just aren’t playing with their toys. They’re wanting to spend time with me, or with each other, or they are really having fun when they are outside with friends. And we’re ALL happier. So, look around and try to de-clutter. I bet most American kids could do without about half of the toys they own and they wouldn’t even miss them. Keep that in mind, and you’ll find that without all the clutter around, you’ll feel more at peace, and your kids will too.
Make communication easier. Have you ever found yourself yelling down the halls for your kids who are in their room with the door closed and you’re frustrated that no one is coming when you call? Then you end up having to walk into the other room anyway to get them, and you’re more frustrated to begin with? Nucleus is a solution for most homes that will make that SO much easier, and since we’ve been using it in our house, my house is definitely calmer.
It’s a video intercom system for your home that is so simple, even your kids can use it. Mine have loved calling me on it from the basement, and it’s perfect for moms starting to leave their kids at home. You can have an app on your phone, and video call your house with just a touch of a button to check in.
It could work as a way to check on sleeping babies, or just a way to gently wake up a teenager in another room that needs to get to school. You could give one to grandma to have at her house, and your kids could call her all the time! How fun would it be to give everyone in your extended family one for Christmas?
It really has been a lifesaver the last few days getting my kids to come upstairs for dinner as I just hit a button and can chat with them and tell them to come upstairs. Plus, it’s FUN! My kids even called me the other day from the basement and I broke up a fight over video if you can imagine. Here we are talking it out.
Another super fun feature is that Alexa (Amazon’s super convenient helper) is built right into the device that connects to your Amazon account. My kids have had so much fun asking Alexa to play music for them, or asking her to sing happy birthday.
I really just can’t say enough good things about it, and if you have a big house, or just want to get your whole family a little more connected when you’re all doing your own thing, then this is the product to get. And, guess what!?? I’m giving away a dual pack below so that you can have two in your home, and connect them both to your cell. But if you don’t win, you can buy your own on Amazon. TOTALLY worth it.
How do you keep your home calm and happy? Leave me comment to let me know, and don’t forget to enter to win a Nucleus for your home!
I so need this! ????
I could totally use that to talk to my teen. Her bedroom is in the basement. Would make it so handy.
We have an Alexa and I have been wishing she reached other parts of the house, especially now that I have a newborn! Would love to win!
Love this idea! Less yelling is always a good thing.
Okay, that’s cool. ????
My kids would FLIP. And so would I because then I wouldn’t have to scream their names 5 trazillion times before anybody listened to me. They’d be itching for me to call on them. And all you had to say was built-in Alexa. SOLD.
I would love this! With a new baby in the house, I’m definitely trying to do less yelling to get my other kids to hear me through closed doors.
Good luck! It WOULD be so nice in a house with a sleeping baby!
This is SOOO cool! So tonight, I tried to put down a rug in the basement (we’re in a townhouse) to make it more like a rec-room for Tucker and it’s TOO BIG. The rug was shipped in crazy compact-form, in a tarp thing that I cut open and now I don’t know what to do which has nothing to do with this give-away other than I want Tucker to be able to play in the basement!
Tucker NEEDS this!! He would love it. My kids have been playing with it non-stop.
So true- I especially agree with the quiet time one. My oldest two are phasing out of naps at the same time and I always tell them it’s okay to not sleep. But you’ve gotta stay in your room and read/play alone for a while. WE ALL NEED IT.
Totally! I think I need it more than they do!
Why do I need this? Let me count the ways…. 🙂
Um, two kids, one long summer ahead, we just kind of frugally finished our basement so I can keep the kids down there when I work… this would be PERFECT!
I’m rooting for you Christine!!
How I keep my house calm, hm, I encourage quieter activities such as drawing, puzzles, etc.
We have a finished attic and finished basement so… three floors. What a great way to close the gaps, so to speak. Love this. I want to win!
My favorite too is to focus on people not stuff! Great advice!
I find that PRACTICING being calm with my children when they actually are calm — like practicing taking deep breaths, and counting, and other strategies before they actually need them — really helps cut down on chaos-in-the-moment-too. We also sing a lot of Daniel Tiger songs about our feelings, because I have 3 very emotional girls. (And a baby boy who’s not sure what he thinks about all this just yet.)
But I’m sure a video intercom system would help, too. 🙂
Thanks for introducing this system! We live in a townhouse and have 4 kids. We spend most of our time outside with the neighbors, but this would be so awesome to call back to the house if we forget something. Also, my husband and I travel frequently for work and this is a great way to stay connected with the kids while we’re gone. Not to mention all our family is out of state.
Hope to win, and will definitely be researching!
Do you have to have Alexa in addition to the system?
I’m not sure on Alexa? We didn’t have Alexa before, but were able to just connect our Amazon Prime account and the feature worked!
I am a foster parent and need to be able to monitor every room in my house. I have a baby monitor but it isn’t quite working. I would love this.
Being able to watch what’s going on in my living room while I’m in the kitchen would be amazing! What a great product!
i would love this so i could have some peace of mind when my kids go to sleep down the hall, i will be able to see if they are up to no good.
I would love this for piece of mind over my family and pets!
My eldest son with taking responsibility for his own actions and my youngest son, same issue but, add the not doing classwork to the growing list :-/
yes , I would like to know whats going on while I am not in the room
Would be a great way to communicate throughout the house
I’d love this to be able to keep an eye on my home and to watch my daughter!
I’d gift to my mom since I have a nucleus this way we can stay in touch since she lives so far away
Would love this. It would be so helpful.
I would love to win this so I can stop screaming through the house trying to get someone to hear me! It’s an everyday issue! Thank you so much for the chance!
I need this in my life!
It would be convent for talking to my boys in their room.
This would be perfect, we live in a large space and this would make me feel more secure if my kids are in a seperate part of the house.