Polls and Tips for Family Life

Popcorn. We have a silicone microwave popper that my tween and teen use on their own when they feel like having a snack.

Granola bars. My kids are partial to the Annie’s chocolate chip granola bars, but we also like the Nature Valley crunchy granola bars.

Set up a little frisbee golf course in the backyard and use a laundry basket as the target. The player with the fewest tosses to get their frisbee into the basket wins!

Nothing like playing with squirt guns on a hot day! In addition to squirting each other, kids can set up target practice with random stacked objects, such a plastic cups.

Family Halloween costumes! Though we don't do it every year, if the kids' costume preferences allow for it, we look for opportunities to all get involved in the fun. Some years we've planned our family costumes well in advance and others we've DIYed it at last minute, but they always end up being some of our favorite memories (and pictures!) from the year.

We try to make one-on-one time with our kids in the form of parent/child "dates." My husband and I each take one of our kids and plan some special time together. It doesn't have to be complicated...a trip to Starbucks or a simple spa night at home have been big hits!

Read-aloud books at bedtime has been a dad & daughter tradition in our house for years, and it's easy to make time for father daughter activities like this when you build them into your daily routine.

We had a pretty well-stocked costume bin when my daughter was little, and one of her favorite father daughter activities was dressing up with her dad in crazy getups. She thought it was a riot to see him in her dress-up clothes and accessories.

What did the shark say when it ate the clown fish? Tastes funny.

Why does a duck have feathers? To cover his butt quack

Picking weeds outside, watering flowers/plants/herbs and raking leaves is a chore that my kids find fun. (Added bonus if you buy their own gloves/watering can).

Straightening the family's shoe area is a good chore that I'm about to assign to our tween, but any age could do it. Our shoes are on shelves in the bottom of our coat closet, but it becomes a disaster so quickly when the kids just kick them off into a pile and shut the door! Organizing the shoes every day will only take a couple minutes, and will make it so much easier for everyone to find their shoes on the way out the door.

I put together little gifts (think Dollar bin) wrapped up in bags with a time on them. My kids look forward to these gifts and it helps to pass the time on long trips!

During a gas station break, we always let the kids pick out a special snack or two to enjoy in the car. They love getting the freedom to pick whatever they want.

One of my kids is vegetarian. We have a meal box subscription (HungryRoot) that has a lot of vegetarian options. I let me child scroll through the list of ingredients and pictures and choose three things they'll eat. When the box comes, we unpack it together and my child decides what order we have those meals. All of the meals are simple to make, so when we find ones we like, we'll often buy the ingredients on our own and they become part of our regular routine. The meal plan allows us to skip boxes, so we only get it when we know we'll have a busy week or are out of ideas.

I don’t have the time or energy to make extra meals so if they don’t like what I make, my kids have a choice to have peanut butter on bread (PB is a complete protein) so at least it’s something! They are asked to sit at the table with the meal I’ve prepped. Sometimes, their curiosity gets to them and they end up trying (and liking) what I’ve made 🙌🏻

My husband and I try to plan 3-4 meals for the coming week before the weekend is out, so we can make a plan for grocery shopping and actually cooking. We often invite the kids to each pick one meal for the week as well - they tend to eat it better when they've been involved in the planning in some way!

We have a binder of "greatest hits" recipes that we use almost exclusively for our family dinner rotation. My weekly meal planning involves picking recipes from the binder each weekend to meal plan for the week ahead, and I go to the grocery store once. I just have too many new recipe failures to bother wasting my time with trial and error on our busy weeknights. I'd rather cook something tried and true, and my kids would much rather eat something they already know they love. On the rare occasion that I cook something new and the family loves it, it gets printed out and added to the binder.

Pepperoni is our go-to and probably the ultimate kid-friendly pizza topping. I haven't met many kids who don't like it!

Pineapple and bacon is well-loved in our house. I know this is controversial, but try before you deny!

When they’re young, I think letting kids play a little bit or walk around before the food arrives helps them sit more calmly in the high chair when it’s time to eat. Of course, feeling comfortable letting them play is a challenge! So even though we don’t typically eat early meals, sometimes going to a restaurant earlier in the evening or lunch time avoids the rush. I think just having a little extra space with fewer people can make the entire experience calmer and totally worth the off hours!

I always try to have something in my bag to entertain the kids quietly when they get bored. The paper kids menus and crayons they hand out at many restaurants often work great for a while, but books, a few bristle blocks, or wax sticks are also nice to have on hand for continued entertainment!