Hands-On Tip: 30 Minutes of Play A Day

Being time-starved, and thus very selfish with time, I tend to remember time management tips with specific time limits in them.  (Wait, that was not my best sentence)  

One rule I remember from somewhere is to spend at least 30 minutes of "floor time" with your kids.  Floor time is just that - you stop being so tall and distant, and hunker down and play their way. 

Why do I love this rule?  Because 30 minutes feels so doable.  And I've found that, once started, it easily turns into an hour.  And then it feels like a working-mom accomplishment to have surpassed the goal.  In corporate language, it's called sandbagging creating a target you can win.  

The simple ways I manage to squeeze this in during workdays:

Nearly all the time she's ready for bed by the time I get home.  So reading became precious floor time.

Ultimate time saver: we take fun baths together.  Plus I get to check her all over for general health

At the height of her separation anxiety, I tried to get 30 minutes of morning floor time too.

I can swear that thanks to this "30 minute" daily rule, Ladybug Girl began to read on her own at just 3 years old.  And now a year later, our "floor time" includes quiet time by my side doing this:

The other memorable tip using a time limit is that it only takes 15 seconds to put something away, so just do it.  Let's just say I'm still working on that one:

Win some, lose some.