Help me to make mundane life into an "occasion"

[johnd2]

Our son (4 yo) doesn't really eat things mixed in any way and meal times are generally functional but not really a family occasion, everything is just a drag really. In fact every day is just turning into a drag, especially weekdays.

On the weekend we did "home cafe" with a kind of menu and some stupendously boring options e.g. pancake, omelette, cheese on toast. And it was a hit with everyone! Including me. (feel free to steal my idea!) Our son ate up all his eggy bread even the healthy bits mixed in, and the whole family seemed to have a great time. I suppose similar to what happens when you have a BBQ or picnic.

Clearly there's some magic there that I can't quite pin down - does anyone know how to repeat that trick in different areas? E.g. how can I make getting dressed, cleaning teeth, having breakfast and getting coat/shoes on into an exciting occasion (I think I've mostly cracked the actual walk to pre-school). And likewise for going to the toilet, cleaning teeth, and changing into pyjamas? Not to mention tidying up the toys etc.

All tips and hints (or sympathy) welcome!

Teddy bears picnic is a good way to have a meal
Or my son liked having his breakfast in the garden

I think the excitement is the (illusion of) choice? Have two different colour toothbrushes and he gets to choose, likewise two different pairs of pyjamas?

We have quite a lot of silly songs/dances for boring daily stuff

Mine liked stuff with timers or a stopwatch. Basically trying to beat a timer or beat how fast they did something the last time.

We often did picknick lunches under the dining table. Used tablecloths to turn it into a tent. Usually on the endless cold rainy days. DC are teens now and still mention it sometimes🤷‍♀️

This.

We had racing / world records for pretty much anything.

It requires a particular type of child though. I have friends whose kids are not particularly competitive and I wonder how the hell they ever left the house when their kids were small!

Breakfast - set it out like a hotel buffet. Cutlery wrapped up in a napkin, stack of bowls, line up the cereals etc, tongs for the toast.

Getting dressed - fold the clothes like they are new. You could do a stack from biggest to smallest like you sometimes get towels. Maybe tie a ribbon round them.

oh wow thanks so much for all the ideas so far! Suddenly I feel a bit more excited... and keep them coming.
(Although I must say with the "give him two choices I'm happy with" trick that has never worked with my child, he sees right through that!)

I got my son an egg timer from dentist for brushing teeth that worked for a while, blippi does some tooth brushing songs on YouTube.

Getting dressed
I echo the races , beat me ( I always lose🤫), timer on phone first one to press it wins , my son currently likes surprising me he's ready.

For food, we guess what he's eaten , what he's going to eat next who finishes first ( though always wary on this one and never go in fast).

On a weekend we sometimes do picky bits on the coffee table , chicken nuggets , pizza , bowl of salad etc he can help himself to what he wants. Like a buffet I suppose.

Lots of praise when they do well and stickers if need be.

If my son is ready before me in a morning he's allowed to watch TV until I am ready ( he has breakfast at school so literally clothes , teeth , shoes and coat).

Ds hates going for "a try" for a wee before we go out somewhere. He says he doesn't need one. Getting him to 'prove it' helps. Sometimes he does one, sometimes he doesn't but at least he has tried and it feels fun to him

We got a novelty kitchen timer for teeth which was great fun. Fun flannels and soaps. Regular swapping out of clothes, and only ever had weather appropriate stuff in reach, then they'd pick their own outfits. Led to some interesting styles over the years, but tbf they're both still confident in their style choices. Things on sticks for tea, picnics, top your own pizza. Anything to 'gameify' life 🤣

A good way to make (unimportant) decisions is by rock, paper, scissors.

Not sure why kids love this so much

and only ever had weather appropriate stuff in reach, then they'd pick their own outfits

^^

This. If you don't want them to wear it, don't buy it or put it in the drawer.

I find that kids will eat anything when they are watching TV, so a good chance to feed them veg sticks or fruits

I love this thread, it is exactly what I need atm, I know the feeling about everyday being a drag.

My dd also sees right through the two-choices thing "I don't want either of those!"

So our latest things...

After we watch an episode of a cartoon, especially one about rescuing (eg Octonauts, Paw Patrol, Fireman Sam), we turn off the TV and re-enact it. Dd is always the rescuer. I'm the one that needs rescuing, usually due to some idiocy (so dd can rescue me then tell me off). I do a great Naughty Norman voice now. It also limits the screen time a bit which helps - we'd been watching wayyyy too much TV while I was recovering from my c section.

On a sort of similar note, we've been getting into watching cooking programs, like there's a nice one about easy quick meals by Nadiya on netflix. Then we recreate it. This is more dh's thing than mine. He recently made biscoff cheesecake with dd - the kind you get at pizza express, it was yummy. It kept them occupied in the kitchen for ages.

Ps about the mundane daily activities thing - I recently discovered strawberry flavoured kids' toothpaste which has been a total game changer. Sparks joy for dd every time she brushes her teeth.

We also try to arrange her food nicely on the plate to tempt her more - it takes just a few extra seconds, eg make a border with the cucumber sticks. We also use cookie cutters to cut her sandwiches into shapes - stars and hearts