How To Deal With Annoying Kids – 50 Tips To Keep You Sane
Want to know how to deal with annoying kids? Here are 50 strategies that will help you preserve your sanity.
Let’s chat about how to deal with annoying kids.
If you’re a parent then you already know that there will be days when your patience wears thin .
Especially with your kids…we have all been there before my friend.
There are days when we love our kids more than life itself.
And then there are days when…let’s just say they just annoy us.
It’s like our kids know how to push all the wrong buttons.
Everything they say and do aggravates us.
If you could rewind and start the day again or fast forward to bedtime, you would jump at the chance.
What can I say – these days are destined to happen as parents and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to make them go away.
But what we CAN learn to do is how to better cope with these “annoying kids” situation when they hit us.
Want to know what options you have up your sleeve when your kids are behaving in ways that are more annoying than:
-Going to the shops and realizing you have left your wallet at home
-Watching someone eat with their mouth both open and full or
-Finally getting to bed early and realizing you can’t sleep.
You get the drift…
HOW TO DEAL WITH ANNOYING KIDS
To help you preserve your sanity, here are 50 strategies you can implement today to help you deal with an annoying kid (whether they are your own children or someone else’s):
Please note: this list covers a variety of different strategies, some suitable only for older children. Please choose what is most appropriate for you, depending on the age of your child.
1 – Do your best to ignore your kids when they are annoying you. Is it really so terrible what they are doing? If the answer is no, could you just ignore them until it passes?
2 – Remember it’s just YOUR THOUGHTS that are making you feel annoyed. You could decide to think a different thought about their behavior. If so, what thought would make you feel more compassionate and understanding?
Are they just “kids being kids”? Is it a phase they are going through? This isn’t about excusing bad behavior but acknowledging what are the normal phases that all kids go through.
3 – Resist your temptation to react. Smile and refuse to get pulled into this crappy situation. Consider it to be a test of strength, maturity and patience.
4 – Protect your energy. Refuse to let other people’s actions determine your emotions. Remember you alone are in charge and control of that. You can remain the emotionally mature adult in this situation rather than behaving like a child yourself.
5 – If your kids are running late, let them be late and miss out. That’s the natural consquence to that behavior.
6 – If they haven’t finished their homework, let them go to school and suffer the consequences.
7 – If they don’t like the food you cooked, get them to make their own meal or they can just miss out.
8 – If you don’t like the clothes they are wearing, let them go out in their pyjamas.
9 – If they are angry with someone, let them be angry and get over it in their own time.
HOW TO DEAL WITH ANNOYING KIDS
10 – If they want something they can’t have, let them go without.
11 – If they are sulky, let them sulk.
12 – Sometimes kids learn about consequences better when there isn’t someone always there to save them.
13 – Purchase a pair of ear plugs and actually wear them to block out their whining.
14 – Even better, slip on some headphones and listen to your favorite music.
15 – Or distract yourself with an inspiring podcast that helps you get centred again.
16 – Drop your kids off to a friend or family members place to give yourself a break.
17 – Then go to the movies or pamper yourself.
18 – Or come back home and DO NOTHING.
19 – Another option is to take a long, hot bath.
20 – Or read a great book.
HOW TO DEAL WITH ANNOYING KIDS
21 – If you don’t have outside backup on hand, ask your partner to take over for you when it all gets too much.
22 – Request that your kids actually direct all requests and questions to your partner.
23 – Let them know you are having a “day off” (you don’t need to tell them it’s a mental health day off even though – wink wink – you and I both know that it is and that you deserve it.)
24 – Set an alarm for an earlier bedtime (yes BEDTIME) and put yourself to bed early for a change.
25 – Or sneak in a power nap during the day. Call it compulsory “rest-time”.
26 – Stick to your guns and don’t give in to annoying behavior. Giving in will only encourage more future annoying whining.
27 – Remove your child from a situation if it’s only encouraging or provoking their annoying behavior.
28 – Take deep breaths.
29 – Count to ten.
30 – Put yourself in time out until you feel calm and less aggravated.
HOW TO DEAL WITH ANNOYING KIDS
31 – Go for a walk.
32 – Sing a happy song.
33 – Dance around.
34 – Change your scenery.
35 – Or change your children’s scenery.
36 – Distract your child with a more positive activity and steer them in a different direction.
37 – Send them outside to play.
38 – Give them a different job to do.
39 – Act happy even if you don’t FEEL happy. Sometimes the real deal feeling eventually sneaks its way in.
40 – Give your child a book to read or game to play to temporarily stop this annoying behavior in its tracks.
HOW TO DEAL WITH ANNOYING KIDS
41 – Even better, put on a movie for them to watch. Lie down next to them, snuggle and have a sleep.
42 – Understand that no one likes your kid as much as you do. No-one. So if they are being painful to you, they are probably being painful to others. Try to guide their behavior into a more desirable direction.
43 – Try to see things from the perspective of your child.
Do they think they are being funny? Do they simply want your attention? Work out why they are behaving the way they are. What is driving their actions?
44 – Be compassionate.
Maybe your kid doesn’t even realize how annoying they are (or if they do, they don’t realize just how negative the impact or repercussions are of this behavior). See if you can diplomatically share this information with them or role-play an alternative, preferred way of behaving.
45 – Keep things generally in perspective.
What you think is SUPER annoying now – however annoying it may be – is something you might actually miss it in ten or twenty years’ time when your kids are long gone from your home. Yes it’s true. Try to put yourself in your child’s shoes and think about what they really want from you right now. What would nip this issue in the bud?
46 – Don’t forget you are the adult and they are the child, who is still learning how to navigate their way through this world.
You could just decide they aren’t being annoying. “He or she is annoying” is a thought you are thinking and you can change your thoughts to something that doesn’t make you feel like crap. You could think instead: “my kids are still learning the skills they need,” “nothing has gone wrong,” “I can handle this” and “this is just one of those days and it’s okay”.
47 – Forgive and forget. You can’t ever go wrong with forgiving your kids and forgiving yourself for losing your cool and being a normal human with normal human emotions.
48 – Keep in mind that unconditional love means loving someone unconditionally – yep, even when they are doing things that annoy you.
49 – Remember tomorrow is a new day and you can start again on a better note. Life is full of ups and downs and the down days aren’t anything you need to stress over. This too shall pass.
50 – Oh and don’t ever forget – while things can always be better, they can also always, ALWAYS be worse. So count your blessings before it is too late.
Wishing you the best of luck on the days when your kids annoy you.
Much love,
Frances Vidakovic x
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.
