03/03/2026
Being a parent means you have a million things on your never ending to do list. You always have laundry, toys to pick up, someone to get somewhere.
As a therapist and a mom of three, my favorite guidance for parents is to let kids help.
Now let me acknowledge that letting kids help makes things take at least 10x longer in your already busy schedule. I get that, truly.
But, it also helps with:
👉 Helping you to slow down
👉 Helping to coregulate
👉 Helping to foster connection and memories
👉 Help kids learn independence and strengthen motor skills
👉 Help you remember why you have kids
Here we were making homemade goldfish. This took about 1.5 hours with two kids helping me. We had to stop, a lot. I had to remind them we couldn't eat it until we baked them, I had to help them roll out and cut many times. However, we also laughed, we slowed down, we made funny shapes, we strengthen our fine motor skills.
Do you need to let kids help with everything all the time? Absolutely not. Sometimes you do just need to get the task done, but find little or big things for them to help with each day that match your capacity and remind yourself and your nervous system that it is okay to slow down.
