Break out of a Bad Day

When you're a stay-at-home parent with preschool age kiddos, you don't get a lot of breaks during the day. If that day happens to be riddled with crappy mood punks who do things to deliberately hurt and/or upset the other(s), the day gets very long very quickly. Lately, we've had more crappy days than not, so I've come up with some really quick fixes to put our day back on the right track.

Currently, my boys are 2 and 4 years old. They love each other, and they love to play, but sometimes they get annoyingly mean or aggressive. That's usually when someone gets hurt and someone gets sent to timeout. 

Arguably one of the least flattering pictures I've taken of myself, but they were happy and cuddly so I don't care.

My go-to moves to break the bad day cycle

1. Get outside. It sounds so simple, but seriously, a change of scenery and some open spaces can really fix everyone's mood. Weather isn't a deciding factor. Cold? Bundle up! Rain? Break out the rain boots and umbrellas they got for Easter! Sunny and hot? Perfect time to water the grass and the children. Here are some of our favorite pretty day activities.
   1. Ride bikes
   2. Decorate the driveway/fences/sidewalk/road (with caution) with chalk
   3. Go for a walk
   4. Play  a sport (my boys love soccer and basketball)
   5. Playgrounds or parks
   6. Bubbles!!
2. Get crafty. Tiny Human Newbie shares all sorts of cute and clever toddler sensory activities in her Instastories, if you need some new ideas! For me, with mine, we do a lot of  Play-doh, coloring, water color painting, and drawing. 
3. Turn on a new movie. We have movies that we love and watch weekly (Incredibles 2, The Lorax, Cars 1 & 3, etc) but if they've seen it more than once, it's pretty much a guarantee that they'll stop paying attention and be back at each other's throats in 15 minutes or less. Yesterday, when going outside didn't work, I turned on Brave. I love Brave, but they never want to watch it with me. Yesterday, they sat calmly next to each other on the couch for a full 45 minutes and watched the movie. After that, Kylar (2) wandered off in search of toys, but they left each other alone and we were able to reset the day.
4. Separate. This one might sound harsh, but we all need a break from each other sometimes. If things are getting too much, I have been known to send everyone (mom included) to their own rooms, closed the kids' doors, and just let everyone have their own space for awhile. The boys both have toys in their rooms that they don't like to share, so everyone has something to do, and we all get some much-needed space to breathe and not worry about who's touching what or who said what about something ridiculous. 
5. If all else fails: snack and sleep. Seriously, even if your kid isn't normally a napper, it can make a world of difference in correcting a bad mood day.

What are your favorite ways to break out of a bad day?