As great as your family is, sometimes family life with small children can get hectic and chaotic. Here are eight tips to create a more peaceful family life and ensure you’re also taking care of yourself.

1. Preparation, planning and organization

Can't see the wood for the trees? Get together with your partner and/or children to plan and go over the week's activities. That way, everyone knows what's going to be happening and it means you can divide up tasks in advance.

Another great idea is to try and have a nice meal every night. Plan as far in advance as possible, so you know what to order from the supermarket, local greengrocer or butcher: doing the preparatory work always pays off. Sometimes you could make extra large portions of meals and freeze the leftovers. This way you’ll be able to save time on extra busy days.

You’ll find that being prepared is worth its weight in gold when it comes to saving precious minutes!

2. Routines

Nothing is more efficient or soothing than following routine events and activities. Here’s just a few examples:

• until they reach a certain age, make sure your child goes to bed at a specific time
• every Wednesday afternoon, send them to visit their grandparents
• every Sunday, have brunch with family or friends

etc.

One of the routines that will really end up benefiting both you and your children is making sure you have an evening ritual. Following the same bedtime routine every night introduces stability and structure to your family. This way, your kids will know when it's time to go to sleep and you know when it’s time to take a breather!

Tip: Did you know that the Yumi Yay night lights and read-aloud books were developed around the idea of an evening ritual? Choose a read-aloud book and an animal cover for your nightlight and then snuggle up together to enjoy some cosy time just before bed. You can enter your little one’s world and you are all able to enjoy some quality time!

3. Basic agreements and small tasks for children

A few rules for your household always come in handy. Why not agree some ground rules for your children with your partner? Consistent and adequate enforcement of the rules is the key to success! You can also give your child(ren) the chance to have a say in the house rules. Agree who is responsible for what.

Can your child walk easily? If so, it's a nice idea to give your child a task in the household, such as cleaning up toys at a certain time of day. Allowing your children to be a part of the routine gives them a greater sense of autonomy and independence. Try to involve them in household activities as much as possible.

4. Don’t worry about asking for help and use your safety net

For many people, the threshold for asking for help and then accepting it is very high. We like to solve our own problems, but this isn’t always possible or even the best solution. Do you have children and a busy schedule of your own? Then a safety net is very important. This is a group of people who are there for you and your family and are happy to help you. These are often family members or close friends. You should definitely allow them to lend a hand when you need it, such as with childcare, homework help, transport, etc.

Does nobody offer help automatically? Don’t worry, it will often be there if you ask for it.

5. Make it easier on yourself

You don't have to do or get everything yourself all the time. For example, if you order your weekly groceries online, all you have to do is go and pick up the order. No more wandering around the store for an hour with three little rascals distracted by everything they come across! This will not only save time, but it also provides greater peace of mind for your family and more possible me-time moments for parents.

Would you like to swap your cleaning time for extra time with your family? Then it's a good idea to get somebody to do this work for you. You can also take on somebody to do other jobs like window cleaning, gardening, cooking and chores.

6. Find solutions together

This is just to remind you that as a parent, you are not 100% responsible for your child and family doing well. Have a conversation with your partner and your child about things you find awkward, or minor and major annoyances that keep happening, instead of trying to fix it all yourself. If you have these types of conversations in a good way, you can find solutions together that work.

Looking for solutions together also helps bring you all together. In some instances, your child will also be able to have a say. Ask him or her for their opinion. The more openly you communicate and the stronger the bond between you all, the more peaceful your home-life will be.

7. Quality over Quantity

Are you a parent with a busy work life who feels like they don't spend enough time with their children? Are you too busy with your work? Then it's better to keep working and call on your partner or safety net. The golden rule is ‘quality over quantity’: be fully present, both physically and mentally, in those moments that you do spend with your children!

Create fun moments and listen to their crazy stories. This doesn’t mean you have to go on the most adventurous trip ever – watching a film together can also be fun, as long as you give your children 100% attention most of the time. So be sure to put your phone to one side and fully enjoy those moments together. Children who receive genuine attention, often become calmer. While all this is going on, don’t forget yourself! Allow yourself some me-time without feeling guilty.

8. Let it go

This last piece of advice is perhaps the most important of all. Not everything has to be perfect. 90% is often good enough. The more stressed you are about yourself, the more chaotic things will get. A peaceful family life begins with you. Take plenty of breaks and take care of yourself.

Hectic and chaotic times are all part and parcel of having a family and there is no such thing as an ideal scenario. Ask yourself if everyone has made it to bed by the end of the day... If so, you can be proud of yourself!

Do you also want to bring more peace and quiet into your family? Create your own bedtime ritual with the Yumi Yay night lights and bedtime stories!