Family Life | Blog Category Archives | Meraki Lane

How to Stay Calm in a Stressful Situation | If you're looking for tips and strategies to help you stay calm in any situation (when stressed, when angry, when nervous, as a parent, in a crisis, etc.), we're sharing 9 stress management tips that help. Learn how to stop anxious thoughts in their tracks, what to do when things are out of your control and you feel overwhelmed, and how to be less stressed in the face of adversity moving forward.

9 Tips and Tricks to Help You Stay Calm in a Stressful Situation

10 Educational Apps for Kids in Elementary School | If you're looking for the best educational websites you can access on your tablet to keep your little ones engaged and learning outside of the classroom, there are tons of great ones available for free (or for a small fee). From math and literacy games, to puzzles and brain teasers, to science, coding, and STEM learning, we've curated the best free learning apps for kids, with paid options for teachers and for parents who want more.

Learning Made Fun: 10 Educational Apps for Kids in Elementary School

19 Backyard Activities for Kids | If you're looking for fun DIY yard games you can enjoy outdoors with your kids year-round, we've got 19 ideas to inspire you! Whether you have toddlers or kids in kindergarten or elementary school, we've got easy (and cheap!) ideas you can enjoy in spring, summer, fall, and winter. From obstacle courses, to water games, to old school birthday party games, to outdoor scavenger hunt ideas, there are so many things to do to burn energy when cabin fever sets in!

19 Backyard Activities for Kids to Help Burn Energy

9 Time Management Strategies For Moms | If you're looking for productivity tips and ideas that go above and beyond creating daily schedules, meal planning, and kids' chore charts, this post is for you! Whether you're a stay-at-home mom, work-at-home mom, or you go to work outside of the home each day, these simple, life-changing productivity hacks will help you to stay focused and find balance on even your busiest days!

9 Time Management Strategies For Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed

17 Independent Activities for Kids Who Are Stuck at Home | If you're looking for fun and engaging quiet activities your children can do by themselves on sick days, school holidays, and/or during an extended school closure, we're sharing 17 ideas that require little to no prep! Most of these are indoor activities for kids, but we've included some outdoor options for spring, summer, and fall! If you're trying to figure out how to work from home with kids, these ideas are perfect!

17 Independent Activities for Kids Who Are Stuck at Home

How to Work From Home with Kids | If you're a mom or dad in search of time management tips to help you be effective with your job while still being an awesome parent, this post is for you! Whether you're dealing with school closures, sick days, or school holidays, you're a stay at home mom working a side hussle to earn a little extra money to help with your monthly budget expenses, or you're switching to a full time career as a work at home mom, these productivity tips for moms and dads work!

How to Work From Home with Kids: 13 Tips for Parents

How to be a Better Wife | If you're looking for tips to help you be a good wife without losing your independence, this post is a great place to start! As much as I enjoy the humor in those 'how to be a good housewife' memes about women in the 50s, I like to think our view on the important qualities of being a good wife have changed since then. If you're looking for the modern woman's guide to a happy marriage, we're sharing 12 tips you don't want to miss!

How to be a Better Wife: 12 Tips for a Happy Marriage

48 Tips and Recipes For Picky Eaters | Most kids go through a period of fussy eating, but some take it to the extreme. Whether you have toddlers, school-aged kids, tween, or teens, finding a balance between serving healthy meals and avoiding power struggles can be difficult! We're sharing 8 tips and 40 delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes the whole family will love! With tons of simple and easy hidden veggies recipes to choose from, these recipes will save your sanity.

Kids Won’t Eat?! 48 Tips and Recipes For Picky Eaters

24 Easter Crafts for Kids of All Ages and Stages | Whether you're looking for simple Easter crafts for toddles and preschoolers, or easy fun projects for kids in elementary school that require a little more planning and creativity, this post will inspire you. From handprint chick crafts, to upcycled bunny crafts, to DIY Easter baskets and more, we've even included our favorite Easter traditions for kids to make the holiday extra special this year!

Easter Crafts for Kids: 24 Fun Ideas For All Ages and Stages

Surviving a School Closure During a Pandemic | If your child's daycare, childcare services, and/or school has been shutdown due to the current pandemic, preparedness is key! We already know the facts, we have our lists written and supplies handy, and now it's time for a little prepping. If you're looking for work from home tips to help you juggle a full time job and keep your kids entertained and off of Netflix while you figure out a daily homeschool schedule, we're sharing 12 tips to help!

Surviving a School Closure: 12 Tips for Working Parents

13 Autism Awareness Crafts for Kids | April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day, and if you're looking for crafts, projects, and activities you can use in your classroom to teach your students about autism, this post is a great place to start. From door signs, to puzzle piece crafts and jigsaw jewelry, to art projects that can be used as bulletin boards throughout the month of April, these ideas will inspire you to find unique ways to celebrate neurodiversity and promote inclusion!

Different, Not Less: 13 Meaningful Autism Awareness Crafts for Kids

21 Budget-Friendly Family Staycation Ideas | If you're stuck at home with your kids during summer vacation, the winter holidays, and/or spring break, and you're looking for planning tips and activities ideas for kids to help you spend quality time together while also allowing everyone a little alone time to get some much needed R&R, this post is for you! We've got a list of things you can organize on a budget for a fun yet relaxing family vacation at home!

21 Budget-Friendly Family Staycation Ideas that Don’t Suck

49 Story Starters for Kids | If you're looking for creative writing prompts for kids, we're sharing 49 classroom ideas and activities to inspire you! Perfect for kids in elementary and middle school, we've included a mix of different narrative ideas, including journal prompts, personal essay prompts, and fun fiction writing prompts. We've also included tips to get kids excited about writing, and how to keep the momentum going!

How to Get Kids Excited About Creative Writing: 49 Story Starters for Kids

How to Make Hair Scrunchies with Your Kids | If you're looking for simple tutorials to teach you how to make 80s-inspired retro ponytail holders, we're sharing 5 step-by-step videos that are equal parts easy and stylish! Whether you use a sewing machine, sew by hand, or opt for the no sew options, there's a DIY scrunchie here for everyone! #scrunchie #scrunchies #DIYscrunchies

Retro Ponytail Holders: How to Make Hair Scrunchies with Your Kids

What to Do When Kids Talk Back | If you want to know how to stop kids from talking back to parents and to teachers without yelling, handing out time outs, and enforcing consequences, we're sharing 8 positive parenting tips and techniques that work. Whether you're trying to discipline toddlers, elementary aged kids, tweens, or teens, these behavior management strategies work - even on a strong willed child! #positiveparenting #positiveparentingtips #disciplinekids

What to Do When Kids Talk Back: 8 Tips for Parents

How to Limit Screen Time for Kids | Limiting screen time sounds easy in theory, but it can be much more difficult to implement for parents, especially if you have tweens or teenagers! If you're trying to enforce rules around your child's screen time, and want to know the effects of screen time, how much is too much, along with digital detox tips, we're sharing 7 practical strategies to get your kids to spend less time on their electronic devices. #screentime #kidsandscreens #digitaldetox

How to Limit Screen Time for Kids: 7 Effective Tips for Parents

8 Social Filter Activities for Kids | If you're looking for social skills activities that help teach children how to filter their thoughts and learn whether they should think it or say it out loud, we're sharing 8 ideas that can be used for elementary school, for middle school, for high school, and for kids with special needs like autism and ADHD. These are great team building exercises and will help develop friendship and conversation skills. #socialskills #socialfilter #socialskillsactivities

Think It Or Say It Out Loud: 8 Social Filter Activities for Kids

How to Raise Independent Children | If you want to know how to teach your kids responsibility without nagging, reminding, and power struggles, these positive parenting tips will inspire you. Whether you're raising toddlers or teens, girls or boys, these strategies and techniques will help you empower your child to take on new challenges and give them the tools and solutions they need to be successful along the way! #independentkids #choresforkids #parentingtips #positiveparenting

How to Raise Independent Children: 9 Tips for Parents

How to Calm Down When Angry | Perfect for adults, children, teens, and especially overwhelmed parents, these anger management tips will teach you how to deal with anger in the moment, and will provide you with coping skills and exercises you can use to develop a plan that promotes better temper control to avoid feelings of anger and frustration from occurring in the first place. #calmdown #angermanagement #selfhelp #copingskills

How to Calm Down When Angry: 11 Tips that Work

How to Teach Kids Responsibility | While teachers often do a great job of teaching responsibility to kids at school, parenting our own children never seems to be as simple. Am I right? If you're trying to teach important life skills to your kids, and need an easy daily system that works, we're sharing 9 ideas to help. From assigning chores by age, to developing a chore chart, to rewarding kids through praise and allowance, this post has great tips! #chorecharts #behaviorcharts #kidschores

How to Teach Kids Responsibility: 9 Tips for Parents

8 Morning Hacks to Start Your Day Off Right | Perfect for teens, for college students, for moms getting small kids up and ready for school, and for lazy people with a long hair and beauty routine who can't seem to wake up early no matter how hard they try, we're sharing 8 life hacks to streamline your mornings and kick off your day with a bang! If you hate Mondays, this post is for you! #morninghacks #morningroutine #morningtips

Life Hacks 101: 8 Morning Hacks to Start Your Day Off Right