Here’s a fun fact for you: children are much more likely to do what you say if you sing it to them. I have discovered this through almost a decade of experimentation, and today I share the results with you. So here are my conclusions: singing at your children instead of yelling at them makes life much easier.
Case in point: you child will not get dressed for school. This is possibly the fault of Curious George or, even worse, that damnable Caillou. Whatever the reason, your child is lying on the ground, refusing to put any clothes on, and the bus is coming in 5 minutes.
OPTION 1: You raise your voice in frustration. “Get your clothes on NOW! The BUS is coming!” Now your child is crying and thrashing and silently vowing never to wear clothes again. “I’m SERIOUS! Do I need to COUNT?!” Yes, yes you do need to count. Because that child is not going to listen to anything you say. Now it is either a battle of wills, or else a puddle of sobs, depending on the child. One thing’s for dang sure; you are not catching that bus.
OPTION 2: You raise your voice in song. “Do bah ba doo! Get some cloooothes oooon youuuuuuuuu!” Now your child looks up in confusion. Tantrum paused. What is this insane person doing? Why are they singing when the bus is coming? “I’ve got your pants, they like to daaaaaaance!” Your child might be laughing at this point, as you twirl about the room in a waltz with their pants, or they might be rolling their eyes. Either way, you are finally in control. They may tell you to stop singing. But nobody can stop the singing. “The bus is almost heeeeeere, I feeeeeear, my deeeeeeeeeeeearrrrrrrr!” Now they are putting their clothes on and begging you to stop singing. “So give a cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer! In your eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeear!” They cannot wait to get on that bus. Problem solved. Mission accomplished.
This works for almost anything. Cleaning their room. Putting their clothes away. Setting the table. There is almost nothing that you force ask your child to do that isn’t made more palatable by singing it to them. After all, doesn’t everyone secretly wish they were constantly in a musical? No? Well, if there are any people out there who do not want someone bursting into song at the drop of a hat, then I don’t know them. They have obviously learned to stay far away from me. But my kids do not have that option. Tenor Dad for the win!