5 Tips for Writing Every day as a Parent to Young Children

Because a room of one’s own is not enough if there are toddlers in the house.

Haha haha. I crack myself up sometimes.

Yes, yes, we know. Write every day. Create a practice, form a habit, don’t be afraid of bad form, just do it.

And we try. We really do. But when the preschoolers are crying for their 17th snack of the day, screen time has been maxed out twice over, dinner is literally burning inside the instant pot, the dog is whining to get outside, and you realize you STILL haven’t showered or taken your thyroid meds for the day, it’s a little difficult to crack open the laptop and pour your heart out onto the screen.

Super serious hacks to add more writing time to your day

Difficult, but not impossible. Here’s how I do it:

1. Get creative with text messages. You can jazz them up and practice similes and metaphors and bad jokes all from the comfort of the toilet. If it’s at least ten words long, it counts. You are communicating, you are witty, you got this.

2. Use emails to improve tone and clarity. Need to send out practice times for Lacrosse?

Lacrosse practice today on the furthest field. Bring your hiking boots and bug spray, as the swamps beyond are especially verdant this time of year and the trek from the parking lot has been known to cause fatigue and blistering in certain adults.

3. Leave a blank word document open on your laptop. When inspiration strikes, crack it open and slap a few sentences onto the page to work on later. I have found this to be the most helpful thing — taking two minutes to write it down, save it, and continue with the rest of my day. If the idea is good, I can pick it up easily later.

On the negative side, if you are anything like me, those beautiful sentences and thoughts often come while I am tuning out my children while driving, or taking a shower. So this really only works during dry, motionless moments.

4. Explain to your children that you need peace and quiet. Let’s give them some credit. They will totally understand and voluntarily take a nap so that you can get some daily writing in. They get extra points if they silently clean the house as well.

*This has never worked for me, but I try it at least once a day. It ends in a lot of tears (mine) if I am being honest. But I am always optimistic enough at least once a day to try, try again.

5. Hide small snacks around the house and then send your children on a snack hunt. Just don’t forget to put the dog outside first. Then write for the ten minutes it takes for them to realize they found all the Cheerios within the first two minutes.

So really, moms, there’s no excuse. Count those texts, emails, grocery lists, and your second grader’s homework! You are a writer, damn it.

But really, go easy on yourself. These kids depend on us for everything, and while they ransack our houses, sanity, and time, I know most of us wouldn’t have it any other way. Write as often as you can, but give yourself grace when it’s just too much. Our kids won’t stay little forever. And somedays we just can’t do it all.

And that’s ok too.

In the meantime, please comment below with your own hacks to create a sustainable, thriving, consistent writing practice while caring for demanding-yet-adorable children. I know I could use all the advice (and hired help) I can get!