Look, playtime is not always easy. Kids are just as exhausting as they are wonderful, which means they are incredibly wonderful and oh so very exhausting. Some days, you simply do not have the energy to keep up with the storied lore they have created for their Barbie dolls, and that is okay!
One dad came up with a genius solution for the days when you just want to lie down and take a nap: introducing “horizontal parenting.”
Content creator Elkey Zandstra posted a video of her husband Will, showing off his creative methods of playing with the couple’s two kids, without ever getting up off the floor.
Activity #1: a t-shirt with a road drawn on the back, plus a back massager that looks like a car, equals a relaxing experience for Dad, and fun for the kids.
Yup, I’m sold immediately.
In the next activity, Will turned himself into a paper doll, complete with felt outfits and a mustache for the kids to arrange on top of him.
Now let’s get one thing straight: horizontal parenting is not lazy. This method requires creativity, preparation and participation, it just happens to let you do it without standing up. Which rocks.
For example, Will also created a giant whack-a-mole set-up, by putting together cardboard boxes to create a platform over him. He then stuck stuffed animals up through holes in the platform, for the kids to whack with pool noodles. Creative! Participatory! Horizontal!
He also created a shirt with a tic-tac-toe board on his back, and a zen garden t-shirt, where the kids could rake a sparkly pattern on the back of the shirt to create designs.
Parents in the comments were all for it, with many pointing out that it could help out more than simply tired parents.
“This is actually so cute for disabled / chronically ill parents too,” one user pointed out.
“My first thought was this is very POTs friendly 😂😂,” another added.
Other parents offered their own takes on “horizontal parenting.”
“My daughter used to play funeral home makeup with me, she made me lay with my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes closed and I couldn’t talk while she did my makeup,” one user commented. “After a while I started suggesting it when I was tired… so if your kids are weird try it 😆”
“The other day I was exhausted so I laid on my stomach on the floor while my kids played ‘hair dresser’ aka putting all the hair clips they own on my head. It was a pain getting them all out, but I got a 20 minute nap and they were happy to have a live doll 😅,” another said.
So parents, hit two birds with one stone with “horizontal parenting” — you get a free back massage, and your kids get to enjoy quality time with their very tired mom or dad.
