"I let my kids have a 'whatever makes you happy hour' every day - so I get some me time"
- 9 months ago
A mum-of-three revealed her secret to parenting is letting her kids have a "whatever makes you happy hour" every day.
Jessi Meeks, 31, allows her children to do absolutely anything for an hour of the day so she and her husband, Tyler Meeks, 39, can get some time to themselves.
Jessi says the children tend to "pick the messiest option available" and activities range from painting to playing in the rain
However the former teacher said the "clean up is worth it" as it allows "adult quality time" within her marriage.
Jessi, from Georgia, US, said: "We've been doing it since we had our second son, who is now three.
"My husband gets home around four so we started letting the kids do whatever they wanted so we could have our adult conversation for a little bit.
"We sit and have a drink and talk whilst the kids are running around like wild animals. Our main focus is quality time.
"The kids tend to pick the messiest option available. They don't actually know that the hour has a name but they've seemed to pick up on the idea.
"If it's raining they play in the rain. They love arts and crafts and it tends to get messy. Sometimes they'll just listen to music and dance around."
The only rule of the hour is that the children are not allowed to watch TV.
Jessi recalled the messiest hour to date where her children painted themselves from head to toe in non-washable acrylic paint.
It left her three children - Cannon, four, Baker, three, and Sophie, one - stained for days.
Jessi said: "I always keep my Amazon package boxes for them to paint so I thought they were painting that.
"Turns out they all decided to paint their bodies instead.
"I didn't realise it was non-washable acrylic paint and they were covered from head to toe.
"It took days to get the stains off - their toenails still have paint on."
Despite the big clean ups, Jessi says she would recommend the strategy to any parent.
She said: "I think more people should try it. Developmentally giving them free rein to play gives them confidence and helps them learn their boundaries.
"The other benefit is that it lets me and my husband have our own conversations. It's beneficial for the kids to see us prioritise each other.
"As much as they know we love them more than anything in the world, it's important for them to understand they're not the only piece in our family puzzles.
"It's important for them to see a healthy relationship between their parents too."
Jessi Meeks, 31, allows her children to do absolutely anything for an hour of the day so she and her husband, Tyler Meeks, 39, can get some time to themselves.
Jessi says the children tend to "pick the messiest option available" and activities range from painting to playing in the rain
However the former teacher said the "clean up is worth it" as it allows "adult quality time" within her marriage.
Jessi, from Georgia, US, said: "We've been doing it since we had our second son, who is now three.
"My husband gets home around four so we started letting the kids do whatever they wanted so we could have our adult conversation for a little bit.
"We sit and have a drink and talk whilst the kids are running around like wild animals. Our main focus is quality time.
"The kids tend to pick the messiest option available. They don't actually know that the hour has a name but they've seemed to pick up on the idea.
"If it's raining they play in the rain. They love arts and crafts and it tends to get messy. Sometimes they'll just listen to music and dance around."
The only rule of the hour is that the children are not allowed to watch TV.
Jessi recalled the messiest hour to date where her children painted themselves from head to toe in non-washable acrylic paint.
It left her three children - Cannon, four, Baker, three, and Sophie, one - stained for days.
Jessi said: "I always keep my Amazon package boxes for them to paint so I thought they were painting that.
"Turns out they all decided to paint their bodies instead.
"I didn't realise it was non-washable acrylic paint and they were covered from head to toe.
"It took days to get the stains off - their toenails still have paint on."
Despite the big clean ups, Jessi says she would recommend the strategy to any parent.
She said: "I think more people should try it. Developmentally giving them free rein to play gives them confidence and helps them learn their boundaries.
"The other benefit is that it lets me and my husband have our own conversations. It's beneficial for the kids to see us prioritise each other.
"As much as they know we love them more than anything in the world, it's important for them to understand they're not the only piece in our family puzzles.
"It's important for them to see a healthy relationship between their parents too."