Stressed by Slow-Motion Kids? Try Drawing Patterns Instead

Let me tell you a little story.
Every evening, the moment I tell my daughter it’s time for bed — and the universe must know exactly why — time suddenly slows down. From the outside, it looked like she was moving at the speed of a sleepy snail — a snail with no particular place to be. I’d say, “Time to get ready for bed!” and she’d eventually drift toward the bathroom. Once there, she’d clean her face and brush her teeth as if she had all the time in the universe. And me? I’d be standing nearby slowly losing my mind.

Because let’s be honest: by that hour, most of us parents are just… done.
We’re running on fumes, dreaming of five minutes alone, maybe even horizontal. So watching your child do everything in extreme slow motion while you’re clinging to the last shred of your patience? It’s a test. A real one.

I used to get so impatient — and okay, sometimes I still do.
But one evening, instead of pacing back and forth or reminding her for the third time to please, for the love of all things holy, finish brushing, I sat down with a pen and started drawing.

Not anything fancy — just little doodles. Repeating lines, shapes, curves. You might know this kind of drawing as Zentangle® or pattern drawing (what is that exactly? I explain it here).

One of the best parts? You can stop at any moment. Unlike drawing mandalas, which often ask for more structure and continuity to keep the symmetry going, pattern drawing is wonderfully forgiving. There’s no big plan, no right way — just a flow of lines you can pick up and pause whenever you need to. Perfect for parents, because, let’s face it: uninterrupted time is a myth.

And something kind of magical happened: time shifted.

Suddenly, instead of feeling like she was moving in reverse, it felt like everything sped up. She was done before I knew it. What usually made me impatient actually became a pocket of peace in my day. I started looking forward to those five or ten minutes of waiting.

No, this isn’t a miracle cure for bedtime stalling, but it is a mini reset for your brain. Drawing patterns — even just for five minutes — calms your nerves, lowers your stress, and makes you feel like you again, just enough to survive that last stretch of the day.

You don’t need any artistic skills.
You don’t need fancy supplies.
You don’t even need more than five minutes.

Just a pen, a scrap of paper, and a moment of pause while your kid meanders through their evening routine at a pace that would make a glacier impatient.

Trust me, your nervous system will thank you. Your kid will still take forever — but you might not care as much.

So next time you’re stuck in the bedtime twilight zone, try doodling instead of sighing.
Who knows — maybe you’ll be the one slowing down time.

And not just at bedtime — this little trick works wonders in all those other moments when your kids seem to exist in an entirely different dimension of time. You know the ones: getting dressed, leaving the house, putting on shoes… Let’s just say: if time is relative, children are the proof.