Raising kids isn’t exactly easy. One day, your child has sworn off veggies, and the next, they’ve decided they will never wear their coat again—even if it’s freezing, snowing, and practically Arctic outside.

Luckily, there’s a whole community of moms who are more than happy to share their genius hacks to make these moments a little less stressful. From squeezing in an extra five minutes of peace to dealing with the messes tiny humans leave behind, they’ve got you covered.

Scroll down to check out some of their best tips, and remember to upvote your favorites!

#1

This is my greatest hack. It is physiologically impossible to cry while drinking. Whatever the meltdown, whatever the cause, get them to drink water. If you need to, you can say, it’s ok to cry but your tears will run out so you need to drink.the more you can get them to drink the longer they have to calm down properly and get over the shock or hurt of whatever happened.

Image credits: janquadrentvincent

#2

Make their bed with multiple layers of water proof mattress pad/cover and sheets so if they pee or get sick at night you can just pull off a layer and get them back to bed.

I wash each kids clothes separately so I don’t have to spend the time figuring out which black leggings belong to which kid.

Image credits: keeperofthenins

#3

You can cook noodles in a rice cooker. You don’t have to wait for it to boil or watch the pot or stir it down. You just set it to steam for x minutes and walk away. And as a mom of three toddlers who eat way too many noodles, this realization, (that happened when my stove was broken) has been my new favorite hack and a total game changer. 

Image credits: thatstrashpapi

#4

Baby powder gets sand off skin when at the beach/ playground

Image credits: SpecialistTill56

#5

Give your kid (between ages 2-4) a spray bottle and send them outside to water things. Enjoy 30 minutes of peace ?

Image credits: No_Nail6818

#6

When my toddlers/little kids get hurt I ask them “did it hurt you or scare you” and at least half the time they think about it and decide it just scared them and they’re ready to play again.

Keep a bag of balloons around. Nothing turns a day that’s spiraling out of control around like some sudden unexpected balloons for them to play with.

I don’t match and put away socks. All the kids socks go in a basket next to the shoes. No one has to run upstairs for socks when they need shoes on and I don’t have to match and sort them.

Image credits: Okayifyousay

#7

Making myself food and not offering any to the kids is the best way to get them to eat. ? I started only making breakfast for "myself" that's like 8 eggs and 3 sausage patties. Sitting down to eat is like chumming the water, they start circling immediately.

Get a cheap little plastic shelf for a bath toy. My kids always play coffee shop and need a surface to put their "lattes" on that's not the side of the tub bc they spill it immediately

Idk if this is a hack but I stopped folding kids' clothes, just as a rule. I don't notice any more wrinkles but I do save a ton of time.

Image credits: TurkDiggler_Esquire

#8

I bought a laundry basket for each person and labeled it with their name. Laundry goes right into the assigned basket from the dyer and no more need to sort and have a million surfaces while folding. Also helps the kid learn to participate in folding their own laundry. 

Image credits: RubyMae4

#9

I have an “oh s**t” box in the truck of each car. Spare clothes for each kid, extra diapers and wipes, hand wash bottle, sunscreen, snacks, bottles of water (we get the metal ones from target so they don’t get funky) and travel toys they’ve never seen before.

I didn’t think I’d need to use it much, but random difficult situations come up out of the house more often than I realized.

Image credits: belzbieta

#10

Set timers to limit whining. “Ok, I’ll give you a little more time but once you hear the timer go off that’s it and I don’t want to hear any arguing.” That goes for playtime, or screen time or whatever. Give finite choices and don’t be open ended about things. Don’t say “do you want to get dressed?” That gives them the opportunity to say no, and then get mad when you don’t honor their answer. Say “ok it’s time to get dressed, do you want to wear the red shirt or green shirt today?” Or something of the sort. Give them a choice so they feel like they have control over something but make sure they’re between 2 choices you can live with. My son always said “I’m hungry” at bedtime, so vegetables were his only options. Soon enough he would just ask for a bowl of “Trees & ranch” while we read a book at bedtime.

Image credits: West-Veterinarian-53

#11

If your kids are younger and you’ve had a particularly long day (family picnic, beach day, bbq, bday party) and don’t want a fight about an early bed time, move the clock ahead an hour and just say it’s bed time. We have a wall clock in the living room so we’d move that. Once they were old enough to have a device with a clock or wander into the kitchen and see the microwave/oven/coffee pot, game over for us.

Image credits: TheCarzilla

#12

Probably only suited to a toddler but I try to remember to leave a banana in a conspicuous place when I want my daughter to have that as a snack and she will find it and and demand to eat it when she gets peckish. When I don't do that she'll get hungry and then ask for a snack she wants (biscuit/chocolate/ice lolly etc) and if I offer a banana she will be distraught.

Image credits: tomtink1

#13

Keep the caps when markers dry out and you toss them out. Next time you can’t find one when cleaning up you’ll have some extras on hand.

Image credits: Furbyparadox

#14

I have three daughters, each two years apart. I couldn’t keep up with whose socks and underwear were whose. So each child has a designated color sock and underwear. They also have their own specific color towel. So if I find a towel, underwear or socks left on the floor I immediately know whose it is.

Image credits: ConcentrateOk6837

#15

Buy a foot measurer. You can get them online for like $10. So much easier to know you are getting the right size shoes. I can never tell when they try them on unless it is obviously way too big or too small. Also, then I can just size them and order shoes online.

Image credits: Dandie_Lion

#16

My friend with four daughters bought a hairbrush with a hole in the handle, and she used a long piece of yarn to secure it to the handle of the drawer in the downstairs bathroom. Long enough to be easy to use, but it never left that bathroom so there was ALWAYS a hairbrush there.

Image credits: FeatofClay

#17

Our big one is taking pictures of the kids with a toy at the store when they like it. They haven’t cried over a toy in ages. If they bring it up a different day, I then consider getting it as a birthday/Christmas gift.

Image credits: Mrs_Xs

#18

My best friend had a brand new baby. A brand new baby that DIDN’T SLEEP and she was beside herself. I showed up to her house and said “put a fluffy bath towel in the dryer” – when it was nice and warm I rolled it up and put it down by baby’s feet in her bassinet. She calmed right down and SLEPT. She slept so well she needed to be woken for her next feeding and then went right back to sleep with her little feet touching the warm towel. I can’t sleep with cold feet and there’s nothing like a warm fresh towel from the dryer to put a baby (or sometimes a grown-up) to sleep! ? It’s a trick I have used many times.

Image credits: m2argue

#19

I recently visited a friend who also has children and I was amazed at some of the things she does differently. I’ve always been the type to be open to learning how others do things in hopes of learning better ways.

Instead of a long, drawn out bedtime routine like I currently have with my kids – her kids get ready for bed (pj’s, brush teeth, etc) and then get in her bed and watch a bit of a movie until they fall asleep and then she moves them to their bed.

I understand this isn’t a new concept but I swear, it never occurred to me! I tried it tonight and oh my gosh, no fussing at bedtime! I just can’t get over how happy the kids are, how easy it was for my husband and I. Why have I been making life so difficult for myself?

I don’t think this is something I’ll do daily, but at least every Friday and Saturday

Image credits: Live-Judge-1410

#20

Pretending his favorite heroes/characters had recipes for things like The Flash’s favorite Lightning Lettuce™️ (Caesar salad)and Hulk Sauce (very plain guacamole), there were lots more along the way but I can’t remember them all. Carrots make you jump higher like a bunny, you get the idea. I lied a lot and now have a 6 year old who is a great eater

Image credits: Bmorehon

#21

Adding to this, for the TV I use the sleep timer built into the TV. Then I tell them when times up the show turns itself off… something about me not being the one to push the button on the remote has led to easier acceptance with less bargaining.

Image credits: GearlGrey

#22

Small laundry bags keep baby socks from getting sacrificed to the laundry gods. Socks go from baby feet, to bag. When it’s time to do the wash, bag gets zipped and goes into the wash. All the socks stay together.

Image credits: MakeMeAHurricane

#23

I find moms on Poshmark with littles approximately 1 year older than mine that way the sizes line up seasonally. I follow them and place bundle orders and usually request a pretty steep discount!

Image credits: Independent-Ad-8789

#24

When you have a brand new baby have someone coat its butt crack with Vaseline or aquaphor right when you get to recovery. The meconium slips right off.

Image credits: toreadorable

#25

If your toddler is in the stage of NEEDING to follow you to the bathroom, just plop them in the (dry) bathtub. Built in play pen, probably preloaded with bath toys.

Saw this one on Reddit, and felt silly for being on my second kid before I saw it. When changing poopy diapers, use the front of the soiled diaper to kind of squeegee the poo off before you use wipes. Gets a surprising amount off.

For clean up time, if your child is in their Paw Patrol era, have them pretend to be one of the pups and send them on missions to clean up. “Okay pups, all those stuffed animals are lost and we need to help them get home! Paw patrol is on a roll!” Kind of thing, like it doesn’t need to be good haha.

My 3 year old has several games he likes to get him to eat his food (look, I totally started out as the “if he doesn’t eat it, he doesn’t need it” kind of mom, but he has turned me into this, okay?)

-I’ll preload his fork and tell him not to eat it because “that’s my bite, I’m saving it.” He eats it with a s**t eating grin and the cycle continues.

-I tell him not to eat his food because it tastes too good/ will make him too big and strong/ will keep him too healthy etc

-Got this one off TikTok and it has worked great for getting him to try new foods. Make a list of the alphabet and come up with a word together for each letter. He needs to take a bite for me to write down the word. The first time we did this was with burgers, and now he requests this game every time we have burgers haha

Image credits: aneatpotato

#26

An empty plastic container in the bath. That’s it. That’s the hack.

Wash out the plastic tub your yogurt/cottage cheese/sour cream came in, and put it in the bathtub. Kid will find it during their next bath and take it from there. It’s a bucket of endless fun for them.

Image credits: arandominterneter

#27

Teach your kids to drink water.

Make that their go to.

None of my three drink soda. Occasionally they get juice.

I am not fanatical about it, they just learned water is best.

Image credits: smash_pops

#28

To help wind down from the day, I get my kiddo to chat to a teddy. He finds it easier to offload his thoughts and ideas from the day and we can talk through solutions to problems he’s had over the day. I find it helps him to stay in bed and reduces get ups once he’s shared everything on his mind.

Image credits: Mitchimoo14

#29

If your kid refuses to do something you know they know how to do, do it wrong. They love to correct you!

Won’t put your pants on yourself, sure, I can help. They go on your head, right?……cue child grabbing pants and showing me how it’s done.

Image credits: Bebby_Smiles

#30

Always keep dog poop bags in your diaper bag. Helps with the stinky smell until you can get to a garbage when you’re out

Image credits: wicket-wally

#31

Get a glow in the dark Halloween bucket for each kid to use as the puke bucket. We used to just have one but the whole house got norovirus one week and now we have one for each human. It’s so much easier to find when sick in the dark and they think it’s funny.

#32

This one might involve too much plumbing for folks but I got a shower head that had the main head and then a hand shower. Also got it an extra long hose and another magnetic mount for the other side of the shower and now I have a perfect little toddler height shower. So much quicker/easier then bath time and she just pops in with me.

#33

The other day, my kid was having a tantrum, and I had to calm her down quickly. I made a silly voice and asked her to “cheer up for the alien”. Instantly turned into laughter, and she was totally fine.

#34

Using a standup portable fan to cool food down. Gone are the days of having my food go cold because I’m sat blowing my toddlers so it cools down!

#35

If you go outside your house stays clean. Especially if you have kids like mine who are 3 times better behaved in public.

(Not that I care too much about the exact cleanliness of the house, but I can’t stand the fighting and whining that goes with playing inside.)

#36

Keep bandaids on every floor of your house.

Keep towels and/or puppy pee pads and plastic bags in your car at all times.

#37

When your baby starts taking their diapers off in the crib, diapers go on backwards. Then sleepers go on backwards. Duck tape also comes in clutch.

Also, when they outgrow their footie jammies, just cut the feet off.

And make a big pitcher of formula at a time.

Do everything in your power to always buy the same socks for everyone.

#38

The back of the grocery cart flips in. If you push it up the kiddo can crawl in vs lifted up and over. Got stopped at Trader Joe’s this weekend by a fellow mom who had no idea. It’s super helpful and yes works on all shopping carts.

#39

After birthday presents, instead of thank you cards, video your kid saying thank you and holding up the gift they opened. Immediately text it to the gift giver. Don’t allow your child to open the next present until they have done their thank you video. You have personalized thank yous finished the same day.

For boys keep toy trucks (set of three or four) in a bag in the car at all times. When you are out at a restaurant or park you can always bring them out to play.

For picky eaters make a fruit smoothie in the morning with kid approved protein powder, and know they are mostly set for the the day for protein and fruit/veg

When having trouble with the bedtime routine set a ten minute visual timer. If they get ready, potty and brush teeth in time they get a book. If they take longer explain they used up their allotted book time for tonight.

#40

One big thing I don’t see on here and since most of us are in the summer months right now…

Turn your car and ac on first thing when you get to the car and let it run while you buckle the kids. Throw them in the back seat if they might run off. My kids love to complain how hot the car is at pick up. Even though it’s fast buckling them, that extra minute the ac runs is an extra minute it’s cooler once we’re driving and a little less miserable for all of us. 

#41

I found an app called « mouse timer » that i use for transitions with my 2.5 year old. She now asks for the « mouse » when she knows we have to leave or stop something. It’s a visual timer with a mouse that eats apples. Works like a charm!! When i use it at the park all the other kids want to see ?

#42

My babies both were gassy, but I didn’t want to squirt gas drops in their mouth while crying from gas pains

So I put a little gas drops on a binky, they would latch and calm down, then I’d remove the binky, and give a dose of the drops and replace binky

#43

Never freak out in front of them, this way when they are teens they can come to you for anything because they know you won’t freak out lol just go into the bathroom and have a meltdown if you have too much
You want to be that parent your kid knows you have their back no matter what

#44

Put a plate of food in front of them. Turn your back and say, “Johnny, Johnny strong and able, I’ll guess which food is missing from the table”. Then they take a bite of something and you guess what was eaten. You can say, “was it pancakes. No? Blueberries? No. The next time the child will probably eat whatever it was you guessed wrong. Kids love this game.

#45

I use nighttime nappie one size larger than my LO current size. He recently started to sleep through the night (some nights) and he pees alot. Regular sized meant 1 or 2 middle of the night diaper changes, but the larger sized night diaper has bettar capacity and allows us parents to sleep if he sleeps.

#46

My kids trashed the house and their rooms pretty badly this past week with their friends (we’re the hangout house). We made them clean on Sunday. I invented a new rule for their bedrooms. “Must meet fire code” fire code says they have to have a clear path to the doorway to exit the room.

My husband invented a cleaning hack for one of the kids when they get overwhelmed with the amount of mess they make. “It’s not too bad. We can tackle this in 30 seconds with a broom and dust pan.” Then he showed my son how to count using Mississippi and calmly handed them over after he got to 10 Mississippi. My son took them and continued the task in the same way. ?F*****g inspired. ???

#47

Once your kid is mobile: all toys (other than sleeping toys/lovies) go into stackable bins (with lids). For toddlers the selection can be random, but when they’re older you can sort/label. Bins will probably need to be fairly large to accommodate bigger toys.

Then the two rules of toys are: ONE BIN AT A TIME, and THE BIN CONTENTS STAY IN ONE ROOM. If they seem bored with the selection or want to leave the room, toss everything back in the bin. Don’t worry about internal bin organization: just toss everything for that bin in the bin.

The bins limit the total mess. It’s a level of cleaning toddlers can understand as long as you get them started (we make it sort of basketball with my kids, and they like cleanup time). It’s easy enough for older kids to self-maintain (with reminders).

It’s a little trickier with 2 kids, but the one bin/one room rule helps that.

#48

Use a pizza cutter or kitchen scissors to cut up their food.

If they’re in a bunk bed on top, get a few emesis bags and stash them up there, since you never know when the middle of the night pukes might happen and it is hard to get down in time. We’ve switched to emesis bags completely, actually. Once they’re “done” you twist and lock them off and toss them, I don’t have to clean up vomit in the middle of the night or come into contact with it cleaning a bowl.

#49

I wear a server apron everyday. I know some people are too stylish for a hack like that but I got some really cute ones on Etsy. When I fly it’s like having an extra carryon and in day to day life it is so easy I am not trying to dig through a diaper bag. I keep my phone, a pen/sharpie, a cloth, snacks, a small toy.

I got the idea from seeing Japanese mothers in smocks.

#50

For babies, get a baby butt spatula! It makes applying diaper rash cream so much easier, and it cuts way down on the number of times you have to physically touch a b******e. Absolutely worth it.

#51

You can boil pasta water in your electric kettle rather than waiting for it on the stove to make Mac n cheese

#52

My favorite is “candy popcorn” for dinner.

We all have days during the holiday season where we are absolutely finished and exhausted. Cue “candy popcorn”.

When holiday candy starts coming out grab a bag of m&ms, candy corn, whatever the theme is. You want to do this early so you have it on hand. Resist the urge to do this on a day where you have energy and want to be a fun mom. This is an emergency stash.

When you have an extra long day of pumpkin patch nonsense, christmas shopping, whatever, and you feel like you can’t stand in your feet another minute, you make some pop corn and literally just throw a handful or two of candy in it.

YOU get a break and your kids get zero effort holiday magic. Popcorn is relatively healthy and it’s just a sprinkling of candy for the festive aspect. Candy popcorn dinner is my kids favorite thing ever and he has NO IDEA that I’m really just exhausted.

#53

Park next to the cart stall so you don’t have to leave your baby in the running car for more than 10 seconds. Also just makes it easier to unload/return and leave faster!

#54

For the toddler age, if they’re having a no-reason tantrum (you gave me what I asked for and now I’m unreasonably upset!), ask random questions like, do fish fly? Have you seen a purple cat? How many stars are there? Can the dishwasher sing? What kind of cheese do dogs like best? You get the idea. If there’s really not reason for the upset other than big toddler feelings, they’ll think about and answer the questions and it will distract them enough to start calming down, either fully or enough to try other methods of distraction

#55

This is a toddler/preschooler hack. When your kid demands something in a store, tell them you’ll take a photo and send it to Santa for consideration. This has saved me many meltdowns.

#56

Doing chores with your toddler. They love to help, it fills in the day and it means that during nap time and when they go to bed you can relax or do things you enjoy.

#57

Trying to enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee? Arm yourself with a baby wipe and “threaten” to wipe their face, you’ll get at least 2 toddler free minutes after they run away. This works until they’re about 3.

#58

In no particular order:

1. Keep a puke bucket either in their room or nearby. Stomach bugs always seem to start in the middle of the night, and you want to get that to them ASAP, especially if they are too young to get themselves to the toilet in time. I keep one of the little hospital basins we got when I gave birth under each kid’s bed. My older son actually managed to jump out of bed and grab it in time when he was sick last. Otherwise, after that first surprise wave, it just lives in their bed all night.

2. Always have Pedialyte popsicles on hand in your freezer. Even for little guys. My son had a raging fever once when he was about 10 months old. Refused drinking anything (I think he had a sore throat), but I also couldn’t trust him with a full popsicle yet (choking hazard). I cut a chunk off one of those pedialyte pops and put it in one of those little mesh teether bags. It worked brilliantly. He would go to town on it, then feel comfortable enough to nurse. 10/10 recommend.

3. Any transition you have to do (losing pacifiers, sleeping in a big kid bed, etc.), do it on a Friday night. You can usually expect about two really rough night’s sleep, so it’s best to do it on a weekend when you don’t have to go to work the next day. By Monday, you’ll usually be in pretty good shape.

4. If you’re going to be out past bedtime anywhere (a family event, etc.), bring your kids’ pajamas and toothbrushes with you. Have the kids get all ready for bed before you get them in the car. Then, when they inevitably fall asleep on the drive home, you can just carry them straight to bed.

#59

The thing I’ve generally found about parenting is the “best” option is generally the hardest, and it’s a series of tradeoffs down to whatever you are comfortable with. For this scenario, if she does the movie thing every night, she is trading off their sleep quality due to screen time and she also misses an opportunity to read with them (thus helping with literacy etc).

We do a regular routine during the week and have a movie night / takeaway night once a week where they can stay up a little later, everyone eats on a picnic blanket on the lounge room floor and no washing up required. We also aren’t too set on the routine apart from teeth brushing and non negotiables which makes it a nice relaxing night for all.

#60

Get them dressed in clean clothes the night before on school nights. ? I’m not fighting with half awake kiddos at 0630. Oh, and have their shoes ready and next to the door, nothing quite like a Monday morning shoe crisis.

#61

During spurts when my 3yo refuses to eat dinner and dinner time is getting frustrating, I do a “muffin tin” dinner with whatever we have in the fridge/pantry. Each little cup gets its own thing, a couple bites of a leftover, a few bites of whatever fruits/vegetables we have, some crackers, a piece of cheese, etc… My son goes from rejecting his plate to eating so much more with zero fuss and we get rid of lots of leftovers. Win-win!

#62

Make a carsick kit! Emesis bags, ginger or peppermint chews, Dramamine, baking soda to soak up smells in case someone misses the barf bag and a peppermint oil rollerball. I also keep a change of clothes and garbage bags in mine for any cleanup.

I also have a restaurant kit. Quiet toys and activities that only get used when we go out to eat.

#63

When babies get super messy in the highchair, just stick the whole thing in the shower, bonus points if baby is still in it. I know it doesn’t work for every house layout but I’m in a ranch style house and just pick up the whole thing, walk it to the shower and hose it down baby and all. She thinks it’s hilarious.

#64

We call hemp hearts/chia seeds, etc, “sprinkles”. It makes it more fun to put them on food, and it’s easily added nutrients. My oldest actually asks for it now (and yes, he’s had actual sprinkles before). We try to spend a lot of time outside because my house stays cleaner, especially when we can do a fun and easy picnic outside and limit extra food mess inside. If anyone is grumpy, I load them into the double stroller and we go for a walk- they usually will fall asleep, I’ll get some exercise and get to listen to a good book or podcast. My youngest is medically complex and had a lot of appointments at the start of his life. My toddler had to come with me, so we’d get a “treat” to go to his appointment and it made it fun for him. I’d either bake something and bring it with us, or he’d get a little something if I stopped at a coffee shop. I had a special bag of snacks at home that I’d only give him for appointment days. Also echoing the easy bedtime- it’s pjs and teeth brushing, prayers and bed. Oldest sleeps in our bed and falls asleep fairly fast. It wasn’t worth it to us anymore to try and get him to sleep in his own bed because it sucked up our entire evening getting him to fall asleep, and then he’d still wind up in our bed in the middle of the night. If he wakes up too early, he cuddles in with me and watches a show if he can’t fall back asleep, and it lets the rest of us rest until it’s actually daylight.

#65

To make doctor appointments a little easier when they’re young and seem to have a million:
1) put kiddo in a full zip or snaps romper, always. My older kiddo is almost 2 and regularly wears overalls or rompers to the doctors because having one item of clothing makes it way faster to strip them as the physicians assistant stares holes into the back of your head and asks a million questions. Bonus points if it has shorts so you can get kiddo dressed before vaccines and not be fighting a sad wiggly baby.
2) get a zippered binder pouch that has one clear side and some sort of distinct color or pattern, and use that to store their vaccine record card. My older son has clear with orange stripes and my younger son has neon green transparent. I found them at dollar tree at back to school time. This way you have an easy way of spotting it wherever you keep it, and you have an easy spot to put any papers the doctor gives you (referrals, milestones, etc.) and you have a spot to store their sticker so it doesn’t get added to the trash pile in the car.

#66

I don’t fold their clothes. They’re sorted by size and I just grab and go.

#67

To gain a bit of flexibility during “bath” time, have a sprinkle shower instead… If you have a shower hose head, take it off and let it hang down, and turn it to low flow (pretty sure most shower hose heads have this feature now).

My kiddos love it and play like it’s a mini splash pad. They use toys and barbies and dolls that can all get wet, and a shallow bucket to fill up and play with. I can get other tasks done while they do this because I’m not concerned about them drowning in a sprinkle of water (I obviously still check on them throughout though). They have a blast playing, and then I come up, soap them up, and turn the shower on regular pressure for the actual cleaning process.

I also keep a soap dispenser with mostly water in it for them to use, and they practice cleaning themselves as part of their play time.

ETA: we do this in our stand-alone shower, so there are walls to stop water from spraying everywhere. I’d probably do it in our bathtub too, with just the shower curtain, but I’d definitely have a convo about keeping the curtain closed (at least at the front third of the tub) and the hose inside of the tub.

#68

When changing a diaper, open the new diaper and put it down under their butt before you open the dirty diaper. Use the inside front of the dirty diaper to pre-wipe any poop, then fold the dirty diaper down between their butt and the new diaper so you have a place to rest their butt while you grab wipes/etc.

#69

I feel like I have a million of these.

Teach kids to leave shoes in closet or other designated spot so that shoes are always there when you need to leave.

For school aged kids, have a backpack packing list for each kid, then make it their job to pack according to the list. We keep a Monday through Friday list, because some things are only one day a week like library books.

For early elementary, have a paper calendar to write days off, permission slips due, party days, dress up days, etc. I post mine in the inside of the coat closet and kids check it when they pack backpacks. Once they have regular homework, switch kids to using a planner. Even if you’re doing most of the writing at first, it’s helpful for them to learn to track it all.

I have a file box tucked away near backpacks. Each kid has 2 folders: important papers & school work to keep. The paperwork from school is overwhelming. I go through the stacks, I keep important papers like snack policy, log in info, etc and nice samples of their work, then recycle everything else. At the end of the school year, I go through and edit again & put keepsake type stuff in a different file drawer. 

Make packing lists on your phone and re-use them. When they were little I had a packing list for the zoo. Now I have vacation packing lists that I copy and modify for each trip. I have camping packing lists. If you use Google keep, you can make yourself a reusable checklist. Forgetting sunscreen at the zoo is a bad start to a fun day! I also can’t remember anything especially when people are talking to me.

We have an insulated water jug that holds maybe 2 gallons. I fill it with ice water and leave it in my trunk if we go to something like the zoo or a fair. It’s such a relief to be able to fill everyone’s water bottles with cold water when you get back to the car. And keeps us from needing to stop at gas stations to get drinks. 

We have a bunch of first aid kits & I check & restock them every spring. One is in my car. The others are in a small container for throwing in a backpack. Have saved us many times from blisters, splinters, headaches, scrapes. 

When my kids were preschool aged, I would keep a spray bottle of water and a travel sized bottle of body wash in my car. I used it as a hand washing station. But it saved us on a few occasions when they fell on gravel or anything dirty, we could wash out the wound.

I bought a few washable piddle pads that go on top of your bed, mine look just like the ones at the hospital. I originally bought them for potty training. But still use them for flu. Also save sheets from heavy periods. If they are used at night, you just peel off that layer and put a kid right back in bed, no stripping sheets.

Agree with others about keeping a kit in the car. Washing each kids laundry separate so you don’t have to remember who’s clothes are whos. 

#70

We do the Potty Train, when I’m trying to get my toddler to go potty as we’re trying to get out the door somewhere. Just a lot of train noises and motions and “all aboard! Next stop, the potty!” and she’ll usually join right in

#71

I have two baskets on the stairs — one for my son and one for my daughter. If they leave their c**p upstairs I just toss in the basket and they have to take it downstairs and put it away once it’s full. Makes it easier than taking everything downstairs by their rooms.

#72

PARK BAG: Very simple but I found this to be a master parent move for 2-9 years old: Make a “park bag” – this is a ready-made bag to grab and go for the park (non-gender) and most of it can be assembled with dollar store stuff: bubbles, tennis ball, chalk, small cars, perhaps dolls/ action figures, a jump rope if they’re older, etc. Have it all in a tote at the door and park / play time will be more fun and easy for you. I was so sick of packing and repacking for the park that I started a “park only” bag and now years later it’s a staple among parents in my neighborhood (city parks).

#73

I always pack lunches at night.

I told my kids a long time ago that we are a three book family and they have to pick out which picture books they want to read ahead of time. So once we get to the third book they know it’s over. 

#74

Honestly I think most of mine have turned into how to sneak extra calories into my kids food lolol avocado oil in sauces, extra butter, heavy cream in sauces and eggs. That sort of thing.

But for babies I always tell people to keep their hospital peri bottle for those nasty rashes. Rinse off extra poop without wiping.

#75

Using a makeup brush to apply sunscreen is an absolute game changer.

#76

50/50 apple/pear puree and water is like juice but they’re getting the whole fruit. It’s great for constipation in older babies. My son also likes it when he’s sick when he otherwise doesn’t want to eat or drink very much.

If he has something like yogurt or fruit for breakfast and doesn’t eat most of it I will fill the silicone ice cube tray that came with his fruit feeder with it and freeze it. Then later he can have “popsicles” in his feeder. The feeders that come with a freezer tray are awesome, you can turn anything into a less messy popsicle.

From newborn until he grew out of it I’ve kept my son’s bath seat in the bathtub with a blanket over it and when I had to use the bathroom I’d put him in it. Then I could keep an eye on him and keep him happy since he could see me. He also became familiar with the process of using the bathroom which I feel is useful as it’s not uncommon for toddlers to be afraid of the toilet. Now he hands me wet wipes and likes to flush the toilet for me lol.

I accidentally came across this but I’ve told others and it’s worked for them; my son taught himself how to drink from a straw around 4 months because his vitamin d drops came in a 1mg dropper dose. I’d just put the dropper in his mouth and he’s drink it out like a straw. When I introduced a straw cup to him around 6 months he immediately knew what to do.

If regular diaper rash creams and ointments aren’t cutting it, especially after starting solids, try a cream for adults. My son started getting a lot of irritation as a toddler and I think the regular baby products weren’t working because of the change in diet. We now use Lantiseptic at every dirty diaper change and it’s completely eliminated the issue. Also keep a tube of yeast infection ointment on hand to try if there’s a particularly persistent rash.

Pouches are expensive and tend to be messy with a young toddler so instead I add puree/applesauce to a sippy cup with a splash of water to make it flow easier.

This is more advice than a hack, but try the cheap diapers before you spent months or years using the more expensive ones. We used Pampers and Huggies the first year before I finally tried Parents Choice diapers and I really wish we switched sooner. Could have saved a lot of money, they’re perfectly good diapers especially the nighttime ones.

Introduce a silicone teether spoon with a guard before starting solids so they already associate the spoon with their mouth.

If you have the ikea antilop high chair, the trays are only $5 each so you can buy several to rotate while one is dirty/in the dishwasher. The entire chair except the legs is also dishwasher safe, if you can get it to fit. I also use a hypochlorous acid spray between meals during the day to clean the tray so I don’t have to bring the tray to the sink a million times as it requires no rinsing, but makes me feel better than using just water.

Every now and then I throw my son’s regular toys (not the bath toys) that are capable of getting wet (no electronics, no fabric, no holes or small openings for water to get trapped) in the bath with him to give them a wash. After he gets out I rinse them down and leave them on the bottom of the tub, they’re usually dry the next morning or just need a quick wipe with a towel. When he was a baby I’d do this pretty often with his silicone toys and teethers. Otherwise, I spray them down with a hypochlorous acid spray to clean as it doesn’t require rinsing.

I have spinning suctions toys I stick up high in the bath so he will look up and I can rinse his hair without water getting in his face and making him upset.

When his face is dirty with crusty food, instead of scrubbing it with a baby wipe or something while he squirms, I wet my hands with warm water and stand behind him and wipe both sides of his face at the same time while kind of rubbing around. Then a quick wipe with a paper towel or washcloth and usually everything wipes right off. Of course I can’t do this every time.

If they fight brushing their teeth, sit on the floor with them laying between your legs with their head closest to you and put your legs over their arms to pin them down. Bring both their toothbrush, and yours. When you’re done brushing, immediately give them *your* tooth brush and let them “brush” your teeth. My son **hates** having his teeth brushed and screams and cries the entire time. But when he sees me sit in the floor with his toothbrush he runs over smiling because he knows he gets to brush my teeth after.

I used large, microfiber scrunchies to keep my wet hair up out of grabby hands during that stage.

If you have a baby with long hair that falls in their face, baby lotion works great as a “hair gel” to keep it pushed to the side. It rubs and wears off throughout the day so you may have to reapply it, but it was great while my son was a baby and I didn’t I want to cut his hair yet.

Bring a plastic cup and a bottle of water (or use tap if you’re able) with you when they take a bath. Then they can practice drinking out of open cups without having to worry about spilling.

#77

My 4 year old started having a “stay up late night” over the summer. he knows that Friday is the day & it gives him something to look forward to throughout the week as well as helps me to encourage good behavior

#78

Pedialyte popsicles. Feels like a treat, won’t wreck them with sugar.

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