1.If a child is having a meltdown, ask what color their shoes/shirts/pants/whatever clothing their wearing are.
Like a reverse hula move I guess.
I learned it from a neonatal nurse, and its almost infallible.
Dakota Corbin
So much faster and more reliable than regular burping.
4.Be mindful of how you phrase questions.
Example: Instead of Do you want a hotdog for supper?
ask What do you want on your hotdog?
If your kids a dick, it wont matter.
But it will help in most situations.
If not, then theyll forget about it.
Helps avoid arguments in the store because you arent really saying no.
Seven more jumps and were leaving.
Sometimes the number was higher, but never less than five.
Less than five was always met with come on, just one more!!
Which usually wasnt allowed.
8.I had 3 kids very close in age.
Who gets to go first?
Who gets to ride in the front?
Who has to take their bath first?
I saved so many arguments with this.
Do you want to put your shoes on first or brush your hair first?
ensure the options listed are ones youre okay with though.
10 minutes until brush teeth!
13.Put sunscreen on at home, before you get to the beach/pool/park.
They know were not going anywhere till its on.
Sunscreen takes 20 minutes to kick in anyway.
14.Have a baby who turns away as youre about to wipe their face?
Wipe your own face first.
The nonverbal communication allows the baby to understand whats happening.
Might not work at first, but keep at it.
The child will start to let you wipe.
15.Let your baby watch you fall asleep.
If its their bedtime, dont play on your phone or read a book.
They are following your lead.
16.If you threaten a consequence, follow through 100% of the time.
Kids will test boundaries at every age, you just have to make it appropriate for their age group.
If you throw sand again we are leaving the beach.
you must leave the beach
If you dont clean your room no screen time tomorrow.
A hard line to toe, but boy do boundaries and trust work.
17.Learn to say thank you and Im sorry to them.
It makes you closer and helps your relationship with them no matter what age.
Keeps my two year old entertained for hours.
19.When my kids disagree or are arguing I will give them a false dilemma.
We decide to go to Restaurant B but tell my daughter that she gets to pick where everyone sits.
Your five year old stub their toe and wont stop crying?
Your teenage daughter just got dumped by her boyfriend or her favorite band broke up?
This emotional trauma, however ridiculous, might actually be the worst emotional pain shes ever felt.
Your children have to learn these things for themselves, simply telling them Youll get over it.
IS a true statement, but it will feel like you are dismissing their problems.
Afterward a long talk about it.
So he grabs cookies.
But every time we go back and put up the last thing he chose.
It teaches him to decide what he really wants instead of wanting everything and whining the whole time.
do you see that over there?!
Amazing how many times that worked.
Comes in very useful when covered in shit.
25.My hack is to never let my kid see the packaging her treats come in.
I take stuff out of the wrapper or packet and give it to her in a bowl or plate.
Also means I can limit how much she gets in the bowl/plate rather than give her the whole packet.
26.Make No helmet no wheels the law with no exceptions from the moment they get their first tricycle.
Wear your own helmet when you ride together.
Let them pick out cool colors etc.
Come down hard the first time you catch him or her without.
This saved my sons life when he was hit and dragged under a van!
27.When the baby is nursing, fill a hot water bottle and put it in the crib or bassinet.
28.If you have treats, give them to one child to hand out to the others.
Siblings have a lot of negative interactions.
Theres jealousy, competition for resources, perceived injustices.
You have to create opportunities for them to have positive interactions.
The simplest way of doing this is with treats.
It warms your heart, and they actually really enjoy it, too.
Same goes with gifts, good news etc.
Hey LO, tell your little brother were going to the beach tomorrow that kind of thing.
Theyll cherish the memories, too.
29.Sleep routines are aLIFESAVER.
Its the one area where weve never had any major issues.
Its silly but effective, and I get a kick out of the one year old yelling yay!
when I get her shoes on.
32.Dont chew your kids out in front of other people.
Pull them aside and talk to them in private.
It helps them to trust you and it helps them to save face in front of others.
They can usually learn way early and it solves so much frustration with point and grunt/shriek or whatever.
34.When you go grocery shopping with a small child, park near the cart corral.
36.Teach your kids to read VERY EARLY.
Read to them as soon as you bring them home; but really focus at age 2.
Start making them read back to you at 3.
They are ahead of the curve in many ways.
You dont need to wait for another Harry Potter to come out to get them to read.
My mother did it with her children, I did it with mine.
37.Starting as soon as they can walk, ask for help for just about everything.
And they will help and enjoy being needed.
And when they do tasks and ask for help, help them.
They will always help if you teach them to do it as a family instead of an individual task.
Clean house…yes, c’mon!
For especially long car rides or traffic or just for fun.
39.Let them be messy sometimes.
Im a neat freak so this was hard for me at first.
Dont worry about the mess, they will have fun and its building good memories.
We did this with our first child and it became the center of our evening routine.
I mean, theyre little a-hole toddlers a lot of the time, but thats expected with toddlers.
Waterproof sheet, sheet, waterproof sheet, sheet.
No changing wet beds in the night, just pull off top layer and change child!
Or we make teams and race, me and the youngest vs the two older kids.
Works in malls, water parks or just to come in and clean up for dinner.
Fellow parents were amazed by this.
45.Mother of two teenagers.
Dont just listen butask.
Ask questions that cant be answered with a yes or no.
46.If they are cranky, put them in water.
I have teenagers, this is still the method that I use.
Even having them wash their hands or face does wonders.
To be fair, I do it with my husband too.
So really, I guess its just works for humans.
She is almost 7 and it still works.
48.The best advice I ever received as a parent… Its all about the long game.
Its a way to ensure quieter years later.
Wed always pack their PJs for their clothes theyd change into after swimming.
That way, they got out of the pool, showered, and changed in to pajamas.
It was my wifes idea.
50.Dennys is where I teach them restaurant etiquette.
Zero pressure and light on the wallet.
