Parenting is hard work, the only ones that will tell you it’s easier either don’t have kids yet or they are lying.
Now I will be the first to tell you that having kids is totally worth it! I love being a mom, but that doesn’t mean it’s all easy or that I know what I’m doing all the time!
Today I’m excited to share with you some awesome parenting hacks! I asked some of my fellow mom bloggers to share some of their parenting hacks and today I’m going to share them with you!
Parenting Hacks You Need to Know
Below is a list of some of the most useful parenting hacks out there. Check out the hacks and be sure to save it to come back to later and so other parents can find it!
1. Take a Picture With It!
When you take your kids to the store do they ever whine or throw a fit when you tell them they can’t get something they want?
Instead of telling them no ask if they want to take a picture with the item. Then they can remember it. Most of the time as soon as the picture is taken they forget about the item.
If it’s something they bring up again then I try to remember it for gift ideas or we let them do some jobs to earn money to buy it.
This hack has totally changed shopping with my kids. I first heard this idea from Ali Lewis on Instagram. If you aren’t already following her account you should go check it out.
2. Simple Morning Routine
Creating a simple morning routine can help make your days go so much smoother. I’m not the best at continually having a routine but when we do it’s so nice.
Since my kids are both still young and we homeschool we don’t have a set time we do things in the morning. Our schedule adjusts depending on what time the kids went to bed and what activities we have planned.
We started doing a simple Fabulous 5 routine that the kids can easily remember using this fun printable and it has made our mornings so much smoother.
3. Use the Ice Cube Tray
Who knew ice cube trays could be so useful?
Nora at A Clean Bake shares how to use an ice cube tray to easily store homemade baby food.
You can also use ice cube trays to store hair clips and ties, as a snack tray for in the car and you can even make ice cube tray crayons.
4. Chores Are Important
Start when your kids are young having them help pick up their toys and as they get older give them other chores. Not only does this help them learn the value of work; they also learn the value of teamwork as your family works together to keep your home clean.
My friend Shani has an awesome ticket chore chart system that is awesome for those of you needing help motivating your kids to do chores.
5. Wake Your Kids Up Easily
Using a CD Clock radio is just one of the ideas Hilary from Pulling Curles shares for easily waking up the kids. If your kids have a hard time getting up in the morning be sure to check out her helpful advice.
6. Help Kids Embrace the Positive
As parents, we set the tone for our homes. Having a positive outlook all the time can be hard but it’s so important not only for ourselves but also for our kids.
Jenn at Come back Momma shares 50 Words of Affirmation for Children that you can use to help your kids embrace the positive.
7. Make Brushing Your Toddlers Teeth Easy!
Making it a game is just one of the tips Cindy at Living for the Sunshine shares to make brushing your toddler’s teeth easy.
Getting our kids electric toothbrushes is a simple way that made our kids look forward to brushing their teeth. We got them rechargeable toothbrushes that you can change the heads. They are Oral-B just like mine and Jareds but with fun Disney characters. (Little miss has this Frozen toothbrush and the little man has this Cars toothbrush.)
The chargers and replacement heads are the same for all of our toothbrushes and it’s so nice!
8. How to Create a Bedtime Routine That Works
Choosing a soothing activity to do with your child before bed is just one of the things that you should include in a bedtime routine. Check out the full routine and a sample schedule for different ages at Organizational Toast.
9. Let Them Be Bored
How many times have your kids told you they are bored? When this happens it is so easy to hand them a screen or tell them something to do. But is that what is best for them? When my kids say they are bored and then I tell them to find something to do (but don’t tell them exactly what to play) this is when they start getting creative and using their imagination to create new games.
There is a really good article on Health, Home and Happiness about Why Children Need Time to Be Bored that is worth taking a few minutes to read.
10. One Bite Rule
Get your kids to try healthier foods by using the One Bite Rule. Try having a rule that at every meal everyone has to try at least one bite of everything on their plate. The One Bite Rule is just one of the tips Mary at Healthy Christian Home shares for getting your kids to eat vegetables.
11. Use a Pizza Cutter
Do your kids need bite-size pieces of everything? Using a pizza cutter is a quick and easy way to cut so many things into the perfect little pieces. Some of my favorite things to cut with a pizza cutter are pancakes and spaghetti.
12. Pull the Onesie Down
Use the envelope folds on the onesie to pull DOWN the onesie off your baby after they have a blowout. Pulling the onesie down avoids making the huge mess you get when you pull the onesie up over the baby’s head.
13. Let Kids Earn Money
Both my husband and I wanted to start teaching our kids about money from an early age. So we needed to let them earn money. We started letting our kid earn money at between 2 and 3.
Did you know that money habits in children are formed by the time they are 7? Now is definitely the time to start teaching them! This post shares several ways to teach young kids about money.
14. Use the Diaper Color Lines
Name brand diapers come with a line that changes colors once it isn’t dry anymore. These diaper lines make it easy to tell when your little one needs a new diaper.
15. Fresh Diaper Hack
I have seen several parents take a dirty diaper off their baby and then struggle to put a fresh one under them while juggling everything.
There is a really simple way to make changing a diaper so much easier! Put a fresh diaper under your baby’s bum before you take off the old one! Just open the diaper and lay it flat, then remove the dirty diaper and your clean one is ready to go!
16. Zip-Lock Bags in Your Diaper Bag
Keep 2 or 3 Gallon size ziplock bags in your diaper bag. These work great for throwing dirty kids clothes in so they don’t get nasty all over your bag or car.
They are also awesome for putting a dirty diaper in to trap the smell before throwing it away. Plus they work for treasure bags to hold the rocks, sticks, flowers, etc your kids find on your adventures.
17. Lower the Volume with Tape
Taping over the speakers on your kid’s toys to lower the volume is such a simple and useful parenting hack!
18. Bring the Training Potty
Bring the training potty when you’re going on a road trip, camping or to a drive on beach. This makes it so much easier with a potty training kid, so you don’t always have to run for the bathroom.
Pro Tip: You can put a diaper, pull up or disposable bed pad in the toilet to catch everything for a quick clean up.
19. Use Command Hooks
There are so many different uses for command hooks. You can add a hook to the back of a high chair to easily store bibs. You can also use them for easy princess dress storage and more.
20. Use Parental Controls on Screen Time
The Amazon kids tablet is our favorite way to let the kids have screen time you can easily set app limits and have the tablet only work during set hours.
If you use a different device for screen time with young kids try googling to find what parental settings you can set for how your kids use the device.
21. DIY Alphabet Blocks
Are your kids working on identifying the Alphabet? Grab a few blocks and make your own alphabet blocks to use for fun educational activities.
22. Easy Popsicle Drip Guard
Grab a disposable bowl or a cupcake liner and put a hole in it for your popsicle stick. Now, most of the drips will get caught and not go all over your kid.
23. Paint with Water
Painting with water is such a great way to do art. With baby’s and toddlers, you can give them a sheet of colored construction paper and let them paint with water and see the paper turn a darker color.
Melissa and Doug water wow books are also a great way to paint.
These magic water painting books are also a lot of fun. We have the Christmas one and my kids love it!
24. Know the Difference Between Lego Duplo and Mega Bloks
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between Lego Duplo and Mega Bloks? They are both big toddler blocks, right? There is a little more to it than that. Find out which ones are best for you by reading this comparison post.
25. Use Magnets for Learning
My kids love being in the kitchen when I’m cooking and cleaning up. Having educational magnets not only keeps them earning but also entertained. Plus they work great on road trips too!
26. Know what to do if your kid flushes the keys
Have your kids ever flushed something they shouldn’t down the toilet? Mine have! My oldest flushed our car keys down the toilet and yes they really will go down. Read all about it here.
27. Take Control of the Laundry
Laundry is my least favorite parenting task. I don’t know why but after having kids the amount of laundry I have to wash has multiplied much faster than the number of kids I have.
This post shares several wonderful hacks for taking control of the laundry before it takes control of you.
28. Make Memories Every Day
Days can fill up fast with all things that have to get done. Use this list of 100 ways to make memories with your kids to incorporate making memories into your busy days.
29. Teach Your Toddler the Alphabet Easily
The Alphabet is one of the first things kids need to learn so they can eventually learn to read. Luckily there are some easy ways to teach toddlers the alphabet and they won’t even realize they are learning.
30. Warm the Kiddie Pool Fast and Easy
No one wants to play in a cold pool, especially not little kids. Luckily this simple hack using garden hoses will help you warm up the backyard pool quickly. Find out how to Warm the Kiddie Pool Fast and Easy here.
31. Get your Kids to Enjoy Car Rides
I recently had a friend ask how I got my kids to be so good in the car. It’s simple I had them spend time in the car. Our first road trip with each of the kids was when they were newborns. Since then we have taken numerous road trips and our kids actually like being in the car for the most part.
If your kids don’t love car rides now then consider using some of these activities to make it fun and just do it. The kids will get used to it and hopefully come to enjoy a drive in the car.
32. When Flying…Fly a Family Friendly Airline
Flying with kids can be so overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. We have flown countless times with both of our kids and the more you do it the easier it gets. The best advice I can give is to find a family-friendly airline, it will make a big difference in your flight experience and costs.
Its’s also helpful to know what liquids you can bring through security and what items you should pack in your carryon bag.
33. Let the Kids Help in the Kitchen
Pick an easy recipe to make with the kids in the kitchen. They will love “helping” make a mess treat. Also here are some helpful tips for cooking with kids.
34. Have Weekly Traditions
Having weekly traditions is such a fun way to make memories while your children are growing up. We have a few different days each week that we have little traditions that we try to do.
35. Try a Stroller Workout
Working out with little ones can be a challenge. I’m often guilty of trying to workout later in the day and I end up being to tired to actually do it.
Justine at Little Dove Blog shares how to do an easy workout using your stroller. So there really is no excuse not to get in a little exercise.
36. Make Your Own Window Clings
Window Clings are a fun and inexpensive way to decorate and entertain your kids. Making your own window clings is even cheaper!
37. Easily spend one on one time with your kids
If you have more than one child you know it can be hard to spend one on one time with each child. This fall I’m wanting to start doing individual dates with our kids once a month.
Shani at Sunshine and Munchkins shares 20+ Easy Ways to Spend One on One time with your kids.
38. Do Date Night at Home
Date night after having kids is still so important but it can be so hard to go out. Having Date Night at home is a great option to keep your marriage a priority and keep date night costs down.
The Date Night In Boxes is a fun subscription box that gets delivered monthly. Each month there is a new theme and activities to do with your spouse.
39. Consider a Costco Membership
Since having kids our Costco membership has saved us so much money. Getting baby wipes, diapers, and even kids clothes at Costco can save you a good chunk of money.
Related Post: Costco Membership Perks You Might Not Be Using
40. Make Screen Time Educational
It’s hard to completely eliminate screen time for our kids. So instead of trying to completely eliminate it use it as an educational experience.
ABC Mouse and Adventure Acadamy are two great educational screen time options. You can access these programs on a computer or through apps on your phone and tablet.
For educational videos and shows, we really like word party, super why? and the magic school bus.
41. Shop at the Dollar Store
Having kids can get expensive. Shopping sales and at the dollar store can help you save money on common household items. Here are over 40 items you should always buy at the Dollar Tree.
42. Get a Carpet Cleaner
My kids are total pros at spilling brightly colored foods and liquids all over our carpet. So purchasing a carpet cleaner has been totally worth it.
We have been able to spot clean messes as well as clean whole rooms. Purchasing a carpet cleaner instead of renting one is something I totally recommend looking into.
43. Use the “Bag a Day” System when Traveling
Justine at Little Dove shares an awesome packing system using gallon size bags to keep you organized when traveling. Get the details for this travel parenting hack here.
44. Get Washable Dress Up Costumes
My daughter loves wearing her dress-up costumes just about everywhere. Most of the time it’s not worth the battle I know will happen if I try to have her change her clothes so she gets to wear them.
Washable costumes aren’t very much more expensive than other costumes and they last so much longer. Little Adventure costumes are so cute and they can go in the washing machine without any problem.
45. Get the Shoes on the Right Foot
My little ones often struggle to get the correct shoe on each foot. Mom Loves Best has an awesome parenting hack using a simple sticker! Just cut the sticker in half, put each half in a shoe and it will help your child figure out which shoe goes on which foot.
46. Learn Parenting Lessons from Disney
We love Disney movies at our house and there is a lot we can learn from the many different stories and different parenting styles. Shani at Sunshine and Munchkins has a fun post sharing Parenting Lessons from Moana’s Mother.
47. Invest in Mess-Free Markers
My daughter loves coloring with markers, she has successfully colored her clothes, her legs, a wall, and our table. Save yourself the trouble and get the Color Wonder Markers. They are magical little markers that only show up on a specific paper!
Breath a sigh of relief your walls, couches and everything else is safe…for the moment.
48. Make the Most of Family Mealtime
There have been several different studies done about the importance of family mealtime. While know it’s important to eat together it can be a challenge. Amberly at A Prioritized Marriage shares a post with some awesome tips for making the most of family mealtime.
49. Hot Glue Bathtub Toys
Do your kids love playing with bath toys and you cringe each time because who knows what is growing inside the toy? Grab your hot glue gun and solve the problem.
Hot glue the hole in your children’s bath toys to make sure no water can get inside. Then you don’t have to worry about mildew and mold growing inside.
50. Enjoy the Moments…But Don’t feel bad if you don’t
As a young mom, I hear all the time “enjoy this it will be gone before you know it” or “the days are long but the years are short”. While I know people sharing this advice mean well, do you really think I’m going to miss potty training my child? Or having them scream the WHOLE time we are grocery shopping?
I really don’t think I’m going to miss those things. I know I will miss the time when my kids were small but. But believe me, there are moments in motherhood that I love and savor because I will miss them. There are other moments we are just trying to make it through. And guess what that is okay!
It’s life there are things we love and things we don’t. So remember if you don’t enjoy all the moments that’s totally okay.
What is the best parenting hack you have ever heard or used?
This is such a great collection of useful parenting hacks! I will definitely be pinning for future reference! And thanks so much for including some of my tips!!
So glad you found the post helpful! I love using your packing hack!! It has made packing for our kiddos so much easier!