Life hacks – we can’t get enough of them, can we? We’re all addicted to those astonishingly genius little hints and tips that make us go “oooh!” and wonder why we never knew it before.
And the Internet is a brilliant place for sharing them – and finding them!
My recent favourites are wetting your finger to retrieve a little dropped egg shell – instead of chasing it around the bowl through the slippy egg white, it just sticks to your finger tip instantly. Honestly – it works every time. How have I never known this before??
Parenting Hacks are the refined next step – small things that just make our frazzled parent brains a little smoother and calmer. And it’s funny how often you don’t realise you’re using one yourself until a fellow parent watches you with astonishment and says “THAT is genius!”. Quite simply a parenting hack is a cost effective, safe strategy or technique designed to help manage, and save ones time or make parenting simpler or easier.
For instance it wasn’t until child no.3 that I saw a solution for the shoes-on-the-wrong-feet issue that made me burst into song (almost. in my head at least.). Draw a smiley face on the insole in permanent marker – one half in each foot. SO simple and yet such a brilliant solution. They line the shoes up easily to make that smiley face, and instantly know which foot goes in which shoe!
Make sure you do the daps (plimsolls), trainers & school shoes – it’s often particularly tricky when you’re changing in a busy classroom. The number of times they came home from school with their feet on the wrong way round…
Simple, cheap and really effective. The very definition of a parenting hack.
So – how d’you fancy sharing your Parenting Hacks – and being in with a chance to win a Sudocrem Goody Bag?
After all – what parent doesn’t keep a tub of Sudocrem in the house? My first aid kits hasn’t been without one since my now-16-yr-old was born. We bought it for the nappy rash treatment (and it totally saved No.2’s skin – literally – during a severe tummy upset while he was in nappies. There’s another top tip for you from my awesome Health Visitor; if your baby or toddler has an upset stomach and the diarrhoea is causing nappy rash and/or burning, then smear a thick layer of Sudocrem on the skin and leave it sitting messily white and thick when you put the nappy back on – it acts as a brilliant barrier and allows the skin to heal underneath while protecting it from more burning. Just replenish at every nappy change, it completely works).
But now we use it on teen spots, small burns, cuts and grazes, sunburnt noses, summer-chafed skin… we couldn’t be without it!
So – share your Parenting Hacks with us, and your tips will be entered into a national competition to finds Sudocrem’s favourite parenting hacks – and win £100 voucher!
It ‘s dead easy to enter – we’ll pick our own three favourite hacks to each win a goody bag which includes:
- 1 Red/Pink/Blue Sudocrem hat (Colour chosen at random)
- 1 Sudocrem T-Shirt
- 1 Sudocrem Care & Protect
- 1 Tube of Sudocrem Skin Care Cream
- 1 Sudocrem Pen
- 1 Sudocrem car bumper slogan
- 1 pair of Sudocrem sunglasses
Our three winners will have their hacks put forward to Sudocrem’s national competition – and three of the best parenting hacks from the national search (as decided by Sudocrem), will be chosen to receive a £100 prize voucher too!
NOW CLOSED
23 October 2015
Place full outfits (vest, sleep suit, hat) in Sandwich bags labeled in sizes for your hospital bag. It means anyone can grab them easily when the baby arrives and they’re as you’ve planned.
23 October 2015
We make tidy up time a game and its done within minutes now. Her reward is a book or two of her choice
23 October 2015
You get seven plastic bags representing the days of the week. Each bag is marked with a chore at the front and details of a reward in the bag.Theses small bags are pinned on a notice board.Rewards can be trip to the beach/park/woods etc, tasks are age appropriate if all seven tasks are completed in the week then a gold chocolate coin is collected.Four golden coins in the month means a special treat appropriate to the age of the child and income of the family.
23 October 2015
rain puts off playground – use strong cardboard boxes to make a slide on the stairs
23 October 2015
Buy a nice unit for your living room with lots of drawers/storage. Keep all baby’s clothes in there for the age that that are and change as their sizes go up. If you live in a house with stairs it’ll save you having to run up every time they are sick/poo/dribble/generally get messy and when you’re out of the 3 x clothes change a day phase you have a nice storage unit for toys!!
23 October 2015
Each day that my kids today away their toys, they get a star sticker on their charts. if they get all 7 stickers, they get a treat. :)
24 October 2015
Use a pool noodle under a fitted sheet to keep your child from falling out of a cot bed. Also we used one around the sides of our changing station to stop our little girl from injuring herself.
24 October 2015
When you are on the beach, and want to go for a swim. Wrap your valuables in a clean nappy. Nobody will want to steal that!
24 October 2015
A cut swim noodle will prevent little fingers from getting slammed in doors
27 October 2015
I haven’t developed any parent hacks yet (that I know of) but I love reading what everyone else has come up with.
27 October 2015
Read together, even for 10 minutes a day – it is a great bonding experience as well as being good for the little ones’ minds and development. It is something they will look back on too.
27 October 2015
Be consistent with your kids.x
27 October 2015
Always give 5 minute warnings…… Great when leaving a play date or getting out of the bath as it means your child knows that time is nearly up but they have a few minutes to do the usual ‘I just want to…’ things!
27 October 2015
Use a plastic cup as a sparkler shield for children – poke a hole through the base of the cup so your child can place his/her hand in the cup and hold the end of the sparkler.
27 October 2015
velcro dusters to the soles of slippers to get hard wood floors cleaned while skating
27 October 2015
The moment of shock when a child falls over before he/she starts balling their eyes out say “Quick, shake it off” and shake your arms to show them its ok. If it is not a serious injury this should stop many tears!!
27 October 2015
Turn chores into a game, Simon Says goes down well in our house
27 October 2015
When using disposable nappies at night, pre unfold them for speed of use.
And whenever using reusables, put the pockets in as soon as they’re dry,keeps it all together
27 October 2015
always make a time to tidy and make it interesting
27 October 2015
Baby wipes can be used for a lot more than nappy changes.
27 October 2015
Try and make everything fun!
27 October 2015
I’ve always said if they’re old enough to ask they’re old enough to know. No matter how embaressing their questions may be always answer honestly, but in an age appropriate way.
27 October 2015
freeze your child’s drink in their packed lunch so it keeps everything cool as it defrosts
27 October 2015
We have a competition between the boys for who can keep their room the cleanest during the week and then whoever wins gets some chocolate on Sunday- works a treat xx
27 October 2015
make chores fun
27 October 2015
Make sure to read them a bedtime story every single day!
27 October 2015
Make everything interesting and fun!
27 October 2015
make tidying up a game from as young as possible so that it doesn’t become a shock when they are older!
27 October 2015
Buy a face plate to use for meal times it encourages them to eat more.
28 October 2015
Reward good behaviour
28 October 2015
lay the jungle gym over the head end of the changing mat, baby can then lay happily distracted whilst you are easily able to do the nappy!
28 October 2015
Plastic dust sheets from the pound shop are great for messy play such as play doh and painting. It’s saved my carpet lots of times
28 October 2015
make it fun
28 October 2015
Always have snacks
28 October 2015
Buy a wooden ottoman box for your living room, Ive done this and hides toys away when not in use! :D
28 October 2015
Be patient
28 October 2015
I don’t have any children but would love to win this prize to donate to charity, to go to Romania.
28 October 2015
To get your kids to put their shoes on the correct feet, cut a sticker in half and place it on the insides of their shoes
28 October 2015
Have a rainy day box – makes staying indoors a treat in bad weather
28 October 2015
If you want to buy cheaper brands of food but the children tell you they can tell the difference and want the more expensive brand, save the boxes/bottles and decant the contents into the more expensive boxes/bottles; they’ll never know the difference. As a child I loved Sunny Delight but my mum wouldn’t buy it for me, she told me many years afterwards that she bought one bottle and, when it was empty, refilled it with fresh orange juice; I didn’t know the difference!
28 October 2015
don’t make extra washing for yourself. a little bit of sick on a babygrow isn’t going to harm the baby, just wipe it with a baby wipe and let them keep wearing the item.
28 October 2015
Take each day as it comes, forgetting the bad moments and moving on.
29 October 2015
Anything with built in scratch mits, so frustrating when you are always picking them upand putting them back on x
29 October 2015
Let your children help with the housework by turning it into a game
29 October 2015
dont back down
29 October 2015
Clean toys and shoes/trainers in the dishwasher
30 October 2015
when you go shopping and they always ask for stuff go to the bread counter first and pick up a baguette or french stick break the end off and give it to them to chew on this has always given me a quiet relaxed shop
30 October 2015
With 3 boys and a single mummy I learnt not to sweat the small stuff, pick my battles, and accept that the toilet seat will 90% of the time be left up!!
31 October 2015
Reward the kids with something you were going to do anyway :)
31 October 2015
Not everything needs ironing, especially when they are playing in the garden
31 October 2015
WD40 is perfect for removing crayon marks.
31 October 2015
The fact that baby vests are designed so than they can be removed via the legs was a major revelation to me – unfortunately I only discovered it after dealing with a couple of poomagedons!
31 October 2015
Draw out your kid’s feet so you don’t need to always carry him/her around to buy shoes.
31 October 2015
Teach them to tidy up from an early age ;)
1 November 2015
get them on veg as soon as possible. make a game out of it – like ‘you are a giant, eat the trees – brocolli’.
1 November 2015
Don’t panic
2 November 2015
Pick your battles – don’t make every little thing an issue.
2 November 2015
Making sure that every toy has it’s own place in her bedroom, it makes easier for her to keep them tidy :)
4 November 2015
don’t let me know what buttons to push
5 November 2015
Make everything interesting and fun.
5 November 2015
stick to a routine, especially bedtimes
5 November 2015
I slice up my sons Apple but if it starts going brown he refuses to eat it!
So I slice it up and fit it back together and tie a rubber band around it to prevent it going brown!
My son gets his fruit and I get no waste ?
5 November 2015
I also tie rubber bands a round the bathroom handles to prevent his little fingers getting caught or him getting locked in ?
7 November 2015
Give them little jobs around the house to teach them responsibility.
8 November 2015
play silly games when traveling, my kids used to count mole hills on train journeys, what colour the next on coming car will be on car journeys, silly but fun. and made the trips less stresssful.
9 November 2015
Praise a lot and make them frightened of having to sit on the naughty step from an early age
10 November 2015
routine, especially with more than 1 child, keeps everything calm and everyone happy
12 November 2015
Your time is the best thing you can spoil them with
13 November 2015
routine especially at bedtime
13 November 2015
Pass them to uncle for a few hours.
16 November 2015
Make clearing away part of play (from an early age)
16 November 2015
PICK YOUR BATTLES FOR THE THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER
16 November 2015
Take time for yourself
18 November 2015
Be firm but fair whilst ensuring that you are consitant
18 November 2015
Be firm but fair whilst remaining consistant
18 November 2015
Always separate the child from their behaviour, for example ‘I love you, but I do not like your behaviour’ – this then avoids labelling a child based on their behaviour which can lead to a lack in confidence and them internalising that they are ‘bad’……can you tell I am a social worker?! :)
18 November 2015
Spending quality time doing things the kids want to do is worth its weight in gold.
18 November 2015
what habits you teach them when there young is what they will have when older, i.e sleeping in your bed, toilet before bed etc…
19 November 2015
Instead of expensive name labels, use a simple sharpie pen to name your child’s possessions – quick, easy and durable.
19 November 2015
Enjoy them, they grow and change so quickly…
19 November 2015
Baby bags… they can get in quite a jumble sometimes, my hack is for a quick and easy emergency clothing crisis. Lets face it, we’ve all been there when there has been a nappy leak or a sicky episode.
Lay a vest, top and trousers on top of each other. Have some socks to hand.
roll the items of clothing like a sausage (if that makes sense) then at each end, place the socks over the clothes.
This secures the entire emergency outfit for baby together and will all be within easy grasp in the changing bag. Also takes up less space!
Its easier to show what I mean in a picture rather than words, I hope that I have described it well enough that I don’t look/sound like a dafty!
19 November 2015
Have a good routine
19 November 2015
When your toddler is screaming blue murder at you, take the opportunity to check their teeth! Sounds silly but it is useful and also works as a distraction for you so that you can remain calmer and a bit detached from the tantrum, and my toddler would never show me his teeth if I asked!
Also- tights, for any gender and age. They are so much better than socks when they are little. you don’t get that strip of bare leg and you can’t lose them either.
20 November 2015
use bath time when you have the kids in one place to really talk about what you need too x
21 November 2015
I ak the to helpme do little houshold jobs and then praise them.
21 November 2015
For helping them get their coat on independently. Put the hood on first (So your like superman with a cape!) and then put arms in. For zipping it up, make sure they look to the sky so they/ you don’t catch their chin!
22 November 2015
Don’t make compromises after you said ‘no’.
22 November 2015
Use a cheap paddling pool as a “playpen” to contain the children’s toys (and children :D)
22 November 2015
Learn First Aid, it is so reassuring to know you can manage an emergency like choking
22 November 2015
I chop up veg really small or puree it to hide it inside meals without them knowing they are eating them! It works great for spinach, onion and greens! (@PeanutHog)
22 November 2015
time spent playing is worth more than double the time spent cleaning and tidying up
22 November 2015
Don’t worry about the house being untidy when people visit! Encourage the kids to get involved with the cooking and washing up – involve them in all aspects of day to day life.
22 November 2015
I found I dont need to shout when they shout. I dont have to punish with the naughty step or time out if I remain calm as my emotions effect the moods of my children . Distraction is the key and it works so well
22 November 2015
Always make a big deal of the little things they are big things to your child at the time and those big wows are what give them confidence xx
22 November 2015
get them to tidy up after they have played with their toys
22 November 2015
always be consistant
22 November 2015
I never thought I’d do it before I had kids but co-sleeping is the best way for a full night’s sleep!
22 November 2015
mum kniows best.. follow your gut!
22 November 2015
My kids are in beavers and cubs i am rubbish at sewing, so mummyhack is gluing the badges on! massive time saver no one notices
22 November 2015
Keep calm and go with the flow.
22 November 2015
Be inventive with the typical fussy foods, going the extra mile pays off and you do wonders for their nutrition. also, put that phone down. It’s almost terrifying when you realise the moments you miss.
22 November 2015
I have asked my children to tidy up from a young age.
22 November 2015
Give them a choice of 2 acceptable options, that way they think they made the choice but really you did
22 November 2015
get them involved, have a rewards system
22 November 2015
Lie a sheet down before the Lego comes out! It’s a quick clean up at the end of playtime
22 November 2015
Make tidying up after into a game, time it and try and get them to beat the record and then get them to have a lucky dip reward
23 November 2015
When potty training… wrap a towel around a bin bag/plastic small change mat and lay it flat on a car seat (especially useful if child falls asleep!)..
23 November 2015
I use terry nappies and its really hard to get the pin into the nappy. So my tip is to glide the pin into a bar of soap first, then the pin will go through the nappy easily. Works everytime x
23 November 2015
Give them temporary tattoos of your mobile number in case they get lost during an outing.
23 November 2015
as soon as your child starts becoming naughty use distraction so they forget what they are upset about!
23 November 2015
carry wet wipes at all times!
23 November 2015
make tidying up into a fun game eg fastest to pick their things up
23 November 2015
Put a cupcake case around an ice lolly stick to keep little hands from getting sticky on hot days
23 November 2015
I always have at home lots of stickers and colouring paper in case they get bored :)
23 November 2015
Turn tidying up into a game to see who’s quickest. After all many hands make light work.
23 November 2015
Keep calm at all times
23 November 2015
When getting kids to tidy up their toys before bed, anything that is left on the floor or not put back in its proper place goes into a bag for charity. Kids can earn the toy back for good behaviour or by doing extra chores. At the end of the month or a specified time period, any toys still in the charity bag go off to goodwill. I found you only need to carry out this threat once, afterwards kids will be careful not to lose any toys this way and will be much better at tidying away.
23 November 2015
Stay calm, dont show frustration, teach your toddler to behave well by providing love, attention, praise, encouragement and a degree of routine.
23 November 2015
Put a rubber band over the door handles (like toilet door handles) so the door can’t close/lock
23 November 2015
Pick your battles carefully, and bite your tongue if you have to
23 November 2015
Disposable bibs are a godsend!
23 November 2015
Have spare packets of wipes/nappies dotted about the house or car, helps running about the house when you need them the most
23 November 2015
Be patient
23 November 2015
For little ladies, pop vests/bodysuits over tights so that the tights don’t fall down!
23 November 2015
Baby wipes can be used to clean just about anything. Stash packets everywhere. You never know when you’ll need them! x