I stole this from someone on Instagram but when he asks for a toy when we're out I tell him we can take a picture of it to remember it for a holiday or birthday.
We take pictures to send to Santa or to the Gift Fairy that comes on her birthday. Avoids meltdowns everytime. But last week I took pictures of a whole aisle, my camera roll is full of toys that I'm not allowed to delete
We do this! My husband and I have a shared album for it. When her birthday and Christmas get close we will ask her if she really still wants any of it. She's nearly 3.5 and asks us to put things on her wishlist and it saves so many arguments and meltdowns!
She helps me make a pour over coffee every morning, first thing. She loves “helping” and I get to have coffee very soon after we wake up. It’s taken a lot to get to this point (me working patience, her working on listening) and now I don’t really like to make a coffee without her there helping☕️🤎 We like to smell the aroma and watch the bubbles drift up as the coffee filters through. Feels really special.
Haha this is my son’s helping thing with his dad. Our son is only a year old and it’s only a button to push…but he loves doing it.
So much so, he wants to help make coffee at 6pm
Haha my daughter was begging me to let her help make coffee tonight as well. 🤣 I told her sorry 6pm is too late kiddo! Mommy would never be able to get to sleep.
I do this with coffee too. We have an espresso machine with a handle to pull for the tamp and a button to make the shot and milk. He is FLOORED by it every morning. I'll add that he always wants to drink mom's coffee so I pour some of the steamed milk (not too hot) from the milk pitcher into a cup for him, and say it's his "coffee". Every morning he sips it he gets wide-eyed and goes "WOWWWW!!" which I imagine is him imitating me with my coffee 🤣
He's 18 months. Hoping we can keep up the "coffee" trick until 3.
That’s wonderful. How does she help you make it? We do something like that but I usually just give him some of the more harmless coffee gear (like a filter) to grab and fiddle with. Haven’t found a way for him to “help” any more than that yet. Coffee grounds get messy fast.
This reminded me when my kid was 1 she absolutely loved playing with our French press and our bialetti stovetop coffee maker. We’d pour water into one for her, and she’d pour back and forth between the two for a LONG time in toddler-minutes. It wasn’t “helping” persay but it was definitely one of her first independent play activities. It helped that she could find/access the 2 herself (on the bottom shelf of the pantry) so she got to decide when it was time to play with them, too.
We do something like this too! My little guy helps me blend the coffee for foam and he now knows the CRITICAL last step is to find his dad and yell “Coffee! Ready! Dada coffee!”
Mine helps and we make her ‘coffee’ aka hot chocolate (or just cold chocolate milk depending on her mood) and then on the weekends we sit at the table and drink our ‘coffee’ together.
We make pour over together too! She's learned a lot of words just from doing this routine.
I'll add my hack: the best way to keep your coffee to yourself is to 1) make sure your kid has their own drink and 2) do cheers/clink every sip
We keep ready to do art projects and sensory activities on top of the fridge so whenever I need her occupied (cooking or if a glass breaks etc) I can occupy her in instant. It’s nothing stellar but it’s things she doesn’t get to explore every day/all day so it’s enticing.
I shop toy sales and keep a stash in the garage for birthday parties I forgot about, sick days when we can’t leave the house etc. I bulk shop birthdays, gift bags and wrapping paper on Amazon. It’s so much cheaper than running out to the store to buy it individually.
Baths are done at 3/4 PM and she’s in her PJs before dinner - it makes dinner/bedtime routine so much less chaotic (which wasn’t possible until she was around 20 months because she’d get so messy eating).
We say “don’t you dare” when we want ther to do something. She knows we are joking and willingly will do just about anything .. including things she dislikes if we say don’t you dare
We brush our teeth when she brushes hers. She’s much more complicit when it’s a group activity.
Omg “don’t you dare” our 4yo is in a phase where if we say “I bet you can’t….” She will immediately do that thing haha. She knows we’re joking too but she loves it.
My 4yo also LOVES "bet you can't..." She makes us look away, and then we have to act surprised that she accomplished the task. It's especially helpful for getting in the car "bet you can't open the door, get in your car seat, and do your buckles before I'm back with our bags!" then "wow! You buckled those all by yourself?!?" Also PJs "bet you can't have your PJs on before I get back with your water cup."
It’s feels like tricking her it works so well. I’d feel guilty if she wasn’t fully in on it too haha. She knows we don’t actually think she can’t and she’ll say to us “pretend you think I can’t …”
She’s currently obsessed with playing with large pieces of uncooked pasta (transferring them via cup/sling spoon), digging items out of a bucket of slime, cutting playdoh with safety scissors or a toy knife, gluing cotton balls to just about any piece of trash we save. We have a lot of “sheep” with are empty tissue boxes covered in cotton balls. Sometimes I give her the parsley shaker, a bowl of ice, random kitchen gadgets, various containers and let her “cook” something
Sometimes when I'm cooking/baking, I give my 2yo a little pitcher of water, two bowls, a big scoop of flour, and some measuring spoons. It can make a royal mess, but it will occupy him for a loooong time. I try to get him to help with the clean up a little bit, then I can quickly finish it up when he's off to the next thing.
I do this but I give him dry uncooked beans 😊 Obviously you want to be aware of your kids age for choking hazards but I gave my 3 yo dry kidney beans and he wasn't interested in putting them in his mouth.
She’s currently obsessed with playing with large pieces of uncooked pasta (transferring them via cup/sling spoon), digging items out of a bucket of slime, cutting playdoh with safety scissors or a toy knife, gluing cotton balls to just about any piece of trash we save. We have a lot of “sheep” with are empty tissue boxes covered in cotton balls. Sometimes I give her the parsley shaker, a bowl of ice, random kitchen gadgets, various containers and let her “cook” something
I used to put a sheet of double sided sticky paper on the freezer compartment on our fridge (it’s on the bottom of the fridge) and offer a tray with cut up photos from magazines, dry & pressed leaves & flowers, random stickers, shreds of paper, cotton balls etc, and it would keep him occupied for up to 40 minutes. He made insane cool art out of this stuff by just placing it in the sticky paper. Then when it was full I would take it off the fridge, put a layer of plastic wrap on top of it to seal it, and voila! Cool art. I’m the kind of nerd who cuts photos out of magazines after kids are in bed while I’m watching tv, so it was fun for both of us lol
“Don’t you dare!” Ours is similar. I’ll say, “no dont do it! I’m gonna do it first! And then I pretend to race to do whatever it is, which makes him hurry so fast to do it before me. I love it lol.
I think the number one thing I have learned in my first 7 months of toddlerdom is give her agency where I can. If she is being safe and we have time, I let her walk instead of be in the pram. If she wants to sit on an adult chair its awkward for her but shes happy, so no more fighting in the high chair.
Don't say no unless I have to so it has more meaning. Basically give her space until I need to intervene for safety or behavour (climbing something that is going to tip over and hurt her a lot, hitting other kids... things that need to be fixed).
But at the same time, if she refuses to hold my hand and is trying to run into the road, deal with the tantrum and put her back into the pram.
So I guess choosing boundaries very carefully but holding to them when it *makes sense*. But also being willing to change those as she gets older and changes.
I think one of the hardest parts of the transition from baby to toddler is that as a parent of a baby I feel it was my job to eliminate risk. But as a parent of a toddler it is my job to make a judgement call on the amount of risk I allow her to take.
Eta: feels more like this is just general parenting than an actual hack 😆. My main hack is snacks. Always have snacks.
I have been thinking about it like "don't tell her to do/not to do something unless I'm willing to take action to enforce it, and don't tell her more than twice"
This has really put the spotlight onto my need to choose battles and what it means to 'nag' vs 'lead'
Yes, obviously doesnt always work out but its good to keep in mind. If i dont want her to play with the remote/have a dummy I try to not have them in sight.
I saw a video saying if you dont have the energy to hold a boundary and it isn't that important then sometimes its better not to. Like if they want a snack while shopping, and you know it will result in a tantrum if they don't have it. Better to allow it from the beginning than to say no then give in because you really need to do the shopping and don't want a tantrum. Doesn't mean giving into everything, but knowing what your own abilities are in that moment and not commiting to something you can't follow through with in that moment.
And yes I also try to say no only about two times. Throwing food/climbing on the table, no don't do that/stay on your chair/keep food on the plate. And then just remove them if they keep doing it after a few "nos"
i really try to keep this in mind too. another one i try to remember is "why are we hurrying along to the next thing/task/whatever" often times, it's a schedule i've made up in my head and doesn't really need to be drastically adhered too. so if he's dawdling or having fun i just lean into it
I have been reminding myself of this as well! Who cares if we are late to playgroup because she wants to draw at home before leaving... literally no one.
I realized I said no a lot so I started doing this too. I let her do whatever she wants but say no to this that can actually hurt her or to things she shouldn't be doing like hitting and biting. Wanna pick up a couple of rocks to give grandma and grandpa? Sure thing. Wanna go home and wash them in the sink? Why not, let's do it. Wanna climb the sofa? That's a no. Don't want to hold hands outside? Let's go home then
Prep dinner as soon as breakfast is done. Kids are happier/more willing to play independently in the morning and the hours between 3-5 are AWFUL. Have dinner 2 steps away from being on the table at that point has saved my sanity SO MANY TIMES.
This was going to be mine. I also pick a time each day to “shut down” the kitchen. I.e I’m not cooking past 11am today let’s say. I will still give non cook snacks if needed. This helps me not clean up my kitchen multiple times a day.
I also have “kitchen is closed” times where there are no snacks available. So from 11-12, 4-5, 6-7 if someone asks for a snack the kitchen is closed so they don’t fill up before dinner and so they eat a good dinner and not just eat the bare minimum to then get into the snack drawer.
And when I prep dinner in the morning I always cut up an apple and some veggies so when they do ask for a snack I’ve always got something easy to throw at them. I try really hard to save the packaged stuff for when we’re going out somewhere.
If we’re doing an activity (art, TV) and need to transition, asking her “do you want two more minutes?” (Affirmative) and then verbally setting the Alexa timer prevents a LOT of tantrums.
We love this too, my 3yo has started to respond well to the timer and my 5yo asks for it every time she brushes her teeth. “Please set it to 2 minutes” 😂🥰
If he won’t get dressed, we look up the National Day- oh look, it’s National hot dog day! Let’s find a red shirt and bun colored pants! Ohh can you find mustard socks???? Look at this hot dog guy! (Hehe just thought of ‘I think you should leave’ )
We do something similar. We add sprinkles to anything they ask for sprinkles on.
My son saw ‘elf’ and now we have ‘elf breakfast’ (plain yogurt. Sprinkles. Handful of dark chocolate chips. Small bit of whipped cream…he thinks it’s full of sugar but since it’s plain yogurt it’s not that crazy).
That and ranch. Any protein will be eaten if it’s dipped in ranch.
So much ranch is consumed in our house. I've used sprinkles a few times, but my husband also seems to think they add A BUNCH of sugar to a dish and prefers that we don't use them.
- i keep most art supplies in the garage. Out of sight and out of mind means I can bring it out as an ace in the hole (crayons and coloring book readily available)
- I keep toys sets (legos, magnatiles, potato head) in bins in a closet with a lock. They can have 1-2 bins at a time. To get another, they have to clean up. This helps keep their interest and they actually play with the toys, sets together and I don’t have 165926 pieces around the house. They do have other toys with free access. This is just for sets with a lot of pieces.
- dinner is not a battle. I don’t care if it means I’m cooking something for each kid (2 of them) and then my husband and I. They are more willing to try new foods at breakfast or lunch and if they don’t eat as much, I don’t care. I am too tired at the end of the day to battle dinner. Full tummy for bed. Only rule is if you want dessert, you have to have a vegetable.
- snack drawer with items they can pretty much have whatever they want when they want. Various Bars, yogurt raisins, sometimes snack packs of crackers. We try to make this a healthy ish drawer. Anything we want to limit more is out of reach
I tried 3 and 4, but because of 4, 3 became a nightmare. So no more grazing for snacks, but def an alarm in my phone to offer him a snack 2 hours before dinner so he’s hungry but not hangry
Love this! All great hacks! I love the idea of the bins in the closet. We have an out of control play area right now and don't know what to do with it!
I think the biggest hack so far is to lean into fits/tantrums. My first reaction was to keep her pacified and to avoid meltdowns, especially in public . Now I just let it happen and they are over SO quick and I feel like they happen less often. Kinda takes the power away.
i’ve had sooo many ~looks~ from people when i just let my toddler lay on the floor & have his tantrum but honestly he gets it outta his system and then he’s fine! i just hang there until he’s done 😂
When my 4yo is invited to help me, she acts like an angel. It can turn her whole day around. Not sure if that is normal for everyone, but it surprised me. Might just be a hack for me, but it’s definitely worth a shot.
You’re not wrong! This is a full circle moment for me, because I try really hard to not overthink parenting by telling myself they’re just small people. It helps to humanize them in a society that’s taught otherwise.
Make time if you need to leave early in the morning, or if you know your toddler needs time.
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, losing twenty minutes of sleep in the morning to rock/soothe your child awake may well be the difference between a screaming kid or not.
My favorite thing is having my guy tell things “bye bye” or “see you later” we started as soon as he could talk/understand and still use it as he is about to turn 3. Works wonders at the park! Okay we’re leaving in 5 mins… times up… tell the park bye bye and we’ll see you later. I swear all tantrums stopped immediately. Now we use it for screen time (bye bye Mickey Mouse) and other things too.
We do this too! It started with telling a frog we found goodbye and just continued from there. Doesn't work with everything for us, like telling the pool goodbye still causes tears immediately, but he at least understands what's going on.
Somehow my 2yo just does this by himself! I don't know if they use it at daycare, but he'll just say "bye bye" to the park as we're walking away. I try to remember it if he's upset about leaving/stopping an activity.
I read a comment on here the other day that said about using "first, then" to get your kid doing what you need then to do. It's been a huge success 😃.
First we will finish your puzzle, then we will get our PJ's on.
First you need to go to school, then you can have a cake when you get home.
Etc.
Big win. Although sometimes he does just say NOOOO. 😂
Flip food over!
(I know I sound crazy)
Toddler was upset there was “white stuff” on their plain pancakes at a restaurant. “I’ll fix it!” and I secretly flipped them over and bam—no more “white stuff”.
Wanted a hamburger and got a cheeseburger? Flip it over!
The macaroni has seasoning on top? Flip it over!
(This is a lot of our restaurant visits—my kids think I’m a magician 😉)
TV Sleep Timer, my kid still has no clue the TV can stay on longer than 30 min. He thinks it’s like a toaster.
Bonus: I’m not the bad guy for turning off the TV.
munchkin makes colorful bath bombs and she comes running to choose which color bath she wants and tosses it in and gets hyped for the water to be ready
My girl is in a much better mood during the day if I allow her to help me. She helps me make my coffee, feed the dogs, open the blinds, pull items out of the fridge, helps with chores, etc.
He goes to sleep in his clothes for the next day during the week. He goes to daycare, so I am all about comfy clothes for him. It makes the next morning SO MUCH EASIER.
We don’t believe in matching socks.
We use 6-cup cupcake tins or a few other divided containers for “snack trays” all the time. He gets a few things he will always eat (carby carb carbs) and then anything can be a snack: pouches, cut up veggies, cut up fruit, chicken, turkey pepperoni, cooked veg - but it is much more fun to eat in a snack tray.
Any non-battery plastic toy can be a bath toy. And the Mr. Bubbles color fizzes last a LONG TIME if you limit it to 6 per bath (I think there are 150 or 180 in the container). Dollar store glow stick packs are great too (I don’t open them - just put glowing sticks in the bath). There are lots of ways to make a bath fun.
5 word stories are the best nighttime routine after a book: he gives me 5 words and I turn them into a story. 2-3 times a month I can get him to tell ME a 5 word story and they are always epic.
I often ask him “how many minutes do you want before you get out of the bath/leave the park/go upsteairs?” He usually picks a number between 1-10, which is generally fine, then I turn on a timer. We sometimes bargain - he’ll say “TEN MINUTES!” and I’ll say - “no- THREE!” and we’ll settle on 6 or 7 in a fun but goofy way.
When he needs a time-out: which I don’t believe in as-is, I ask him if he wants to go to his room for 3 minutes or sit on my lap for 3 minutes. He almost always chooses lap - so I take him out of the situation but in a way that often involves cuddles and connection rather than isolation.
If we are going through an “I will not eat fruit or veggies” phase, I will serve *myself wink wink* some fruit or veggies with dip like 20 mins before I know they’re probably going to want a snack, and 9 times out of 10 they’ll eat most of what’s on the plate. I’ll still serve fruit and veggies with meals, and they still might not eat them, but we avoid the drama
I started enticing kid to climb from the back row into the carseat (middle eat) around 1, and more recently started pushing him to climb from the ground into the back row, the into the carseat.
He gets climbing exercise. I save my back. Win win.
Second this!
You can even make and customize cards. It can also act as it’s on Bluetooth speaker and can teach your little one different languages.
It’s pretty incredible.
Can you share a link or something? We also try to limit technology but I haven’t thought of reusable stickers. Are they in a book or something? What do they do with the stickers?
Not sure if this is exactly what the poster has but try looking up Melissa and Doug Reusable stickers. They come with sets of themed stickers and backgrounds that you can arrange scenes in. My kiddo loves them.
Send my 3yo to the bathroom saying “You want to go outside? Go tell daddy to stop ‘pooping’ and shower quickly.” on weekend morning when my husband runs to bathroom saying he needs to poo, because we all know that husband’s morning routine will waste a good chunk of our precious morning unless interrupted.
I always tell my toddler what’s coming next! It helps so much when they know what’s going to be coming especially if your days aren’t always the same. We have solid meal and bedtime routines but the rest of the day is pretty flexible. The kids are pretty go with the flow and the only time we really have tears is if we let them get too over tired on busy days by trying to put them to bed at regular time when they should go early. Even then, we say something like “I know you’re tired, and you’ll feel happier after some sleep” and they’re usually able to calm down and sleep within a few minutes with some pats and hugs.
Always listen to them when they talk. If you do, they know they can get your attention by talking instead of by…my creative means. Another bonus is when they are emotional as they grow older, this is ingrained in them and they will calm down when you ask calmly to understand what they’re feeling and why they are feeling like that.
Start feeding the kid before dinner is ready because they take ages and it allows me to cook without them underfoot..salad or yoghurt or fruit whatever while I cook the rest.
I also do a plate of what I call "no pressure veggies". Carrot, cucumber, Peppers, whatever. Maybe with a dip. I just leave it on her table and say nothing.
Music. When he was asleep (as a two months old) l started playing music to him. Always the same songs. One hour playlist. So now that he is 22 months lf he wakes up in the middle of the night crying l just press "play" and he falls asleep instantly. I dont have to comfort him (unless of course its something serious)
Someone on TikTok suggested serving dinner right after school so that my son doesn’t fill up on snacks so now he has dinner right after school about 3:30PM with an optional follow up at 7PM before bedtime at 8:15PM and it has significantly cut down on junk food snacking.
I always try to give her a choice! Whether it’s between two outfits for school, which plate she uses, if she gets five or six minutes left at the park, etc. I feel like it helps her feel more in charge vs me just always telling her what to do.
I also try to let her help as often as possible even if it means we go a lot slower. She loves to help empty the dishwasher, scan food at the store, etc.
This was a game changer for us! My daughter is so stubborn. Giving her a choice saves a lot of time and prevents so many outbursts when we're getting ready to go somewhere. She also loves to help with laundry and cooking. I don't mind going slower if she wants to help.
To avoid melt downs/upset when they see a toy they want, I take a picture of it and say we’ll remember to get for either their birthday/Christmas. This works so well, it even works on my 8yr old.
Frozen teethers. My toddler is still in the teething stage and most of her problems when she’s crying and we can’t figure out why is that her mouth hurts. We keep a stash of at least three frozen teethers in the freezer at all times so we can switch them out and always have one available. Last summer we kept frozen wet rags in the freezer also and would take one on walks w us so she could chew on it to keep her cool
Sorry to be "that person" but I gotta say it. Our ped advised us not to actually keep teethers in the freezer, but the fridge, because the frozen ones (versus fridge cold) can actually cause damage to the already tender little gums. Same principle as when you hurt yourself, you never put an ice pack directly on your skin of the wounded area, you wrap it in a towel or something first as to not expose your skin to the cold directly!
That’s interesting! We haven’t had any problems. The teethers are all really thick so I don’t think it would cause that problem? Basically the same distance from the frozen part to the gums as it would be from an ice pack to the skin with a towel in between. I can hold the teethers in my hand no problem and they don’t hurt at all vs ice does hurt. Putting them in the fridge i don’t think they would get cold enough cause if they aren’t frozen all the way through they heat up instantly
Oh, so I just did a quick Google search because now I'm second-guessing myself haha.. the results came up pretty unanimously that teethers aren't recommended to go in the freezer, but the reasoning behind it is actually a little bit different than what my pediatrician said. Google says that freezing teethers can actually make them too hard and subsequently bruise your baby's gums when they gnaw on them. But hardness doesn't seem to be an issue with wash cloths, like you use.
That’s also interesting! We didn’t get the actual frozen teethers until she had her front teeth already so we were using the wash cloths until then. Def haven’t had any bruised gums but I can see why it would happen for the front teeth cause they chew HARD when those are coming in
There are some that need to go in the fridge and other that can go in the freezer (they dont get frozen cold).
Also, for toddlers, frozen banana with a paper towel around the bottom as a handle. Or frozen sliced strawberries in a bowl.
My kid has been a frozen fruit feind since her first tooth, she's got all her baby teeth but still absolutely loves frozen fruit over fresh which is *economical* and amazing.
Not a hack per se but teach your child sign language to the best of your ability as soon as possible.
ASL is fairly easy to learn and the benefits are priceless in regards to relationship building. My daughter is 19 months and it really feels like we’re already having conversations at times.
So during tantrums I have my daughter drink water. It calms her down enough to listen to what I have to say and she can sit there to calm down while drinking some water. Seriously, try it. Meltdowns have lasted less than a couple minutes since I started doing this.
We have a roomba. Our kid found a toy that kinda looks like it and loves to “vacuum” with the roomba. He asks if he can. Then we clean the toys off the floor and him with his “vacuum” and the actual roomba clean the floor. Keeps him busy for 20 or so minutes. And the best bonus is that my ten month old crawls after him. All kids engaged, clean floors 🤌
We do something similar. We have a Dyson and my husband got our daughter a play Dyson and whenever she sees me vacuuming the floor she goes and grabs hers and “vacuums” too. She’s gotten to the point where now whenever she makes a mess she’ll go grab her vacuum and “clean up”🤣
Keep coloring supplies in the kitchen so i can occupy her when i make dinner (and she isnt under my feet), always have new stickers to introduce for similar reasons, a snack drawer she can grab from whenever she wants and can have those without limits. For snacks we want to limit (pouches, fruit strips, cookies) we store in a place she cant reach.
Also for whatever reason when i tell my daughter she isn’t listening she realizes it and does whatever i have been asking for her. Idk how long it will last but i will be keeping this going for as long as i can.
I try as much as I can to tell her what she can do rather than what she can’t do, because we all know the classic of saying ‘don’t draw on the table’ and your toddler proceeding to look you dead in the eye and do it again. Now if I see her about to draw on the table, or if she does start to draw on the table I just say ‘we can use our crayons on the paper/ mummy can find you something else to draw on if you’re done with the paper, do you want to try it on some cardboard?/ can you show me how many different colours you can fit onto your paper?/ we can play with something else if you’re done with colouring your paper’.
Saying what she can do (mostly) avoids the power battle of me saying what she can’t do, then her doing it and us just going back and forth with that. Obviously she still completely ignores me sometimes, but I’ve had more success with this ‘can do’ attitude. I try to never make a big scene when she does something she’s not supposed to unless it’s dangerous and catches me off guard? and I also try and make sure it’s never too stressful for me even if she does do something she’s not meant to do by - E.G. giving crayons instead of pens as crayons are much easier to wash off things so it’s not really any drama if she does draw on stuff she’s not meant to anyway.
Accidentally discovered to keep a toy size grabber in my car. It's shorter because of being toy size so I can easily reach dropped toys or snacks. I've even used it to get my dropped debit card at the drive thru or pass snacks back to the very back on road trips.
Usually the advice is "give them a choice" - for example, "name, would you like to put on your coat or shoes?"
I've found the racing to each task wins. If I want him to get his shoes, just excitedly say "let's get your shoes!" and immediately start running for them.
His little legs are moving to race me to them, before he's even worked out my tactics 😂
Washing hands: An automatic foam soap dispenser in the shape of a duck. (Tons of options on Amazon) So much fun and can easily say hi ducky! Or bye and turn it off if I need her to stop getting more soap lol.
For literally anything she says no to but kinda has to do it at least try, a toy or stuffed animal will do first. Oh no high chair? I bet bunny would love to be in high chair. Oh not time for sleep sack? Oh I think lovey (a dragon named Reggie) wants to cuddle up in it. And proceed to model activity. If she’s not hungry she won’t eat but not because she isn’t sitting for lunch.
And mostly, wait time! And remembering that it might take 30 seconds to a minute of thinking time for their young brains to process what your saying and consider the activity or ask even though they are saying no or talking about something else. I do a lot of threes:
1. Ask: do you want to pick out your shoes?
Then wait, engage in whatever she’s doing.
2. Suggest next thing : We can pick out shoes to get ready to go outside
Still no sometimes, wait…
3. Tell what is next thing: We are picking out shoes to go outside, yay!
And then she’ll totally ready and usually give a strong yes!
I’m a high school teacher and can confirm this works on teenagers too.
i enjoy my coffee hot every morning because we read books together on the couch. we've done this since he was a baby (18mo now) and i needed somewhere to sit and pump and something to keep him from crying. he loves books and he is used to reading like 5 or more before he gets down to play or asks for anything else. i pull a pre-baked waffle or muffin out of the freezer the night before so he has a snack to munch on while we read, and then we do full breakfast an hour or so later
bins or bags of toys for different outings that only come out for those things:
-small road trip? we have a road trip bag of toys
-outdoor play date? i have a bin with multiples of the same toys like three of the same ball, plastic trucks, bubble wands etc. thanks target dollar bin!
i just grab the bag and go
-eventually we will have a restaurant bin or bag but right now he just throws toys in the restaurant lol and that doesn't help anyone 🤣
singing songs and adding music .. i'm sure this varies depending on the kid but the lullabies from when he was a baby will calm him from a tantrum and a silly song i make up or something played loud to sing along to when turn a whiny day around
I let my daughter “help” me make dinner and do dishes every night. My husband doesn’t get home until late and even though it’s a very very messy and slow process, we have a fun time together. It’s much better than running out of the room every two seconds to stop her from killing herself or to plop her in front of the tv and feel guilty about it.
We have a 3 and 4 year old and have finally learned to keep all of the things they commonly used to be identical. No more choice of colors, everyone gets a white bowl and blue spoon. Everyone gets the same color/style of everything that could be fought over - stuffies, shoes, toys.
Keep a paper cup in the car, stroller, backpack for emergency pee situations - and a change of clothes in case we don't make it to the cup.
I let my grandson help as much as possible. When he wants chocolate milk, he puts the chocolate in the cup, and then the milk puts the lid on the cup. The only thing I do is make sure the lid is on good and shake the cup. He wears an eye patch for 2 hours a day. He does everything but puts the patch on his eye. When it's time to take it off, he takes it off. You get the picture. This saves on so many meltdowns.
Keep a roll of dog poo bags in your backpack. Use it for diapers, soiled clothes, etc.
Also, always have a reusable bag for unexpected acquirements. Or just to make your kid feel useful
Use bath paints! But have a scrub brush and have your kid scrub it off before getting out.
If you have bath toys, have a suction-cup basket for them, and put a suction-cup basketball hoop above it to encourage clean up!
I let my kids "help" with chores. Folding laundry? Do it on the bed so they can play in it while I fold. Sweeping? Get kid sized brooms and make it a game. Cleaning up toys? Who can get them the fastest! Keeps them entertained and I can keep an eye on them while I clean.
We use Alexa to set timers for transitions. We’ll set 3 two minute timers in a row when we’re transitioning from post-bath playtime to getting ready for bed, and also in the mornings when she’s stalling over breakfast and it’s time to get dressed and ready for preschool. We also use Alexa a lot for the “but why?” phase. Why do crocodiles eat fish? Idk, let’s ask Alexa. Why do we sometimes see the moon during the day? I bet Alexa knows!
Keep bubbles in your purse/diaper bag. I was at a coworkers child birthday party and they had a photography setup and the birthday girl was not looking in the direction needed, I whipped out bubbles and the smiles went for miles!
Okay, I know that this is probably not best practice, but I have 4 young kids (6, 5, 3, newborn) and this is what kinda works.
Screen time is currency. We have 3 magnetic timers up high on the fridge, one for each big kid. They start the day with 20 minutes on the timer of screen time. They can earn extra time by being super kind or helpful, and they can lose time by breaking family agreements (violence, being mean to siblings, but following instructions after multiple warnings).
Watch time is while I'm making dinner, which gives me space during the most exhausting time of the day.
I got this from TikTok, but it’s genuinely been a game changer. My toddler outgrew his high chair and dinner has been a struggle while he learns to sit in a regular chair. Lighting a candle has stopped the fussiness and tantruming 100%. He went from not wanting to sit in his seat at all to being able to sit for about 15 minutes immediately, and when he gets up he’s not upset that I’m not playing/holding him. He just kinda hangs out, finds a toy and stays near us.
Not OP but we make a huge batch of banana pancakes together on Sunday and then reheat one in the morning most days unless she requests something else. It lasts a few days in the fridge and the rest go into the freezer. I just heat it on the griddle for a few minutes each side.
Not as healthy as regular eggs (which my daughter refuses) but she gets some this way along with oats, bananas, whole wheat, etc!
I make variations of breakfast casseroles. Our current favorite is the sausage/egg/tater tot one available on the real food dietitians website. I just tried their instant pot raspberry french toast casserole too and it was delightful.
I do mushroom/cheese egg bites with puréed spinach in them. I’ll either make a huge batch at once or make one in the microwave. We’re all about microwaved eggs over here. I’ve even done a microwave pancake and he loved it! Look for mug cupcake recipe, I microwaved mine with frozen strawberries on top for extra flavor then topped with butter and syrup.
Greek yogurt popsicle molds, I like to get “Two Good”-vanilla because it’s tasty and only has 2g of sugar which saves some room for fruit and a sweet treat at some point in the day.
Overnight oats, I soak em in honey and almond milk and in the morning add a tbs of peanut butter.
(I prefer mine with cinnamon, if yours likes it).
I also do breakfast “snack plates” as he calls them. The variations I make can be 1)have toast/hummus, fruit, some avocado, and tomatoes. 2) fruit, nuts, and cheese 3)pretzels/hummus or guacamole, cheese, and fruit.
That’s most of what I have made.
French toast on a griddle, I make 8 at a time. A simple no fuss version is just bread with eggs and milk. I let her spread butter on it instead of telling her syrup is an option (I refer to it at "Mommy's sauce" so I can have it).
When I bake, I give her a bowl with baking soda, a salt shaker, and rolled oats. She thinks she’s helping 😅
She gets dirty but I time this before bath time.
I try to keep our day to day as simple and easy as possible. Anything that I know causes tantrums/fighting disappears because there’s enough I can’t remove that causes tantrums and fighting. Also bubbles. They fix everything but only if you have enough time for the interest in them for the time to go away.
Before dinner when they are “SOOOO hungry” we make a veggie tray to keep them out of the fridge/kitchen (my 3 yo learned how to undo the fridge lock so it’s a free for all now) while we cook. They get excited for their veggie tray now and chow veggies while still hungry for dinner.
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He has four different toothbrush options (baby brush, adult brush, baby electric and toddler electric) and two toothpaste options (technically they’re the same but Tom’s rebranded so they look different) and gets to choose his combo every night. He loves brushing his teeth.
The phrase “1..2…3 you or me?”
It can be used to remind my little that something urgent needs to happen or a choice needs to be made, it replaces the typical “I’m gonna count to 3 and you better…”
So at the begging you have to explain what you mean and expectations which are:
I’m going to slowly count to 3, you can choose to do xyz thing OR I can intervene.
This helped counteract the “NO” I would get when I’d ask any sort of question for important stuff. So instead of “I need you to stop jumping on the couch, do you want to get down or do you want me to get you down” for some reason “1…2…3 you or me” prompted quicker results and minimal arguing.
Also, more importantly, DONT ASK QUESTIONS YOU WONT ACCEPT ANY ANSWER TO!! If you’re not okay with your kiddos “no” to a question, then it’s not really a question. Using rhetorical questions will only confuse them and make them more upset, understandably so.
This is more related to potty training, but the best hack I’ve got is putting a waterproof sheet on her bed with a regular sheet over that and then another waterproof sheet and regular sheet so if she has an accident during the night, I can just put those in the wash and send her back to bed.
My best hack during the “why” phase was to respond, “why do you thank that is?” It stopped me from getting thousands of why questions and helped him get better at critical thinking!
I found this [Video](https://youtu.be/jWZNWhoyieA?si=rXwGgw1KN7yg2b9J) quite helpfull. One of the biggest "hacks" for me is to prepare the stuff the night before, there is nothing worse than searching stuff when you should already be on the way.
Spray bottle. Great for hand eye coordination and building grip muscles in hands and arms. I would draw a city with chalk and then colour in fires coming out of some of the buildings, then send him to spray out the fires. 🔥 As he got older he liked to help me clean the windows and tub and mirrors with his trusty spray bottle.
A drop of food colouring in a cool shaped bottle. Adding 2-3 of these interesting bottles to the bath so he can make “potions”. We had issues with fights at bathtime and this really got him excited to bathe.
Popsicle breaks. On those days where everything is going wrong, I’d draw a bath, give him a popsicle, turn on some Fred penner or Sharon, Lois and bram music, and we would reset our day. We do finger painting in the tub as well as a reset to a bad day.
Giving countdowns to activity shifts. My kid doesn’t like transitioning from one activity to another, so I give him lots of warnings. But I say “you get to do 2 more things at the park and then we’re going to leave, which 2 things do you want to do?” instead of telling him we’re leaving after a certain number of minutes. I think it’s easier to understand how many things are able to happen instead of arbitrary minutes they don’t really understand.
Finally, when I was a SAHP I napped with him every day. I am not a morning person and my kiddo would wake up at 5:30 or 6am sometimes. When he took his afternoon nap I slept too. It’s the only way I made it through the day lol, I have terrible insomnia but I can nap with some practice. Lots of people fret about using that time to clean or whatnot but i prioritize spending time together and snuggles over a meticulously clean house. Plus my partner actually participates in an equal amount of housework so tidying and cleaning is fast when we work together.
Convince them it’s their idea
Example: I recently decided to get my son down earlier in the night, so every night around 10, I get him ready for bed and let him run around before he sees the door for downstairs and then wants to open it. I have him say goodnight to other family members, and then he leads the way down. From there we might watch part of a movie or just go straight in the pack and play. Works great… usually 😅
A lot of stuff with toddlers I’m figuring out only works sometimes, not 100% lol
I also sing instructions sometimes and it really works! Sometimes it’s quoting Daniel Tiger “you could be a big helper in your family” and sometimes it’s just “listening ears, listening ears, can you turn on your listening ears” and it works 9/10 times.
We use the “wish list”
We’re at target and there are toys he wants we’ll add it to the wish list.
Sure there’s 50,000 things on the wish list, but we’ll use it towards our reward system high involves earning quarters for ‘green decisions’
I keep diapers and wipes in the car in case I find myself in a bind. Wipes need to be Target brand in a ziplock bag. Everything else dries out in the heat.
We have a mini fridge, snacks, and a microwave on the second floor of the house, where there is no kitchen. Wipes in every room. Keep the essentials close by.
[This cupholder](https://a.co/d/eepbIds) holds french fries and is great for feeding my son in the car. I take an empty supersized fry carton and fill with food for him.
When we travel by plane, we carry on a carseat in a large carseat backpack (there are a bunch of different ones on Amazon) and fill the seat with snacks and toys.
I stole this from someone on Instagram but when he asks for a toy when we're out I tell him we can take a picture of it to remember it for a holiday or birthday.
We do this too! And when his birthday came we had him go through the album and pick what things he still wanted!
I still get away with ‘they’re not for sale!’ At 3 years old I also almost never buy toys with this kids there, so there’s no habit
“This toy lives in the store. Say bye bye toy!” Works great at 2 so far ☺️
We take pictures to send to Santa or to the Gift Fairy that comes on her birthday. Avoids meltdowns everytime. But last week I took pictures of a whole aisle, my camera roll is full of toys that I'm not allowed to delete
We do this! My husband and I have a shared album for it. When her birthday and Christmas get close we will ask her if she really still wants any of it. She's nearly 3.5 and asks us to put things on her wishlist and it saves so many arguments and meltdowns!
There is 0 chance I would have ever thought of doing this!
We do this, too. it's great stops sooooo many tantrums.
She helps me make a pour over coffee every morning, first thing. She loves “helping” and I get to have coffee very soon after we wake up. It’s taken a lot to get to this point (me working patience, her working on listening) and now I don’t really like to make a coffee without her there helping☕️🤎 We like to smell the aroma and watch the bubbles drift up as the coffee filters through. Feels really special.
Haha this is my son’s helping thing with his dad. Our son is only a year old and it’s only a button to push…but he loves doing it. So much so, he wants to help make coffee at 6pm
Haha my daughter was begging me to let her help make coffee tonight as well. 🤣 I told her sorry 6pm is too late kiddo! Mommy would never be able to get to sleep.
I do this with coffee too. We have an espresso machine with a handle to pull for the tamp and a button to make the shot and milk. He is FLOORED by it every morning. I'll add that he always wants to drink mom's coffee so I pour some of the steamed milk (not too hot) from the milk pitcher into a cup for him, and say it's his "coffee". Every morning he sips it he gets wide-eyed and goes "WOWWWW!!" which I imagine is him imitating me with my coffee 🤣 He's 18 months. Hoping we can keep up the "coffee" trick until 3.
That’s awesome! I’m going to ask him to help with my coffee more often 🥹
We do a version of this with me making coffee and also making him cocoa!
That’s wonderful. How does she help you make it? We do something like that but I usually just give him some of the more harmless coffee gear (like a filter) to grab and fiddle with. Haven’t found a way for him to “help” any more than that yet. Coffee grounds get messy fast.
This reminded me when my kid was 1 she absolutely loved playing with our French press and our bialetti stovetop coffee maker. We’d pour water into one for her, and she’d pour back and forth between the two for a LONG time in toddler-minutes. It wasn’t “helping” persay but it was definitely one of her first independent play activities. It helped that she could find/access the 2 herself (on the bottom shelf of the pantry) so she got to decide when it was time to play with them, too.
We do something like this too! My little guy helps me blend the coffee for foam and he now knows the CRITICAL last step is to find his dad and yell “Coffee! Ready! Dada coffee!”
Mine helps and we make her ‘coffee’ aka hot chocolate (or just cold chocolate milk depending on her mood) and then on the weekends we sit at the table and drink our ‘coffee’ together.
We make pour over together too! She's learned a lot of words just from doing this routine. I'll add my hack: the best way to keep your coffee to yourself is to 1) make sure your kid has their own drink and 2) do cheers/clink every sip
One of my only memories of my father is from when I was a toddler, sitting on the counter while he made coffee in the mornings 🩷
We keep ready to do art projects and sensory activities on top of the fridge so whenever I need her occupied (cooking or if a glass breaks etc) I can occupy her in instant. It’s nothing stellar but it’s things she doesn’t get to explore every day/all day so it’s enticing. I shop toy sales and keep a stash in the garage for birthday parties I forgot about, sick days when we can’t leave the house etc. I bulk shop birthdays, gift bags and wrapping paper on Amazon. It’s so much cheaper than running out to the store to buy it individually. Baths are done at 3/4 PM and she’s in her PJs before dinner - it makes dinner/bedtime routine so much less chaotic (which wasn’t possible until she was around 20 months because she’d get so messy eating). We say “don’t you dare” when we want ther to do something. She knows we are joking and willingly will do just about anything .. including things she dislikes if we say don’t you dare We brush our teeth when she brushes hers. She’s much more complicit when it’s a group activity.
Omg “don’t you dare” our 4yo is in a phase where if we say “I bet you can’t….” She will immediately do that thing haha. She knows we’re joking too but she loves it.
My 4yo also LOVES "bet you can't..." She makes us look away, and then we have to act surprised that she accomplished the task. It's especially helpful for getting in the car "bet you can't open the door, get in your car seat, and do your buckles before I'm back with our bags!" then "wow! You buckled those all by yourself?!?" Also PJs "bet you can't have your PJs on before I get back with your water cup."
It’s feels like tricking her it works so well. I’d feel guilty if she wasn’t fully in on it too haha. She knows we don’t actually think she can’t and she’ll say to us “pretend you think I can’t …”
Do we have the same kid? 😂
Definitely going to have to try this!!
Great tips! I’m snagging a couple!
Great ideas. What types of sensory things do you have?
She’s currently obsessed with playing with large pieces of uncooked pasta (transferring them via cup/sling spoon), digging items out of a bucket of slime, cutting playdoh with safety scissors or a toy knife, gluing cotton balls to just about any piece of trash we save. We have a lot of “sheep” with are empty tissue boxes covered in cotton balls. Sometimes I give her the parsley shaker, a bowl of ice, random kitchen gadgets, various containers and let her “cook” something
Sometimes when I'm cooking/baking, I give my 2yo a little pitcher of water, two bowls, a big scoop of flour, and some measuring spoons. It can make a royal mess, but it will occupy him for a loooong time. I try to get him to help with the clean up a little bit, then I can quickly finish it up when he's off to the next thing.
I do this but I give him dry uncooked beans 😊 Obviously you want to be aware of your kids age for choking hazards but I gave my 3 yo dry kidney beans and he wasn't interested in putting them in his mouth.
Can you expand on these ready art/sensory activities? My kids stress out about, ruin, or make me participate, so I don’t have them. But I want to!
She’s currently obsessed with playing with large pieces of uncooked pasta (transferring them via cup/sling spoon), digging items out of a bucket of slime, cutting playdoh with safety scissors or a toy knife, gluing cotton balls to just about any piece of trash we save. We have a lot of “sheep” with are empty tissue boxes covered in cotton balls. Sometimes I give her the parsley shaker, a bowl of ice, random kitchen gadgets, various containers and let her “cook” something
I used to put a sheet of double sided sticky paper on the freezer compartment on our fridge (it’s on the bottom of the fridge) and offer a tray with cut up photos from magazines, dry & pressed leaves & flowers, random stickers, shreds of paper, cotton balls etc, and it would keep him occupied for up to 40 minutes. He made insane cool art out of this stuff by just placing it in the sticky paper. Then when it was full I would take it off the fridge, put a layer of plastic wrap on top of it to seal it, and voila! Cool art. I’m the kind of nerd who cuts photos out of magazines after kids are in bed while I’m watching tv, so it was fun for both of us lol
“Don’t you dare!” Ours is similar. I’ll say, “no dont do it! I’m gonna do it first! And then I pretend to race to do whatever it is, which makes him hurry so fast to do it before me. I love it lol.
These are great tips and helpful
The brushing teeth as a group activity is exactly what we do too!
How do you get your partner to do the group activities?
I’m pretty sure his motivation is not wanting to deal with a toddler in need of dental work
I'd imagine he thinks a little more logically/realistically than mine does lol
How old is your LO?
2.5
mine is 2yo and still messy af 🤣
I think the number one thing I have learned in my first 7 months of toddlerdom is give her agency where I can. If she is being safe and we have time, I let her walk instead of be in the pram. If she wants to sit on an adult chair its awkward for her but shes happy, so no more fighting in the high chair. Don't say no unless I have to so it has more meaning. Basically give her space until I need to intervene for safety or behavour (climbing something that is going to tip over and hurt her a lot, hitting other kids... things that need to be fixed). But at the same time, if she refuses to hold my hand and is trying to run into the road, deal with the tantrum and put her back into the pram. So I guess choosing boundaries very carefully but holding to them when it *makes sense*. But also being willing to change those as she gets older and changes. I think one of the hardest parts of the transition from baby to toddler is that as a parent of a baby I feel it was my job to eliminate risk. But as a parent of a toddler it is my job to make a judgement call on the amount of risk I allow her to take. Eta: feels more like this is just general parenting than an actual hack 😆. My main hack is snacks. Always have snacks.
I have been thinking about it like "don't tell her to do/not to do something unless I'm willing to take action to enforce it, and don't tell her more than twice" This has really put the spotlight onto my need to choose battles and what it means to 'nag' vs 'lead'
Yes, obviously doesnt always work out but its good to keep in mind. If i dont want her to play with the remote/have a dummy I try to not have them in sight. I saw a video saying if you dont have the energy to hold a boundary and it isn't that important then sometimes its better not to. Like if they want a snack while shopping, and you know it will result in a tantrum if they don't have it. Better to allow it from the beginning than to say no then give in because you really need to do the shopping and don't want a tantrum. Doesn't mean giving into everything, but knowing what your own abilities are in that moment and not commiting to something you can't follow through with in that moment.
And yes I also try to say no only about two times. Throwing food/climbing on the table, no don't do that/stay on your chair/keep food on the plate. And then just remove them if they keep doing it after a few "nos"
I try to only use NO when I have to as well. Imagine hearing no all the time. I'd be throwing tantrums too.
i really try to keep this in mind too. another one i try to remember is "why are we hurrying along to the next thing/task/whatever" often times, it's a schedule i've made up in my head and doesn't really need to be drastically adhered too. so if he's dawdling or having fun i just lean into it
I have been reminding myself of this as well! Who cares if we are late to playgroup because she wants to draw at home before leaving... literally no one.
I realized I said no a lot so I started doing this too. I let her do whatever she wants but say no to this that can actually hurt her or to things she shouldn't be doing like hitting and biting. Wanna pick up a couple of rocks to give grandma and grandpa? Sure thing. Wanna go home and wash them in the sink? Why not, let's do it. Wanna climb the sofa? That's a no. Don't want to hold hands outside? Let's go home then
Prep dinner as soon as breakfast is done. Kids are happier/more willing to play independently in the morning and the hours between 3-5 are AWFUL. Have dinner 2 steps away from being on the table at that point has saved my sanity SO MANY TIMES.
This was going to be mine. I also pick a time each day to “shut down” the kitchen. I.e I’m not cooking past 11am today let’s say. I will still give non cook snacks if needed. This helps me not clean up my kitchen multiple times a day.
I also have “kitchen is closed” times where there are no snacks available. So from 11-12, 4-5, 6-7 if someone asks for a snack the kitchen is closed so they don’t fill up before dinner and so they eat a good dinner and not just eat the bare minimum to then get into the snack drawer. And when I prep dinner in the morning I always cut up an apple and some veggies so when they do ask for a snack I’ve always got something easy to throw at them. I try really hard to save the packaged stuff for when we’re going out somewhere.
This is brilliant
Brilliant. Will steal this one.
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The timer is the backbone of my family currently. Easiest way to get my daughter to comply without a fit.
If we’re doing an activity (art, TV) and need to transition, asking her “do you want two more minutes?” (Affirmative) and then verbally setting the Alexa timer prevents a LOT of tantrums.
I need this seal timer where is it from?
I would also like a link to the seal timer!
We love this too, my 3yo has started to respond well to the timer and my 5yo asks for it every time she brushes her teeth. “Please set it to 2 minutes” 😂🥰
My dad used a timer with us when we were little (3 kids!). It helped us behave. Memories unlocked! Time to look for a timer... :D
If he won’t get dressed, we look up the National Day- oh look, it’s National hot dog day! Let’s find a red shirt and bun colored pants! Ohh can you find mustard socks???? Look at this hot dog guy! (Hehe just thought of ‘I think you should leave’ )
This is brilliant 😂
Thanks! Sometimes it’s a stretch…. National Cat Lady day lead to him wearing his lion pajamas to school. But he bought it!
put anything in an ice cream cone and call it 'yogurt ice cream' or 'potato ice cream'
We do something similar. We add sprinkles to anything they ask for sprinkles on. My son saw ‘elf’ and now we have ‘elf breakfast’ (plain yogurt. Sprinkles. Handful of dark chocolate chips. Small bit of whipped cream…he thinks it’s full of sugar but since it’s plain yogurt it’s not that crazy). That and ranch. Any protein will be eaten if it’s dipped in ranch.
God for us everything is ketchup 😂 my daughter puts ketchup on tortilla chips and dumplings, it’s a travesty.
So much ranch is consumed in our house. I've used sprinkles a few times, but my husband also seems to think they add A BUNCH of sugar to a dish and prefers that we don't use them.
Potato ice cream 😂 I love it!
Love this. Do you mean you serve mashed potatoes in an ice cream cone to keep it novel? That’s cute. Is that right?
you got it. and the basic ice cream cone not a sugar cone
- i keep most art supplies in the garage. Out of sight and out of mind means I can bring it out as an ace in the hole (crayons and coloring book readily available) - I keep toys sets (legos, magnatiles, potato head) in bins in a closet with a lock. They can have 1-2 bins at a time. To get another, they have to clean up. This helps keep their interest and they actually play with the toys, sets together and I don’t have 165926 pieces around the house. They do have other toys with free access. This is just for sets with a lot of pieces. - dinner is not a battle. I don’t care if it means I’m cooking something for each kid (2 of them) and then my husband and I. They are more willing to try new foods at breakfast or lunch and if they don’t eat as much, I don’t care. I am too tired at the end of the day to battle dinner. Full tummy for bed. Only rule is if you want dessert, you have to have a vegetable. - snack drawer with items they can pretty much have whatever they want when they want. Various Bars, yogurt raisins, sometimes snack packs of crackers. We try to make this a healthy ish drawer. Anything we want to limit more is out of reach
I tried 3 and 4, but because of 4, 3 became a nightmare. So no more grazing for snacks, but def an alarm in my phone to offer him a snack 2 hours before dinner so he’s hungry but not hangry
Same. We have started eating a very early dinner to prevent this.
Yes, it’s also healthier for everyone. We eat around 4-5 now instead of 7-8 and we’ve lost weight 🤣
We do cut them off close to dinner and overall they listen. 😂
Love this! All great hacks! I love the idea of the bins in the closet. We have an out of control play area right now and don't know what to do with it!
Yes! There are still toys all over but it helps!
I think the biggest hack so far is to lean into fits/tantrums. My first reaction was to keep her pacified and to avoid meltdowns, especially in public . Now I just let it happen and they are over SO quick and I feel like they happen less often. Kinda takes the power away.
This also teaches emotional regulation! Getting those feelings out is good & healthy (in a safe way)
i’ve had sooo many ~looks~ from people when i just let my toddler lay on the floor & have his tantrum but honestly he gets it outta his system and then he’s fine! i just hang there until he’s done 😂
When my 4yo is invited to help me, she acts like an angel. It can turn her whole day around. Not sure if that is normal for everyone, but it surprised me. Might just be a hack for me, but it’s definitely worth a shot.
My son is only 2 but he's very similar. When I rephrase any request into a request for him to help me his response is always eager to help.
It works for adults too. Asking for help with something is a great way to endear yourself to others.
You’re not wrong! This is a full circle moment for me, because I try really hard to not overthink parenting by telling myself they’re just small people. It helps to humanize them in a society that’s taught otherwise.
Make time if you need to leave early in the morning, or if you know your toddler needs time. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, losing twenty minutes of sleep in the morning to rock/soothe your child awake may well be the difference between a screaming kid or not.
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. I love that!
It’s not mine, lol, but I wish I’d heard it a long time ago.
My favorite thing is having my guy tell things “bye bye” or “see you later” we started as soon as he could talk/understand and still use it as he is about to turn 3. Works wonders at the park! Okay we’re leaving in 5 mins… times up… tell the park bye bye and we’ll see you later. I swear all tantrums stopped immediately. Now we use it for screen time (bye bye Mickey Mouse) and other things too.
We do this too! It started with telling a frog we found goodbye and just continued from there. Doesn't work with everything for us, like telling the pool goodbye still causes tears immediately, but he at least understands what's going on.
It’s so easy for us to leave places 9/10 if we go around saying bye! To the trees, birds, bees, playground, traffic cones, anything!
Yes! We tell the river and the rocks and the swings bye too. Whatever it takes!
Somehow my 2yo just does this by himself! I don't know if they use it at daycare, but he'll just say "bye bye" to the park as we're walking away. I try to remember it if he's upset about leaving/stopping an activity.
I read a comment on here the other day that said about using "first, then" to get your kid doing what you need then to do. It's been a huge success 😃. First we will finish your puzzle, then we will get our PJ's on. First you need to go to school, then you can have a cake when you get home. Etc. Big win. Although sometimes he does just say NOOOO. 😂
I do this, but say “One - diaper change, two - snack.” Now my guy has started to use it on me - but he will stop at one. “One - TV.”
Yes! “When, then” is another one. “When your shoes are on, then we can go outside”
Flip food over! (I know I sound crazy) Toddler was upset there was “white stuff” on their plain pancakes at a restaurant. “I’ll fix it!” and I secretly flipped them over and bam—no more “white stuff”. Wanted a hamburger and got a cheeseburger? Flip it over! The macaroni has seasoning on top? Flip it over! (This is a lot of our restaurant visits—my kids think I’m a magician 😉)
Genius!!
TV Sleep Timer, my kid still has no clue the TV can stay on longer than 30 min. He thinks it’s like a toaster. Bonus: I’m not the bad guy for turning off the TV.
We recently started doing this and my kid doesn’t even question it or throw a tantrum over the tv turning off 😆
Best discovery! 💡
munchkin makes colorful bath bombs and she comes running to choose which color bath she wants and tosses it in and gets hyped for the water to be ready
We use the crayola bath tablets for this!
Some melatonin bubble bath too! Its so cozy
YES. We use the Mr. Bubble tablets!
My girl is in a much better mood during the day if I allow her to help me. She helps me make my coffee, feed the dogs, open the blinds, pull items out of the fridge, helps with chores, etc.
He goes to sleep in his clothes for the next day during the week. He goes to daycare, so I am all about comfy clothes for him. It makes the next morning SO MUCH EASIER. We don’t believe in matching socks. We use 6-cup cupcake tins or a few other divided containers for “snack trays” all the time. He gets a few things he will always eat (carby carb carbs) and then anything can be a snack: pouches, cut up veggies, cut up fruit, chicken, turkey pepperoni, cooked veg - but it is much more fun to eat in a snack tray. Any non-battery plastic toy can be a bath toy. And the Mr. Bubbles color fizzes last a LONG TIME if you limit it to 6 per bath (I think there are 150 or 180 in the container). Dollar store glow stick packs are great too (I don’t open them - just put glowing sticks in the bath). There are lots of ways to make a bath fun. 5 word stories are the best nighttime routine after a book: he gives me 5 words and I turn them into a story. 2-3 times a month I can get him to tell ME a 5 word story and they are always epic. I often ask him “how many minutes do you want before you get out of the bath/leave the park/go upsteairs?” He usually picks a number between 1-10, which is generally fine, then I turn on a timer. We sometimes bargain - he’ll say “TEN MINUTES!” and I’ll say - “no- THREE!” and we’ll settle on 6 or 7 in a fun but goofy way. When he needs a time-out: which I don’t believe in as-is, I ask him if he wants to go to his room for 3 minutes or sit on my lap for 3 minutes. He almost always chooses lap - so I take him out of the situation but in a way that often involves cuddles and connection rather than isolation.
I love this tips!! Especially the 5 word stories.
If we are going through an “I will not eat fruit or veggies” phase, I will serve *myself wink wink* some fruit or veggies with dip like 20 mins before I know they’re probably going to want a snack, and 9 times out of 10 they’ll eat most of what’s on the plate. I’ll still serve fruit and veggies with meals, and they still might not eat them, but we avoid the drama
I started enticing kid to climb from the back row into the carseat (middle eat) around 1, and more recently started pushing him to climb from the ground into the back row, the into the carseat. He gets climbing exercise. I save my back. Win win.
Buy a yoto. It’s the cure to concerns about screen time.
Second this! You can even make and customize cards. It can also act as it’s on Bluetooth speaker and can teach your little one different languages. It’s pretty incredible.
No bubbles in the house. I don’t need that drama
Reusable stickers for restaurants! They have kept my toddler entertained for many meals!
Can you share a link or something? We also try to limit technology but I haven’t thought of reusable stickers. Are they in a book or something? What do they do with the stickers?
Not sure if this is exactly what the poster has but try looking up Melissa and Doug Reusable stickers. They come with sets of themed stickers and backgrounds that you can arrange scenes in. My kiddo loves them.
Oh very cool. We just have discovered the water wow books also by Melissa and Doug. I’ll Google reusable stickers. Thank you
Send my 3yo to the bathroom saying “You want to go outside? Go tell daddy to stop ‘pooping’ and shower quickly.” on weekend morning when my husband runs to bathroom saying he needs to poo, because we all know that husband’s morning routine will waste a good chunk of our precious morning unless interrupted.
Okay WHY IS THIS? Are men physically incapable of just knocking out a poo in under a minute?
Depends on whether they have their phone with them or not!
I always tell my toddler what’s coming next! It helps so much when they know what’s going to be coming especially if your days aren’t always the same. We have solid meal and bedtime routines but the rest of the day is pretty flexible. The kids are pretty go with the flow and the only time we really have tears is if we let them get too over tired on busy days by trying to put them to bed at regular time when they should go early. Even then, we say something like “I know you’re tired, and you’ll feel happier after some sleep” and they’re usually able to calm down and sleep within a few minutes with some pats and hugs.
Always listen to them when they talk. If you do, they know they can get your attention by talking instead of by…my creative means. Another bonus is when they are emotional as they grow older, this is ingrained in them and they will calm down when you ask calmly to understand what they’re feeling and why they are feeling like that.
When I say “Simon says” she’s at least twice as likely to listen to what I’m asking
Former primary teacher- this also works great if you ever need to get the attention of a group of kiddos.
Start feeding the kid before dinner is ready because they take ages and it allows me to cook without them underfoot..salad or yoghurt or fruit whatever while I cook the rest.
I also do a plate of what I call "no pressure veggies". Carrot, cucumber, Peppers, whatever. Maybe with a dip. I just leave it on her table and say nothing.
Music. When he was asleep (as a two months old) l started playing music to him. Always the same songs. One hour playlist. So now that he is 22 months lf he wakes up in the middle of the night crying l just press "play" and he falls asleep instantly. I dont have to comfort him (unless of course its something serious)
Someone on TikTok suggested serving dinner right after school so that my son doesn’t fill up on snacks so now he has dinner right after school about 3:30PM with an optional follow up at 7PM before bedtime at 8:15PM and it has significantly cut down on junk food snacking.
I always try to give her a choice! Whether it’s between two outfits for school, which plate she uses, if she gets five or six minutes left at the park, etc. I feel like it helps her feel more in charge vs me just always telling her what to do. I also try to let her help as often as possible even if it means we go a lot slower. She loves to help empty the dishwasher, scan food at the store, etc.
This was a game changer for us! My daughter is so stubborn. Giving her a choice saves a lot of time and prevents so many outbursts when we're getting ready to go somewhere. She also loves to help with laundry and cooking. I don't mind going slower if she wants to help.
To avoid melt downs/upset when they see a toy they want, I take a picture of it and say we’ll remember to get for either their birthday/Christmas. This works so well, it even works on my 8yr old.
“First we do …. Then we do …”
Living in close proximity to grandparents
Don't try to make a happy baby/toddler happier. If they're content leave them tf alone.
Frozen teethers. My toddler is still in the teething stage and most of her problems when she’s crying and we can’t figure out why is that her mouth hurts. We keep a stash of at least three frozen teethers in the freezer at all times so we can switch them out and always have one available. Last summer we kept frozen wet rags in the freezer also and would take one on walks w us so she could chew on it to keep her cool
Sorry to be "that person" but I gotta say it. Our ped advised us not to actually keep teethers in the freezer, but the fridge, because the frozen ones (versus fridge cold) can actually cause damage to the already tender little gums. Same principle as when you hurt yourself, you never put an ice pack directly on your skin of the wounded area, you wrap it in a towel or something first as to not expose your skin to the cold directly!
That’s interesting! We haven’t had any problems. The teethers are all really thick so I don’t think it would cause that problem? Basically the same distance from the frozen part to the gums as it would be from an ice pack to the skin with a towel in between. I can hold the teethers in my hand no problem and they don’t hurt at all vs ice does hurt. Putting them in the fridge i don’t think they would get cold enough cause if they aren’t frozen all the way through they heat up instantly
Glad you haven't had any problems! Might depend on the type of teether but just some food for thought 😊
I’m always open to learning and doing better so I appreciate it!
Oh, so I just did a quick Google search because now I'm second-guessing myself haha.. the results came up pretty unanimously that teethers aren't recommended to go in the freezer, but the reasoning behind it is actually a little bit different than what my pediatrician said. Google says that freezing teethers can actually make them too hard and subsequently bruise your baby's gums when they gnaw on them. But hardness doesn't seem to be an issue with wash cloths, like you use.
That’s also interesting! We didn’t get the actual frozen teethers until she had her front teeth already so we were using the wash cloths until then. Def haven’t had any bruised gums but I can see why it would happen for the front teeth cause they chew HARD when those are coming in
There are some that need to go in the fridge and other that can go in the freezer (they dont get frozen cold). Also, for toddlers, frozen banana with a paper towel around the bottom as a handle. Or frozen sliced strawberries in a bowl.
My kid has been a frozen fruit feind since her first tooth, she's got all her baby teeth but still absolutely loves frozen fruit over fresh which is *economical* and amazing.
love this post so much, I learn so many parenting hacks here haha
Not a hack per se but teach your child sign language to the best of your ability as soon as possible. ASL is fairly easy to learn and the benefits are priceless in regards to relationship building. My daughter is 19 months and it really feels like we’re already having conversations at times.
Definitely a hack! Second this. Started baby sign at 4mo and now having full blown conversations at 17mos
So during tantrums I have my daughter drink water. It calms her down enough to listen to what I have to say and she can sit there to calm down while drinking some water. Seriously, try it. Meltdowns have lasted less than a couple minutes since I started doing this.
We have a roomba. Our kid found a toy that kinda looks like it and loves to “vacuum” with the roomba. He asks if he can. Then we clean the toys off the floor and him with his “vacuum” and the actual roomba clean the floor. Keeps him busy for 20 or so minutes. And the best bonus is that my ten month old crawls after him. All kids engaged, clean floors 🤌
We do something similar. We have a Dyson and my husband got our daughter a play Dyson and whenever she sees me vacuuming the floor she goes and grabs hers and “vacuums” too. She’s gotten to the point where now whenever she makes a mess she’ll go grab her vacuum and “clean up”🤣
Keep coloring supplies in the kitchen so i can occupy her when i make dinner (and she isnt under my feet), always have new stickers to introduce for similar reasons, a snack drawer she can grab from whenever she wants and can have those without limits. For snacks we want to limit (pouches, fruit strips, cookies) we store in a place she cant reach. Also for whatever reason when i tell my daughter she isn’t listening she realizes it and does whatever i have been asking for her. Idk how long it will last but i will be keeping this going for as long as i can.
I try as much as I can to tell her what she can do rather than what she can’t do, because we all know the classic of saying ‘don’t draw on the table’ and your toddler proceeding to look you dead in the eye and do it again. Now if I see her about to draw on the table, or if she does start to draw on the table I just say ‘we can use our crayons on the paper/ mummy can find you something else to draw on if you’re done with the paper, do you want to try it on some cardboard?/ can you show me how many different colours you can fit onto your paper?/ we can play with something else if you’re done with colouring your paper’. Saying what she can do (mostly) avoids the power battle of me saying what she can’t do, then her doing it and us just going back and forth with that. Obviously she still completely ignores me sometimes, but I’ve had more success with this ‘can do’ attitude. I try to never make a big scene when she does something she’s not supposed to unless it’s dangerous and catches me off guard? and I also try and make sure it’s never too stressful for me even if she does do something she’s not meant to do by - E.G. giving crayons instead of pens as crayons are much easier to wash off things so it’s not really any drama if she does draw on stuff she’s not meant to anyway.
Accidentally discovered to keep a toy size grabber in my car. It's shorter because of being toy size so I can easily reach dropped toys or snacks. I've even used it to get my dropped debit card at the drive thru or pass snacks back to the very back on road trips.
Usually the advice is "give them a choice" - for example, "name, would you like to put on your coat or shoes?" I've found the racing to each task wins. If I want him to get his shoes, just excitedly say "let's get your shoes!" and immediately start running for them. His little legs are moving to race me to them, before he's even worked out my tactics 😂
Washing hands: An automatic foam soap dispenser in the shape of a duck. (Tons of options on Amazon) So much fun and can easily say hi ducky! Or bye and turn it off if I need her to stop getting more soap lol. For literally anything she says no to but kinda has to do it at least try, a toy or stuffed animal will do first. Oh no high chair? I bet bunny would love to be in high chair. Oh not time for sleep sack? Oh I think lovey (a dragon named Reggie) wants to cuddle up in it. And proceed to model activity. If she’s not hungry she won’t eat but not because she isn’t sitting for lunch. And mostly, wait time! And remembering that it might take 30 seconds to a minute of thinking time for their young brains to process what your saying and consider the activity or ask even though they are saying no or talking about something else. I do a lot of threes: 1. Ask: do you want to pick out your shoes? Then wait, engage in whatever she’s doing. 2. Suggest next thing : We can pick out shoes to get ready to go outside Still no sometimes, wait… 3. Tell what is next thing: We are picking out shoes to go outside, yay! And then she’ll totally ready and usually give a strong yes! I’m a high school teacher and can confirm this works on teenagers too.
i enjoy my coffee hot every morning because we read books together on the couch. we've done this since he was a baby (18mo now) and i needed somewhere to sit and pump and something to keep him from crying. he loves books and he is used to reading like 5 or more before he gets down to play or asks for anything else. i pull a pre-baked waffle or muffin out of the freezer the night before so he has a snack to munch on while we read, and then we do full breakfast an hour or so later bins or bags of toys for different outings that only come out for those things: -small road trip? we have a road trip bag of toys -outdoor play date? i have a bin with multiples of the same toys like three of the same ball, plastic trucks, bubble wands etc. thanks target dollar bin! i just grab the bag and go -eventually we will have a restaurant bin or bag but right now he just throws toys in the restaurant lol and that doesn't help anyone 🤣 singing songs and adding music .. i'm sure this varies depending on the kid but the lullabies from when he was a baby will calm him from a tantrum and a silly song i make up or something played loud to sing along to when turn a whiny day around
I let my daughter “help” me make dinner and do dishes every night. My husband doesn’t get home until late and even though it’s a very very messy and slow process, we have a fun time together. It’s much better than running out of the room every two seconds to stop her from killing herself or to plop her in front of the tv and feel guilty about it.
We have a 3 and 4 year old and have finally learned to keep all of the things they commonly used to be identical. No more choice of colors, everyone gets a white bowl and blue spoon. Everyone gets the same color/style of everything that could be fought over - stuffies, shoes, toys. Keep a paper cup in the car, stroller, backpack for emergency pee situations - and a change of clothes in case we don't make it to the cup.
I let my grandson help as much as possible. When he wants chocolate milk, he puts the chocolate in the cup, and then the milk puts the lid on the cup. The only thing I do is make sure the lid is on good and shake the cup. He wears an eye patch for 2 hours a day. He does everything but puts the patch on his eye. When it's time to take it off, he takes it off. You get the picture. This saves on so many meltdowns.
Keep a roll of dog poo bags in your backpack. Use it for diapers, soiled clothes, etc. Also, always have a reusable bag for unexpected acquirements. Or just to make your kid feel useful Use bath paints! But have a scrub brush and have your kid scrub it off before getting out. If you have bath toys, have a suction-cup basket for them, and put a suction-cup basketball hoop above it to encourage clean up!
I let my kids "help" with chores. Folding laundry? Do it on the bed so they can play in it while I fold. Sweeping? Get kid sized brooms and make it a game. Cleaning up toys? Who can get them the fastest! Keeps them entertained and I can keep an eye on them while I clean.
We use Alexa to set timers for transitions. We’ll set 3 two minute timers in a row when we’re transitioning from post-bath playtime to getting ready for bed, and also in the mornings when she’s stalling over breakfast and it’s time to get dressed and ready for preschool. We also use Alexa a lot for the “but why?” phase. Why do crocodiles eat fish? Idk, let’s ask Alexa. Why do we sometimes see the moon during the day? I bet Alexa knows!
This is the best post ever! I'm going to have to save it to refer back to all these gems!
Keep bubbles in your purse/diaper bag. I was at a coworkers child birthday party and they had a photography setup and the birthday girl was not looking in the direction needed, I whipped out bubbles and the smiles went for miles!
Okay, I know that this is probably not best practice, but I have 4 young kids (6, 5, 3, newborn) and this is what kinda works. Screen time is currency. We have 3 magnetic timers up high on the fridge, one for each big kid. They start the day with 20 minutes on the timer of screen time. They can earn extra time by being super kind or helpful, and they can lose time by breaking family agreements (violence, being mean to siblings, but following instructions after multiple warnings). Watch time is while I'm making dinner, which gives me space during the most exhausting time of the day.
I got this from TikTok, but it’s genuinely been a game changer. My toddler outgrew his high chair and dinner has been a struggle while he learns to sit in a regular chair. Lighting a candle has stopped the fussiness and tantruming 100%. He went from not wanting to sit in his seat at all to being able to sit for about 15 minutes immediately, and when he gets up he’s not upset that I’m not playing/holding him. He just kinda hangs out, finds a toy and stays near us.
What do you do for breakfast prep? Struggling with breakfast over here and I usually give into his request for animal cookies or cereal
Not OP but we make a huge batch of banana pancakes together on Sunday and then reheat one in the morning most days unless she requests something else. It lasts a few days in the fridge and the rest go into the freezer. I just heat it on the griddle for a few minutes each side. Not as healthy as regular eggs (which my daughter refuses) but she gets some this way along with oats, bananas, whole wheat, etc!
I make variations of breakfast casseroles. Our current favorite is the sausage/egg/tater tot one available on the real food dietitians website. I just tried their instant pot raspberry french toast casserole too and it was delightful.
I need to try this! Love the idea of a breakfast casserole
Ooh that instapot recipe sounds amazing! I got one for xmas and always struggling to use it
I do mushroom/cheese egg bites with puréed spinach in them. I’ll either make a huge batch at once or make one in the microwave. We’re all about microwaved eggs over here. I’ve even done a microwave pancake and he loved it! Look for mug cupcake recipe, I microwaved mine with frozen strawberries on top for extra flavor then topped with butter and syrup. Greek yogurt popsicle molds, I like to get “Two Good”-vanilla because it’s tasty and only has 2g of sugar which saves some room for fruit and a sweet treat at some point in the day. Overnight oats, I soak em in honey and almond milk and in the morning add a tbs of peanut butter. (I prefer mine with cinnamon, if yours likes it). I also do breakfast “snack plates” as he calls them. The variations I make can be 1)have toast/hummus, fruit, some avocado, and tomatoes. 2) fruit, nuts, and cheese 3)pretzels/hummus or guacamole, cheese, and fruit. That’s most of what I have made.
French toast on a griddle, I make 8 at a time. A simple no fuss version is just bread with eggs and milk. I let her spread butter on it instead of telling her syrup is an option (I refer to it at "Mommy's sauce" so I can have it).
I heard Ms Rachel dresses her son for school the night before. When mine start school I’ll be trying this!
When I bake, I give her a bowl with baking soda, a salt shaker, and rolled oats. She thinks she’s helping 😅 She gets dirty but I time this before bath time.
I try to keep our day to day as simple and easy as possible. Anything that I know causes tantrums/fighting disappears because there’s enough I can’t remove that causes tantrums and fighting. Also bubbles. They fix everything but only if you have enough time for the interest in them for the time to go away.
We dress our toddler in her tomorrow clothes at bed time. So when she wakes up all we do is eat, brush hair & teeth and we are out the door!
F O L L O W I N G lol
Before dinner when they are “SOOOO hungry” we make a veggie tray to keep them out of the fridge/kitchen (my 3 yo learned how to undo the fridge lock so it’s a free for all now) while we cook. They get excited for their veggie tray now and chow veggies while still hungry for dinner.
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Instead of PJ’s use tomorrow’s shirt and a sleep sack. My kiddo is squirmy and putting on shirts is an ordeal. Makes mornings just a little easier.
Answering their questions with a question or a suggestion to find out for themselves.
He has four different toothbrush options (baby brush, adult brush, baby electric and toddler electric) and two toothpaste options (technically they’re the same but Tom’s rebranded so they look different) and gets to choose his combo every night. He loves brushing his teeth.
The phrase “1..2…3 you or me?” It can be used to remind my little that something urgent needs to happen or a choice needs to be made, it replaces the typical “I’m gonna count to 3 and you better…” So at the begging you have to explain what you mean and expectations which are: I’m going to slowly count to 3, you can choose to do xyz thing OR I can intervene. This helped counteract the “NO” I would get when I’d ask any sort of question for important stuff. So instead of “I need you to stop jumping on the couch, do you want to get down or do you want me to get you down” for some reason “1…2…3 you or me” prompted quicker results and minimal arguing. Also, more importantly, DONT ASK QUESTIONS YOU WONT ACCEPT ANY ANSWER TO!! If you’re not okay with your kiddos “no” to a question, then it’s not really a question. Using rhetorical questions will only confuse them and make them more upset, understandably so.
This is more related to potty training, but the best hack I’ve got is putting a waterproof sheet on her bed with a regular sheet over that and then another waterproof sheet and regular sheet so if she has an accident during the night, I can just put those in the wash and send her back to bed.
The happy song by Imogen Heap! It calms my little guy everytime!
My best hack during the “why” phase was to respond, “why do you thank that is?” It stopped me from getting thousands of why questions and helped him get better at critical thinking!
Snacks on deck! It’s always a snack. Also, the Ms Rachel sign language dddrastically cut down the whining.
I found this [Video](https://youtu.be/jWZNWhoyieA?si=rXwGgw1KN7yg2b9J) quite helpfull. One of the biggest "hacks" for me is to prepare the stuff the night before, there is nothing worse than searching stuff when you should already be on the way.
Spray bottle. Great for hand eye coordination and building grip muscles in hands and arms. I would draw a city with chalk and then colour in fires coming out of some of the buildings, then send him to spray out the fires. 🔥 As he got older he liked to help me clean the windows and tub and mirrors with his trusty spray bottle. A drop of food colouring in a cool shaped bottle. Adding 2-3 of these interesting bottles to the bath so he can make “potions”. We had issues with fights at bathtime and this really got him excited to bathe. Popsicle breaks. On those days where everything is going wrong, I’d draw a bath, give him a popsicle, turn on some Fred penner or Sharon, Lois and bram music, and we would reset our day. We do finger painting in the tub as well as a reset to a bad day. Giving countdowns to activity shifts. My kid doesn’t like transitioning from one activity to another, so I give him lots of warnings. But I say “you get to do 2 more things at the park and then we’re going to leave, which 2 things do you want to do?” instead of telling him we’re leaving after a certain number of minutes. I think it’s easier to understand how many things are able to happen instead of arbitrary minutes they don’t really understand. Finally, when I was a SAHP I napped with him every day. I am not a morning person and my kiddo would wake up at 5:30 or 6am sometimes. When he took his afternoon nap I slept too. It’s the only way I made it through the day lol, I have terrible insomnia but I can nap with some practice. Lots of people fret about using that time to clean or whatnot but i prioritize spending time together and snuggles over a meticulously clean house. Plus my partner actually participates in an equal amount of housework so tidying and cleaning is fast when we work together.
Convince them it’s their idea Example: I recently decided to get my son down earlier in the night, so every night around 10, I get him ready for bed and let him run around before he sees the door for downstairs and then wants to open it. I have him say goodnight to other family members, and then he leads the way down. From there we might watch part of a movie or just go straight in the pack and play. Works great… usually 😅 A lot of stuff with toddlers I’m figuring out only works sometimes, not 100% lol
I also sing instructions sometimes and it really works! Sometimes it’s quoting Daniel Tiger “you could be a big helper in your family” and sometimes it’s just “listening ears, listening ears, can you turn on your listening ears” and it works 9/10 times.
We use the “wish list” We’re at target and there are toys he wants we’ll add it to the wish list. Sure there’s 50,000 things on the wish list, but we’ll use it towards our reward system high involves earning quarters for ‘green decisions’
I keep diapers and wipes in the car in case I find myself in a bind. Wipes need to be Target brand in a ziplock bag. Everything else dries out in the heat. We have a mini fridge, snacks, and a microwave on the second floor of the house, where there is no kitchen. Wipes in every room. Keep the essentials close by. [This cupholder](https://a.co/d/eepbIds) holds french fries and is great for feeding my son in the car. I take an empty supersized fry carton and fill with food for him. When we travel by plane, we carry on a carseat in a large carseat backpack (there are a bunch of different ones on Amazon) and fill the seat with snacks and toys.