Have you ever come to realize that a minor hack or shortcut can make a huge difference whether it is during the bedtime routine, during dinner, getting the kids ready for school, or even just in everyday life while being a parent? It could be something as simple as a label on the wall so the kids don’t use too much toilet paper while going potty or even buying a clock and coloring different sections of it for different time windows to keep on schedule after school a little easier. I’m not saying hacks like this work all the time, because let’s face it, parenting is a roller coaster that doesn’t always go as planned no matter how many hacks we have access to. I just figured I could share a few of my favorite hacks that you may not have thought of along the way.
Hiding a secret stash of candy for the grownups in the frozen vegetable bag in the closet
I don’t know about you but hiding candy from my 7-year-old is a chore in itself. Everything that’s mine is her’s as far as she sees it. So one of the easiest ways I’ve hidden my own stash is by keeping wrapped pieces in the freezer in my empty frozen bag of peas bag. She wouldn’t ever think to look there considering the only things she gets into the freezer for are ice packs or ice cream. So go ahead and buy your favorite candy and save that next frozen veggie bag to hide it in.
Putting a chart on the side of a prescription bottle for dosages
I’m a Mom that takes quite a few medications myself and if it weren’t for my daily pill container I’d forget. Let’s say your little is now on an antibiotic for an ear infection or sinus infection going around. Other than setting an alarm in my phone (which I always would snooze and end up never actually following thru with) I didn’t know how else to remember giving my daughter her meds. Then a family friend of mine told me she puts a chart on the side of the antibiotic bottle. Labeling it with days of the week (start the day the antibiotic starts on) and then if it is a morning and evening script an M and an E column. So then next to each day you can simply put an X marking that you’ve given the medication to your little.
Cut a sticker in half and put one half on the inside of a set of shoes
“Mom is this on the right foot?” “Tea your shoes are on the wrong feet. How long have you been walking around like that?” If I had a dollar for overtime I either heard that question or had to ask that question I’d probably be able to buy that plane ticket to Colorado that I’ve been wanting. Now, this simple hack I found after I had already had to explain right and left enough to where she stopped putting her shoes on the wrong feet. All you have to do is take stickers of their favorite character or animal, cut them vertically down the middle and simply put the left side into the inside of the shoe as well as the right. Then when they look down their character or animal should look “whole” if their shoes are on the right side before they put them on.
Rubber bands to keep from lockouts
I got lucky with renting the house I’m currently in and my daughter was only able to lock herself into the bathroom without knowing how to get out. Let’s just say though when she did I think it scarred her for life and turned into quite an adventure for this Mama. Long story short an entire door handle removed later as well as a trip to the ice cream shop to calm her down, I needed a way to make sure that door handle never locked on her again. It’s as simple as taking a rubber band and looping it around the door handle then twist it once and loop it around the door handle on the other side as well. It holds the locking mechanism inside the actual door frame and prevents it from locking.
Label a clock to stay on track after school up until bedtime
This is one of those hacks that I know may not work every day, but even if the kids have some idea of what timeline they are looking at up until bedtime it could help them stay punctual down the road. I purchased a cheap five dollar analog clock to hang in my daughter’s playroom at her height.
There are six different sections on the clock colored a different color: homework, play, bath(or reading if its not a bath night) family/dinner time, bed and then Oops it’s too late. The chart for what each time is hanging next to it. This way she can look at that and know how long she has before bed, or playtime, etc. It’s just helped things run a bit smoother at our house because we always seem to be on the go, but after school routine is one thing I try to keep exactly that, routine.
These are just a few of my favorite hacks that I thought could make a difference because if you’re anything like me you could always use a little help or input to run things a bit more horizontal while parenting. Some of these I never would have thought of had I not done some Pinteresting or google search. Here’s hoping they can help you!
