No one ever tells you what to really expect when you have kids, so most people just go into parenthood blindly. There is no need to stumble through parenthood, however, as there are many wonderful hacks out there that you can utilize to make your life way easier.
Here are 33 of the best parenting hacks that both you and your kids will boast about.
#1 Painters Tape Hopscotch
When it is too cold to play outside, there is no reason kids can’t enjoy the same games inside. You just need to improvise! Using painters tape, you can create a hopscotch on your rug or hard flooring. Your kids can enjoy it for the day and throw the tape away when they’re done. It’s simple, fun and your kids won’t be bored on those frigid winter days.
#2 Cupcake Liner Drip Protectors
Kids love popsicles, but they can be really messy, especially when you’ve got a slow eater on your hands. There is no need to change your kid’s clothes, however, because a cupcake liner can save the day. Poking the popsicle stick through the paper will give you a drip catcher so that any melted popsicle will stay there, instead of on clothes.
#3 Thou Shall Not Pass
Every parent has struggled with their kids about how much toilet paper is actually enough. If you’ve ever walked into the bathroom to find that your toddler used half a roll and now has your toilet blocked up, you know how it is. Making a line on the wall gives a visual limit for your child that they have enough.
#4 Rubber Band Lock Hack
Kids love to lock doors, especially doors that aren’t meant to be locked. This sometimes results in having to tear the doorknob off or burglarize your own home. You can prevent all the headache by simply crisscrossing a rubber band over both knobs. It will prevent the door from latching, and you’ll never have to pull a Nancy Drew again.
#5 Phone Number Bracelets
No matter how well you watch your kids, there is always going to be an instance when your little decides to take on the department store, or maybe even the zoo, by himself. Sure, it can be scary, and everyone hopes it never happens, but making a bracelet for your child with your phone number on it can help him to get returned much easier. They’re easy to make and fun to wear, so your kids will just think they’re making a fashion statement.
#6 Too Short to Reach the Faucet
Many times, kids are too short to reach the faucet when it is time to wash their hands. Rather than place a stool in your bathroom that your child could fall off of, you can repurpose an old lotion bottle into a faucet extender. The water will travel down through the hollowed out bottle like a cascade and your kid’s hands will get clean with ease.
#7 Tennis Ball Corner Protectors
When babies are just learning to walk, they run into lots of things and fall down even more. There is no reason for your toddling little one to get hurt on the corner of a table, however. Cutting tennis balls and putting them on all the sharp edges can prevent injuries, making learning to walk a breeze.
#8 Hook Safety Lock Hack
For whatever reason, little kids love to raid the refrigerator, the cupboards or wherever it is that they shouldn’t get into. If your little one absolutely refuses to stay out of the fridge, get two hooks and a rubber band. This easy safety hack will keep your food safe and your little one at bay.
#9 Elastic Book Shelf Holder
If you have gotten simply sick and tired of picking the same books up off the floor, day after day, have no fear. Cutting a piece of elastic and pinning it to the sides of the bookcase can make it so your child cannot pull the books out as easily. Sure, your kids may not like it, but it’ll save you from taking a spill in the middle of the night!
#10 Storage Bin Surge Strip Protectors
Have you ever noticed that kids are obsessed with cords and electricity? They don’t understand the danger or that they could potentially get electrocuted so rather than waste your breath trying to tell them to leave the surge strip alone, just get a small storage container, cut a hole for the cord and glue on the lid. Your kids won’t be able to get into it, and they’ll move on to wreak havoc elsewhere.
#11 Grocery Bag Shirt Protectors
Encouraging creativity is a must with children. Kids love to paint, but they’re also notorious for painting their shirts in the process. Save yourself the scrubbing and cut the seam off of a grocery bag so that your kid can wear it as a bib. Once you’re done with it, it can be thrown away, and your little one’s nice white shirt will still be spotless.
#12 Bath Towel into a Bib
Kids bibs are often too small, and they wind up wearing more of their food than they consume. Instead of wasting money, get a bath towel you already have, fold it in half and cut a hole in the center. You can pull it over your child’s head and protect their clothes from that super saucy spaghetti.
#13 Suction Cup Dishes
If your kids get more food on the floor than in their mouths, you may be looking for a way to prevent that from happening. Look no further! By simply hot gluing some suction cups to the bottom of their plates and bowls, the dishes will stay in place, and you won’t have pasta all over your walls.
#14 Lint Rollers are Great for Glitter
Glitter is one of the messiest things kids will ever want to play with. If your little girl loves to spread a little sparkle wherever she goes, have the tools on hand to clean it up without stressing out. A lint roller works perfectly for capturing those messy sparkles with ease.
#15 Pool Noodles for Protection
Everyone loves jumping on a trampoline, but when kids get wild, they can get their little hands and feet stuck between the springs and that could cause a serious injury. If you have a few pool noodles on hand, cut them to size to cover the springs. The fun can continue with no more skin pinched or legs caught between the springs.
#16 No Mess Painting
If painting seems like more of a mess than you want to clean up, but your kids are insisting, save the mess. Placing a few dollops of paint in a sealed zipper bag can provide hours of entertainment. You can throw it away when they are done, and you won’t have to worry about your little Picasso redecorating your home.
#17 Rubber Bands on the Soap Bottle
Does it seem like you are going through hand soap at the speed of light? In reality, you only need a half pump to get little hands clean, so avoid overuse of soap with this easy hack. Simply wrap a rubber band around the soap dispenser so the nozzle can’t be pushed all the way down.
#18 Get Your Shoes Right Hack
Kids often have a hard time remembering what shoe goes on what foot. It doesn’t have to be hard, however. Get a sticker and cut it in half. They will know their shoes are on the right feet when the sticker matches up properly.
#19 Preventing Brown Apples
When you’re sending a snack to school with your kiddo, you don’t want to send brown apples with them. Now you don’t have to. Simply sprinkle your apple slices with salt and then rinse them off. The contact with the salt will prevent them from browning, but you won’t ever taste it.
#20 Painless Splinter Removal
Getting a splinter is never any fun and what’s worse is when you have to remove them from your crying child’s foot. To make the whole process easier, you can make a paste with baking soda and water that will push the splinter out of the skin. No more digging around with a needle!
#21 Make a Baby Tent
If you want to take your child outside without having to worry about them getting attacked by mosquitoes, here is a hack for you. Put them in their pack and play and use a crib sized fitted sheet on the top to keep pests at bay. It will also act as a shade for your little one.
#22 Pool for a Play Pen
Buying a playpen can be a real waste of money, especially if you have an inflatable pool on hand. Simply blow it up and fill it with safe toys. Your baby will be entertained for hours, and you won’t ever have to wonder where she is.
#23 Bulletin Boards Are Perfect for Organization
Kids have a hard time staying on task from time to time, but now they won’t. Bulletin boards with chore lists and calendars can make completing tasks easy. Everybody likes a visual from time to time.
#24 Sauce Containers Keep Pacifiers Clean
Moms have a habit of throwing baby’s pacifier in their purse or diaper bag and forgetting about it. When you go to pull it out, you may find that it has attracted crumbs of whatever else was in your bag. Prevent a dirty pacifier by placing it in a small sauce container before you throw it in your purse.
#25 Label Kids Clothing
When you have more than one child, you know how they fight about their clothing. It is a crime if you accidentally mix up shirts or give your younger child’s shirt to their older sibling. Rather than having the same argument on a daily basis, get name tags and place them in the clothing. There will be no more complaints.
#26 Make It Easy for Baby to Hold Bottle
If your baby is too small to hold an actual bottle, try getting one of these contraptions. You can use an old shape ball that you have lying around and cut a hole to put the bottle in. Baby can hold it herself, and you’ve made feeding time easier on yourself.
#27 Dividers to Prevent Miserable Car Trips
Kids get ornery, especially when they have to be strapped into a car seat for an extended period of time. If you have more than one kid and they start to irritate each other on a car ride, there is an easy solution. Strategically place cardboard between their seats so they can’t look at each other or reach over and touch each other. It’s a genius idea!
#28 A Desk for When Baby Grows
Just because your baby isn’t a baby anymore, it does not mean you have to throw the crib away. Instead, take the side off, like you’d turn it into a daybed and add a piece of chalkboard over the bottom where you would place the mattress. Kids will have hours of fun at their new desk.
#29 Homemade Car Garage
If your kid wants an expensive car storage case, don’t feel bad about saying no to buying one. You can make one of these awesome car garages with stuff you have at home. All you need is a wooden box, some old toilet paper rolls, and a sign on top… and voila! The cars all have a place to park, and you have more money in your pocket.
#30 When Baby Won’t Sleep Without You…
If you have a baby that has become dependent on sleeping with you, it’s a hard habit to break. If you have things to do and you simply cannot lay with your baby, filling a glove with rice and stitching it shut will solve the problem. You can place it on baby’s back, and she’ll be none the wiser.
#31 Don’t Break Your Back Over the Tub
Bending over a tub can cause a great deal of back pain. If your child isn’t quite big enough to sit by himself yet, try getting a laundry basket and placing it in the tub. It will keep him upright, and none of his toys will float away.
#32 Make Monster Spray
If you have a child that has a fear of monsters under the bed, telling them there is none never seems to work. Rather than waste your breath, make yourself a bottle of water with some glitter and a restful essential oil blend in it. It will help get kids to bed, and you can tell them it is monster repellent.
#33 Frozen Marshmallow Ouchie Hack
Ice packs tend to leak, and kids hate using them. Instead of trying to convince your child to hold one on his ouchie, try freezing marshmallows instead. They’re small, they can be squished, and they work wonders on bee stings and other small injuries.
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