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No one said raising kids isn’t a challenge. No matter how well equipped you think you are, parenting always has a way of surprising you. Juggling many roles and responsibilities can get overwhelming and stressful for parents, which is why it never hurts to keep a couple of tricks up your sleeve. This will help ease the tension and make everyday life with the kids manageable.
Here are 10 parenting tips that make your life easier:
1. The Tissue Paper Trick
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This is a great trick for when your baby won’t stop crying. Babies are prone to being fussy and moody sometimes without any legitimate reason. You know one of those times when you’re in a cranky mood? Yeah, your baby has this too. And sometimes it involves a lot of tears. What you need is something to distract them. Simply throw a tissue up and let it float down. Your baby will be mesmerized and will stop crying. Making a “wee” sound effect works well too.
2. Feed Them A Banana Before Bedtime
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That’s right, feeding your baby a little bit of banana will help them sleep better. This means more sleep for you as you won’t have to wake up to nurse your little one as often. However, this trick is most beneficial to those parents who are night weaning their kids. Babies sleep faster and stay asleep for longer after they’ve eaten a banana. This is because they have nutrients like magnesium and potassium that promote good sleep (1).
3. Three Question Problem Solving
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Communicating with a toddler is never easy but these questions will help you get through to them. If ever they are acting fussy or weird ask them: “Are you hungry?”, “Are you tired?” and “Does anything hurt?”. Chances are the issue is one of those 3 things. This will help your little one identify the problem and convey what they are feeling and experiencing.
4. Car Seat Trick
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Putting your tiny tot into a car seat can be tricky but here’s a little hack for you. The easiest way to put them in is to place them in the seat, buckle the bottom part, pull the strap between their legs and then finally buckle the chest strap. This method will keep you from constantly having to adjust and tighten the chest buckle while running out the door in the morning. You’re welcome!
5. Tape Their Toys
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Okay we don’t mean just randomly wrap tape around all of their toys. Barney the dinosaur did nothing to deserve that. But if your baby’s favorite toy has a speaker which plays the same song over and over again, chances are you are at your wits end and want to break it. Don’t Put tape over the speaker instead and voila, now your child can still hear it but the person sitting two feet away from them can’t. Problem solved!
6. Play The Picking Game
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If you’ve got two little ones who are constantly at each other’s throats and you need to pick out a movie to watch or a game to play, let them take turns picking out options. Let them take turns eliminating the options you’ve laid out before them until they settle on one. Now they can’t get mad at you or each other for choosing.
7. Don’t Speak In Negatives
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Young kids have a hard time understanding negative words or instructions. So instead of telling them what not to do, just tell them what you’d like them to do instead. Showing them what to do is even better as they learn through observation.
8. How To Enquire About Their Day
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Do you ever ask your kids how their day went and they just shrug and walk away? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. But maybe this is because you’re not being specific enough. Instead of this general question ask them what was their favorite thing they did that day or one memorable thing that happened. Your kids will have plenty of answers for you.
9. Layer The Crib Bedding
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This one is a game changer! Just alternate between layering sheets and waterproof pads. That way if your baby has a blowout at night or throws up, you can just remove the sheet and waterproof pad at the top and you have a clean crib. How easy is that!
10. Meal Prep
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Make life easier by preparing the next day’s breakfast the night before. Fill the jug up with water. Take the orange juice and milk out of the fridge. Place the cutlery on the counter and measure out the oatmeal and fruits. You will save so much time the next morning.
Being a parent is a full time job and adapting to the needs of your kids takes time. Be patient with yourself and rely on these neat tricks to get you through the day. So, which one on the list was your favorite? Let us know in the comments section!
