After my first son was born I remember reading a parenting book that was supposed to be a collection of tips and tricks from Real Parents Just Like You, except the advice it contained had a real pod-person feel to it and I questioned the legitimacy of contributors like “Anne, mother of 7″ who suggested that dry oatmeal was a fun sensory stimulator for young children. “Just fill a box or plastic tub, and let the good times roll!” Sure, maybe a mother of seven has nothing better to do than vacuum a metric crapload of oatmeal out of every crevice in her house, but somehow I doubt it.
I’d rather read a collection of suggestions that address real-world issues, and “My children do not have nearly enough Quaker products crammed in their bodily cavities” isn’t really a concern I’ve experienced. I still consider myself a mouth-breathing amateur at this motherhood business, but here are a few of the tips I’ve learned over the last couple years, should anyone be in the market for creating a new oatmeal-free book:
How to Unclog a Newborn’s Nose. Carefully drip a couple of drops of saline water in your baby’s tiny snout-hole, then hold both nostrils slightly shut while using the nasal bulb to suction out the surprisingly enormous booger within. Note: your baby may object to this treatment, and then be completely ungrateful for the ability to breathe freely. Just chalk this up to yet another unrewarding moment in parenthood.
How to Distract a Melting-Down Toddler Who is Protesting a Decision or Activity. Let’s say your kid is freaking out about getting dressed for bedtime and screaming “NO PAJAMAS RIGHT NOW” etc; try suddenly asking if he wants his SPACE pajamas or his DINOSAUR pajamas. Toddlers, in my limited experience, love choices, and it’s often enough to reset their little on-fire brains to offer a choice related to whatever it is they’re all ticked off about.
How to (Briefly) Calm a Fussy Baby. I’m sure this doesn’t work for ALL babies, but this trick worked with Riley and now it works with Dylan: when he’s worked himself into a fussy state that can’t be addressed with milk or sleep or soothing or whatever, I take off his clothes and let him squirm around on a blanket for a while. Babies = nudists.
How to Get the Smell of Barf Out of Fabric. Baking soda in the washing machine, and a lot of it. This also works on stinky, sour towels.
Okay, your turn: I’d love it if you shared a couple of your real-life parenting tips. No particular subject or category, just whatever comes to mind!
You can also sprinkle baking soda on upholstered furniture, let it sit for a couple hours, vacuum it up, and repeat it a bunch of times. It’s a pain, but it gets barf smell out of the couch after the cleaning professionals fail to get it.
When my little kids are in one of those “nothing is right, everything is wrong!” moods that make me feel like setting them out by the curb, I put them in the tub. Usually it breaks the mood. And if it doesn’t, I’ve reset the clock on how long it’s been since the last bath.
Swistle | April 17th, 2008 at 12:36 am
This is not my own idea… I read it on a blog somewhere last year. It works so good with both my girls I can hardly believe it.
Get some paint brushes, some pails or bowls of water and let the kids paint the sidewalk, patio, house, plants or whatever with plain old water.
Also, pouring water. Get out the measuring spoons, and some bowls and let them pour water from one container to another. If it is too cold to go outside and you are desperate, use the tub.
No clean up = happy mommy.
Laughing Mommy | April 17th, 2008 at 3:20 am
I totally agree with you about the choices thing! It has worked wonders on my 2 1/2 year old.
Another thing that he loves is if I take cotton balls, a few containers/bowls and a spoon from the kitchen. He is the type of kid that plays with a toy or activity for about 2.6 seconds before going on to something else but this has actually kept his attention for a while. He’ll just sit on the kitchen floor and transfer the cotton balls between the bowls.
Let’s see, what else…does alcohol count as a parenting tip - either for him or me?
I kid, I kid!!!!
Can’t think of anything else right now though I know there’s more. I look forward to reading everyone else’s tips. Great topic!
Laura | April 17th, 2008 at 3:56 am
This is kind of weird, but we have a loop in our house through the living room, by front door to kitchen - and start again. Whenever my 3 and 5 yr olds are whiny and/or crabby (dude, at least once a day) I start running the loop. They think it’s so funny,they immediately STOP what they’re doing to run with me! It is so funny that most times I’m laughing till I’m crying. Fun for kids, Fun for mommy!
Kristi | April 17th, 2008 at 4:10 am
For those who travel on planes with young ones, give them a dose of Ibuprofen 2 hours before the flight, and two doses after the flight. I’ve had three flights with my son and he didn’t protest or scream from ear pain on any of them (and believe me, when he’s upset or in pain, he’ll normally let me know).
Also, the miracle blanket for infants found at miracleblanket.com. I could not have made it without that blanket.
Farrell | April 17th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Kristi, that is hilarious. Good exercise, too! I may have to start running my loop.
Another tip for getting a fussy infant to settle down — take them outside for a minute. I think sometimes the fresh air shocks them into submission. I mean, calm.
Lee | April 17th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Let them help with chores.
My daughter loves to help witht the laundry, I hand her the items out of the washer and she puts them in the dryer. Now that she is taller she can even put the clothes into the washer when standing on her stool.
She also loves to do the dishes, I let her put the non breakable non sharp items into the dishwasher or she stands on a chair at the sink and washes the dishes. When she gets to stand on the chair at the sink I just fill the sink with about 4 inches of soapy water and give her some plastic cups and spoons and bowls that need to go in the dishwasher any way and let her “wash” them. This keeps her busy for a while.
The other advantage to this is when she is older she will know how to help around the house and when she complains about it I can remind her how much she LOVES to clean =o)
Dawn | April 17th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
We do the “painting with water” trick a lot at our house — it works like a charm!
For our fussy babies, we found that engaging a different sense stopped the crying. Our favorite way to do this is by smelling spices. Just open the jar of something other than pepper and wave it gently under the squalling kid’s nose — the sweet baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc) are their favorite, though my 17-month old for some reason really likes dill right now.
Lylah | April 17th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Recently we started a new game. Say I’m folding laundry and my 2 year old is bugging me to pay attention to him. Well, you get a clothespin, bag clip, any clip really and you tell your son/daughter to run in the other, you’re going to hide the object, and when they come back they have to find it. This keeps my son busy for hours, I usually run out of places to hide it. I have to give him hints sometimes and we use the getting warmer/colder technique. You can play this game while you’re making dinner, cleaning house, blogging ect.
Sammy | April 17th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Wind up toys work wonders. You wind them, put them on the floor and the baby chases them. Get them to bring it back and do it all over again . . . I´ve written entire articles in the moments that my kids are chasing toy bunnies and airplanes!
Squishy bags are a big hit around here, too. Basically, you take a packet of plain gelatin, mix it with 1/2 cup of hot water and pour it into ice cube trays. Add a drop of food coloring to each cube, varying the colors. Then stick it in the fridge. THey get Jelloey very quickly.
Then you dump a couple different colors into a Ziplock bag and let your kids squish them together. It´s supposed to be a lesson in color mixing, but for me it´s just a lifesaver.
When your kid has a cold, let them sleep sitting up, propped up on stuffed animals or extra pillows, their noses will drain better and they won´t cry all night. Usually.
Pick your fights. Sometimes it´s totally not worth arguing over the TV volume. Save your energy for big fights like having a bath after two weeks.
Wet wipes work well on a feverish toddler. Just stick them in a Ziplock bag in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, then use them to wipe his face and leave one on his forehead. Brings that fever down real fast.
To keep a baby occupied, just fill a box with odds and ends, junk mail, empty medicine bottles, etc. and let them take everything out. Could take them a long time if you put lots of small (non-chokeable) stuff in there!
As usual, I´ve gone on too long! Hope these help someone.
Genesis | April 17th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Cradle Cap. Those scabby scales your baby gets on his head that resemble old man dandruff … give your baby a gentle head scratch/massage before you bathe him. Then, do a good shampooing to wash away the loosened flakes. Repeat for a few days and you’ll see a big improvement in your baby’s head. Once you are on top of the situation … do this a few times a week. Frequent washing is actually good for cradle cap.
Stacy | April 18th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Another water trick that worked with me as a kid — my mom would plop me out on the cement patio with a bowl of ice cubes. You can use them as sidewalk “chalk” and everything you draw magically disappears!
I still remember that, and how at my nursery school they’d let us “paint” the outside walls of the building with water!
Great for a hot day, but good on any day to entertain little ones - -can’t wait til mine are old enough to enjoy it!
Nancy | April 18th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Loving the ideas - just wanted to add that we have music night in our home each week - we turn off the tv and crank up daddy’s guitar, my keyboards and the kids have tambourines/miracha’s/and then my oldest has an acoustic she’s learning from daddy -
Awesome way for kids to showcase their talents - my son is 2 and enjoys his bongos I found at the goodwill for 3.99! He loves the part when we yell “SOLO!” and he goes for it!
doing this has brought the best out of our children and their creative sides - as well as show them how much’HAM’ of their mothers’ they have in them — They are my children - seriously.
Trice | April 19th, 2008 at 9:01 am