15+ Parents Give Useful Hacks to Switch Parenting to Easy Mode

Being a parent has never been a walk in the park for anyone, however, some people have come up with tips that can make it a little easier. The most important secret here is lots of love — maybe with a bunch of jokes and mutual support. That’s why it’s important to share with fellow parents the things that work for their kids.

We at Now I’ve Seen Everything are going to share some tips and tricks from parents right here.

• Babies don’t have a good circadian rhythm and rely on us to set one for them. Pick a time that you’re going to go to quiet time — basically turn out lights, TV off and/or volume down, etc. We did this with our first child and it became the center of our evening routine. Now my son is 3 and knows that when the clock says “7-0-0” it means “settle down time” and helps to turn the lights out. i_am_the-bad_woolf / Reddit

• To get a newborn to burp: sit them on your knee, holding them under their armpits, and move their upper bodies in a circle several times. Like a reverse hula move, I guess.
  ohno_not_another_one / Reddit

• Offer a 15-minute countdown and remind the kids at 15, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and when it’s time to leave. I had a friend who did this, and his kids were cool about leaving even when they were playing with the other kids. Wittyfox451 / Reddit

• I assigned my 3 kids each a day of the week (they each got 2, and Sunday was the leftover). Whatever the question was, the answer was whose day is it. Who gets to go first? Who gets to ride in the front? Who has to take their bath first? I’ve saved so many arguments with this.
  Governmentman43 / Reddit

• I used to take the kids swimming in the evening. We’d always pack their PJs for the clothes they’d change into after swimming. They got out of the pool, showered, and changed into pajamas. They didn’t always go to bed right when we got home, but they were always ready for bed when we got home. couchjitsu / Reddit

• I told my son that I was allergic to whining. Any time he started whining I did a bunch of fake sneezing and he would apologize immediately and stop being whiney! It worked for most of elementary school!
  Merry_Pippins / Reddit

• Teach your kids to read very early. When you give a kid the love of reading at an early age, the rest of school is usually a cakewalk. They’re ahead of the curve in many ways. If they love reading, they always have something to do, and you can make a reward out of a book.
  RooskieRepub**** / Reddit

• Draw semi-circles on the insides of their shoes that match up to make a full circle when the shoes are on the correct side of each other.
  848Des14 / Reddit

• If they are cranky, put them in water. I have teenagers, this is still the method that I use. Even having them wash their hands or face does wonder. sweetcarolinekisses / Reddit

• Give them dark (over 90% cocoa) chocolate as their first taste of chocolate. After that, my son was adamant he hated chocolate and refused whenever someone tried to give him any. KSPS123 / Reddit

• If you want to enjoy some time undisturbed, tell your kids that you’re taking a nap and when you wake up, you are all going to do chores together. They’ll want to let you sleep as long as possible to avoid doing housework, so they’ll leave you alone to actually nap or do other things like reading.
  -eDgAR- / Reddit

What parenting tips do you use often? What tricks did your parents play on you when you were little?