The two parenting tricks that I learned years too late.

Calpol (any medicine) mixed with icing sugar - spread on top of a fairy cake

tear a tiny corner off a packet of milky buttons and give to toddler. Takes them ages to fertle them out and the white chocolate doesn't make a mess. Use this one for Doctors waiting rooms or public transport - can give you half an hour's peace

potato I assumed that by "rigid" pp meant the trick my baby DD does where she screams usually because her daddy tried to make her wear clothes and wouldn't let her kick around naked and gets so cross she tenses all of her leg muscles and balls up her fists (and shakes them at you like a caricature of an angry old bloke). When that happens she won't bend in the middle AT ALL and standing her up works quite well!

Ditto Rubyflint

Vest trick genius....wish I'd known years ago...son now 17!

If your child happens to burn their hand trying to keep it under cold running water is next to impossible, instead putting ice cubes in a small bowl of cold water for them to play with (supervised) means they are likely to keep it there for a lot longer.

LittleHouse ha ha yes I shall nick that one for when DD is older

When the baby goes rigid while screaming, stand it up
When the baby what? If my kids went rigid if be calling a paramedic

Mine is that baby vests have those weird necks so you can pull them down and off when they shit up their backs. Was on my second child when I realised this. Really - we have three children, the oldest is fifteen, and I didn't realise that. Bit too late now

RubyFlint my variation on that is used when I want to summon my teenagers downstairs - I switch the router off and wait. It doesn't take long.

The sticker one and the L for left ones are genius, thanks. I've just told the second one to dp, who doesn't know his left from his right

When you take a small baby swimming, take a dressing gown for yourself to wear while you dry and dress the baby so you aren't freezing cold. Also good if you need to feed the baby by the side of the pool.

Cross posted with Saracen but blimey, your last post re: older children is GENIUS!

Saracen- sleep bras? Breast pads?!

As for walking round with Tshirt rubbing on sore nipples....

One I learnt on here (it isn't rocket science though, really!) is to put toddler's duvet sideways and tuck the ends in at each side, to stop them falling out! Still using it for 2 yo dd.

When you have older kids, give them the most challenging jobs in the house instead of the easiest. They are less likely to rebel, because it's interesting. They get more praise and admiration and feel better about themselves. You end up with someone quite competent who can handle most anything.

So, instead of getting them to hoover or empty the dishwasher, have them cook the family dinner, use the internet to diagnose the cause of the alarming noise the washing machine is making, do the family supermarket shop, replace the flooring in the kitchen, research a cheaper utilities deal by looking at gas and electric schemes, or plan the rail journey for your family's day out.

When painting, use empty egg boxes - shaped bits for different colours and flat bits to put paint brush down. Then throw when all done!

Put the shirt you have been wearing all day in the cot with your baby and then if they stir in the night they think you are next to them. Sounds skanky but works a treat - thanks sil!

Ooh yes the talc trick I only learnt last year but i always keep some in the car incase we go to the beach. Rub it all over them and they are nice and clean well not sandy anyway

Here's a few more!
parenting hacks

The monster spray (just water) one is also great if children are scared at bed time. Can also be calm down spray or silent working spray!

When you need new clothes for your DC, take an item of their clothes with you so you can compare sizes ie these trousers are too short so the new ones need to be longer. Takes the guess work away

If you are using squeezy paint put a piece of kitchen roll in the container/ paint pallet first. Then when done throw away without any need for washing up (for a primary school teacher this saves a lot of time and wet children- when they try to wash up . Also works with paper towels)

Ds loves to play with pull down light switch in the bathroom so he regularly is distracted by that whilst we brush his teeth. That or hold him upside down but think that might just be him being odd! Like the song from earlier we regularly sing to keep us same!

When the baby goes rigid while screaming, stand it up. Less blood rush to the head, tires them out quicker, and stimulates leg growth and core strength. We think this is why DD is nearly 6 foot.

I'd recommend incontinence pants not just pads for :
Post birth
Post mc
Diarrhoea (you or the kids)

They're very comfy and if you're ill/weak just throwing away rather than accumulating laundry that may need hand soaking is much easier.

For vomitty people (children ok enough to cope with this and adults)

Plastic carrier/small bin bag lined with news or kitchen paper, again just throw after use or cheapo tea towels

Re swimming hot water bottle a bit cumbersome I used a couple of those cracky hand warmer things.

That post also reminded me (and again top tip for adults/older kids too)

When putting your stuff away in the locker make sure towel/shampoo/conditioner on top so you don't get other stuff wet hunting for em!

I like the music and headphones thing. I've done too many long journeys with constant bickering in the back of the car. Sod the i spy games, they never last long enough anyway. I'm getting sets of headphones. Thank you :-)

Ooo I've always done the sticker thing, even when I was a kid myself. Can't believe I've done something right! Lol

Have a pack of nice huge incontinence towels on hand for after the birth. If you have a heavy flow in the first few days after giving birth you will find those "maternity towels" are a joke, hardly any better than normal sanitary towels.

The last thing you need when you are recovering from childbirth is to be changing extra bedsheets or getting up extra times in the night to change your maternity towel.

If you're breastfeeding and have leaky boobs at night, don't bother wearing a top as it will only get soaked anyway, and who wants to sleep in a wet shirt? Lie on top of a bath towel and put another one across your chest to absorb the trickles so they don't tickle you annoyingly. If even that gets soaked, you can quickly swap it for another - easier than changing a shirt in the middle of the night.

On a similar note, at night or when slobbing around the house, if you are troubled by sore hard breasts then put a t-shirt on and go braless. The friction of the shirt against your nipples can cause you to leak milk, which eases discomfort and prevents engorgement. Wet t-shirts are a small price to pay for avoiding mastitis.