Parenting tips that aren't shit

[Rory786]

Hi all, Im loving the household tips that aren't shit thread, so here's a spin off. I'm desperate for parenting tips.
I have 2 teen boys doing GCSE's and 3 girls 4yrs, 22 months and 8 months. I'm being pulled all over the place, helping with algebra while changing nappies and doing finger painting.
At the moment I'm relying heavily on the iPad. Leaving the house seems so hard, we live in the country, can't walk anywhere and trying to defrost the car with the little ones seems so hard. The boys take the bus to school.
dd1 will be starting school in Sept and I'm dreading the school run.
Any tips appreciated, thanks.

Honeylulu, like it! A slightly more extreme version of the outside bin that I have read is to keep a stash of wrapped up empty cardboard boxes under the Christmas tree, and chuck them on the fire if they play up. Obviously only works a) in December, and b) if you have a fire. But I imagine you only have to do that once too!

A few people have mentioned audio book CDs for bedtime. When I have to do bedtime on my own I put one child in bed with a YouTube children's meditation story while I read etc to the other (joint bedtime stories nearly always end badly for us). Anyway, more often than not the other child has been medidated to sleep by the time I get back to them - bonus

Loving this thread, all the tips are great.

I keep all my kids hair short, easier for hairstyles and for the dreaded bit maintenance.

A rocking chair is great for when you don't want to walk a baby at 2am, they get soothed while you rock like a psycho granny!

When potty training keep a box or a basket containing a stash of spare pants and socks downstairs. I found that the kids would invariably soak the socks during 'accidents'. Keeping spare socks with the pants saved me from running upstairs every five monutes.
Keep a potty upstairs as well as down.
Puppy trainer pads are cheaper than Pampers disposable change mats.
A cheap shower curtain under a high chair saves flooring and one blue tacked to the wall behind the high chairs saves ravioli pebbles dashed walls.

My tip is never to feel guilty about things, and trust your children. You have to get through the tricky times, and you have to enjoy them. An extra paw patrol (or 5) while you have a coffee and get yourself together is completely harmless, in my opinion. The same with biscuits at playgroup or chocolate buttons, or a dummy, or whatever. They are kids for a tiny proportion of their lives, and they are resilient to the evils of tv or whatever. You are the lynchpin of the family and you are incredibly precious. Do what makes life easy for yourself and helps you enjoy it.

thisrabbit oh my god... how has that never occurred to me before? gamechanger!

I fit one on one time round my kids schedule. One is an early riser o we have some one on one time then.
Another loves me to hop into bed with her for 10 minutes when I go to turn her light out from reading.

Older kids prefer to chat when they are doing something or in the car so it takes the pressure off. Cooking together is a good one.

Our kids have to start cooking a family meal once a fortnight when they turn 13. Only one doing it so far but she has 3 meals she does on rotation and needs minimal supervision for one of them. The others she does in her own. I plan to increase my working hours when they are all at high school and this will help out no end.

Chores that kids can do from an early age are setting the table, tidying and helping fold and put away washing.

I am literally sat making notes from this thread
I wish I had something to contribute though, feeling slightly inferior now

Wonderful thread thank You!

I second an electronic calendar! DH & I have used a Google Mail one for years and it makes life so much easier. DC is a baby but when he's older he'll have access too

Yes to tights on babies, especially if you carry them in slings and their trousers rise up.

Keep a pack of the appropriate sized nappies in your car, or a car you're likely to be in often.

Always have at least one spare set of clothes and a toy in the bottom of your nappy bag. Perfect for poosplosions and bored babies.

Calpol / ibuprofen sachets a great for keeping in the nappy bag for when your child develops an unexpected fever (rather than having to send your other half off to the shops while at a friends).

Rinse pooey clothes immediately in water, and apply stain remover. Gets rid of most stains.

If they can't wait at least two hours between wees they are not physically ready to be toilet trained
Get a tangle tamer
Put then to bed awake (hard but so worth it in the end)
Fruit juice is full of sugar (I genuinely only realised this recently and used to let my kids have loads their teeth are loads better since cut back)

Nitty gritty comb, best thing ever for nits. No chemicals needed.

Peel the surround from a sheet of stickers leaving just the stickers so small children can actually peel them off by themselves.

I've found giving an instruction then counting down from 5 rather than up to 3 is very effective. Don't think I've ever hit one so not sure what happens then!

Enjoy yourself whenever you can and don't let guilt spoil the bits when you're not.

Apologise and tell them you love them when you mess up.

My tip for teenagers. Start every day fresh. Let stuff go and begin again.

Keep baby milk cans and baby food jars for an organised pantry. No packets flapping around.

Marshmallows cure sore throats, this works and is much nicer than lozenges, something to do with the gelatine coating the throat

Soak oats in a big pot the night before, add brown sugar and cinnamon. In the morning it will take less than ten minutes to cook, add a good glug of milk. A nutritious breakfast that will feed a crowd for pennies.

The disposable mats for vomit; I wish I'd known sooner! Will put into practice next time (it pains me to think there will be a next time).

Buy several pairs of those stretchy age 1-6 gloves/mittens all the same colour. They can be for all dcs & you'll always find a pair

Thought of something else - allocate everyone in the family a different colour of socks

If you cant, a different brand that has some kind of difference so you can easily tell apart. DD1s black socks has sparkly coloured heels, DD2s have coloured heels - no sparkles.

Oooh I've got another one!!! Hang stained baby vests out on the line....and leave them there. For days if necessary. The sun will bleach the stain. Then wash out all the spider eggs and dark germs and they are good as new.

The first time I did this my DH asked if it was to warn off other babies. I don't know why I found that so hilarious, it's probably why I do it so often now!

Sock airer for baby/toddler clothing (quick to fill up and to bring in when it starts raining).

Soap and shampoo are overated, lukewarm water works well for little ones (including hair) and less qualms about the baby drinking the bath water. The soap does come out when poo is involved or for hand washing.

A 40 littres tubtrug bucket in the bathtube makes a nice little toddler bathtube and leaves enough space for the supervising parent to take a shower at the same time. The bucket can also be used to store toys or as a paddling pool outside.

Blackout curtains in their rooms will buy you a lot longer in bed in the summer months! They are so good we got some for our room.

Plan ahead. Get a calendar. The day will go quicker and easier if you all bung on some clothes and get some fresh air and go for a walk, even for half an hour. Snow suits are a godsend, as are snowboots for little ones. Ready in 30 seconds

Baby wipes are essential long after the kids are out if nappies. Equally muslin cloths are brilliant as they soak well and dry quickly.
Keep a spare plaster in your wallet and a clean tissue in your pocket.
Feeding baby in cafe or anywhere public, strip down to vest. Then you can cover up the stains that the bib didn't catch afterwards
Frozen banana slices zapped with blender make banana ice cream
Frozen tubes of smoothies make ice lollies
Pop frozen smoothie into an old baby sock to avoid frozen hands
Oatmeal in an old sock in the bath makes a lovely soothing bath lotion : excellent for chicken pox and skin conditions
Cornflour is fabulous for nappy rash ( but never use talc)
Keep sports/ dance/ swim wear in their own bags.
Buy sachets of saline in chemist and pop one in beach bag for sand in eyes
Honey is much more effective than cough syrup ( only after age of 1 though)
Add a squirt of fairy liquid to finger paint to make easier to wash off.
Finger paint in garden in summer and wash off in paddling pool
A cheap garden sprinkler hose attachment is an awesome toddler toy
Hide small plastic toys/stones/etc in play doh.
Most tantrums are caused by hunger or tiredness. Coming down with illness is the other major cause. Pat yourself on the back if you get through the day without having a tantrum too

Don't ask toddlers what they would like to eat as they will want something you don't have (or chocolate/ice cream) and then be upset they can't have it. Instead ask "Would you like x or y?" so they still feel like it was their idea.

Likewise never ask "Shall we get dressed now? Would you like to brush your teeth?' Etc. just tell them, "Time to brush your teeth". It saves a lot of arguing!

Pick a short piece of music that you play on your phone every time it's tidy up time.

Eventually, they'll hear the tune and automatically clear up. It's Pavlovian.

(I'm a Year 1 teacher and this works amazingly in class. I have visions of them aged 16 hearing Hawaii-5-0 and manically searching for things to tidy. 😂)