To ask for your controversial parenting tips?!

[Napqueen1234]

No judgement here. I want to know what you do day to day that works for you/your family but others may think are a bit crazy or controversial.

Today I told a friend that every day when kids are in bed (3 and 1) I tidy the whole downstairs and put all toys away so I can have a completely toy/child free evening. we just have one living room so all their toys downstairs are there and I can’t relax unless it’s tidy. It takes maybe 5/10 mins and is so worth it. My friend was shocked and said she could never be bothered to do that every day (fair enough) and thought it was mad considering it gets immediately destroyed by 6:30 the next morning. I wouldn’t even consider not tidying but to each their own and wouldn’t matter to me if someone else didn’t!

Ok not particularly controversial but anyone else have anything more juicy??

Whilst you might not be trying to invite people to judge, these types of threads always go badly.

I do exactly the same, even if it's so late that I'm going straight to bed. I can't abide leaving a mess out, and it's so much easier to keep on top of it. It means we very rarely have toys with missing pieces either.

Chocolate for breakfast if it meant getting to school on time.

Because it gives people who relish bringing others down an excuse to express their “controversial” views which are usually judgemental and/or offensive.

Similar here - I have to make sure the lounge is tidy before we go out. It annoys the family when I take 10 mins to potter everything away (usually throwing pens, paper etc into cupboards) before leaving the house. Better than the rage I feel coming home to a mess

I used to do this (tidy up) but they have too many toys now and a lot of built lego or gravitrax. Don't bother now unless I'm cleaning.

I totally agree with you about relaxing in a kid free zone. We like to have all toys etc out of sight before we settle down for the evening. To get my daughter to stop using a dummy at 3.5 years old I gave her an "invisible" dummy when she asked for it. It was actually her idea and it works for her - she pretend takes it, sucks it for a moment and goes "ah that's better!"

I always tidy everything away, the bloody mess my child makes I wouldn't be able to carry a glass of wine to the sofa without spilling any

@Hyggemama - that sounds like a great idea!

No one is allowed to go to bed until the house is tidy here, my controversial point would be that the 1 and 3 should be involved. It takes a handful of minute.
Tidy last thing, clean first thing in the morning means a house always visitor ready and no stress. Toys are put away when they are no longer used during the day.

I let DS eat Jaffa cakes on the potty whilst watching Ovtonauts if I want 10 minutes peace.

OP your example doesn't fit your title.

I don't have toys downstairs full stop. My HV asked me while I wanted to erase the fact that I had a child I said I don't, I just don't want to sit in the lounge with toys cluttering it and she then asked if I had ever been tested for OCD.

I let me 6 year old go downstairs, put the tv on and get a snack which is nearly always chocolate if it gives me longer in bed at the weekends!!

My very controversial tip: not putting the kids to bed in the afternoon. When there's no school or nursery, mine go to bed between 8 and 9, and when they are old enough they read.
It means there's no such thing as a 5 or 6am start for them, we can have or visit friends at the weekend, it's bliss.

That's one of the main positive of the school closure, we are on "holiday" time. I have free time in the morning if I chose to be early, i still have my evenings as the kids don't need me to entertain them, works perfect.

My 6 year old not me 🙄

I don’t think I overdo Christmas presents for my DD and I don’t stick to the something you want, need, wear, read rule either. I don’t stick to a 10 present limit but I don’t judge others who do. Each to their own but I love my DD (and my DH if I’m honest) coming down to a mountain of presents. It brings me joy.

If my DS aged 8 is very upset and frustrated, and I mean, really cross about something, we go for a drive and I let him shout as loud as he likes three swear words. As bad as he likes. But, just three.

The last thing he was cross about was another child we had wound him up over a couple of days. The child has additional needs and challenging behaviours and my DS is patient to a point, he knows this child has some problems and it isn't always his fault, but two days of it was frustrating.

Three big swears, at the top of his lungs, and he feels much better.

He is not allowed to swear at all, and the rest of the time I am firm on this.
It works for us 😁

Tidying up downstairs isn't controversial!

and I don’t stick to the something you want, need, wear, read rule either.

good grief, that's just a virtue signalling nonsense, no one in real life is so mean!

Mine often run round the house naked for hours on end because I do not always have the energy to wrestle them into clothes. So I just leave them be.

Yeh tidying downstairs not controversial ...

Laughing at tidying up being controversial!

@Alittlebitta what?? HV sounds weird

@FleurDaxeny

and I don’t stick to the something you want, need, wear, read rule either.

good grief, that's just a virtue signalling nonsense, no one in real life is so mean!

Not according to Mumsnet. Any more than a hand-me-down jumper and a paperback is excessive!