The two parenting tricks that I learned years too late.

[SharingMichelle]

1. Give them music and headphones for long car journeys. Shuts them right up. My eldest is 10 and I've only recently learned this.

1. Peel the negative space off the sticker sheet and your small child can peel off the stickers independently. Without ripping them. Yes, even cheap stickers. WHY didn't anyone tell me this one??!

NEVER HAND A CHILD AN OPEN FRUBE!! They may not take it from me EVER

you usually wind up snipping off the top because it's covered in spit and teeth marks, tell them to put hands by their sides and open wide.
Pop end of frube in,
Let child take it

I got covered in A LOT of fucking yoghurt one summer before I worked that one out.

The talc on sandy feet thing - how did I not know? Genius.

In our house the TV doesn't work when the sunshines. This started when they were wee but still works now they are over ten. Eye rolls do occur but no arguments ensue.

When my DC were small I would put vegetables on their plate and then mutter to myself, e.g. "Oh no, that's far too many peas, you can't have that many". I very soon had two children who begged for more vegetables.

I have 5 boys and the best trick is ever learnt was when toilet training them place a ping pong ball in the toilet, it doesn't flush away and they have something to aim at!!!!

I double layer the kids beds so when they wet the bed at night, I whip the first layer off with minimal hassle (so it would be mattress, waterproof sheet, sheet, waterproof sheet, sheet).

Give warnings - I get less grief if I say to ds "after X, I will brush your teeth".

Give them responsibility for things even if it is more hassle. Eg let the kids clear their plates, let them have a go at helping with cooking, give them cleaning or gardening jobs. The sense of pride they get for helping (and not in return for money) is palpable! Ds was so proud he helped dh load the car up for the rubbish dump the other day, he came to tell me and was glowing.

If you are putting tupperwares around the car ready to catch the car sick, put 1/3 cat litter in each first. Absorbs the liquid and a good deal of the smell too.

Also recommend getting a supply of clean-up powder from eBay for carpets upholstery and bodily fluid incidents.

Also, when you're going into hospital to give birth to dc, take a T-shirt that you've worn to put in the crib, it will help lo settle and give you a break

The nappy on the plane thing is genius. Shall use for all future outings and will have to discover organised alter ego

Why did I not know all this 18 years ago? They're all grown up now! Here's mine:

1. Store baby wipes upside down to avoid drying out

1. If they start removing nappies when alone in cot resulting in messes, put nappies on backwards.

1. If they can't sleep and it's summer, flip their quilt over. It's all cool and they love it.

Can't believe I didn't know about the vests!!

God, the cat litter thing is genius too.

The "L" for left one will change my life.

(Currently still have to do air writing to remind myself- it's just not efficient when DH is about to burst a blood vessel waiting for correct directions while driving )

Freeze a pop bottle - either 20% water or cordial -

Them fill the bottle with liquid cordial - keeps it cold all day!!!

And keeps the picnic cold in the bag

For the car sick thing, you can line a tupperware/old ice cream box with a plastic bag. Bag comes out and is dumped, box reusable.

yes....and keep the lid, very handy for keeping the nasty vomit niff insde the container and not up your nose.

we used to use a couple of squares of kitchen roll in a bag in a box to stop any splatter

you can also stack the boxes in a similar style to double or triple making the bed so the full of vomit box does not have to b reopened to be reused. You do have to keep track of the lids though.

The extension plug for holiday is brilliant, thanks!

Along similar lines to the pushchair-towards-sun trick:

When trying to get baby to sleep, hold her in your arms facing away from you and keep spinning a bit from side to side. As she sees the room spinning round her, it's hard for her to visually track everything and she will shut her eyes because that's easier. Which may result in her falling asleep quicker!

Another one on fizzy drinks. My 5 yo has never had one even though dp and I drink coke quite often. At a party once when ds was 3yo, he asked for fizzy 7up like his big cousins. I said oh ok sure but it's really just for big people... And gave him a party cup filled with tonic water - well he has never asked for a fizzy drink again / yet!

Triple layer young kids' bed - mattress protector, fitted sheet, mattress protector, fitted sheet, mattress protector fitted sheet. If they have a toilet accident, commit etc in the middle of the night you just peel away a layer (sheet and protector) and the bed is ready to go again. If we have a tummy bug in the house I also make the bed with beach towels so I can strip them away and wash them easily if there is an accident in bed.

When i was bf i would use those milk collector things in my bra at night to collect any drips and then just take out it the morning and drink it

my top tip is

1. relax

They will eat eventually, they will potty train eventually they will sleep eventually.
The world won't end if they have the occasional bad meal/glass of fizzy drink/sweet/ice cream/watch tv.
Do what works for you and relax.

1. learn to say no, and stick to it - in the face of tantrums etc (even from your 12 year old) it is actually OK to make a decision and stick to it.

You get the pay back for that when they are teens, and they know you mean what you say.

Whatever gets the most sleep for the most people is always the right thing to do.

And my late mother's frequently repeated "I think all children should wear T shirts saying "This Grows Up Automatically" "

My tip is to wash baby/children's socks in delicates bags. They don't blobk the machine, and you don't spend hours searching for missing socks that end up in your pillow case for example.

Well where the hell were you 10 years ago when I needed this information? Can't believe I spent months carefully, carefully manouevering shitty vests over PFB's head when I didn't need to.

Any beach/holiday tips?