Best parenting tip you ever got?

[giantwaterbottle]

Obviously I'm not being unreasonable to ask 🤷‍♀️

Mine was from some friends who had older kids.
Always double the sheets/plastic sheet in baby/toddler bed.

It's saved us in the middle of the night on countless occasions.

When sharing something between two children, one cuts the item into two pieces and the other chooses first. The cutter will make sure that they cut the item exactly in half as otherwise the chooser will leave them with the smaller share.

Treat the Internet and social media like being out in a busy and unfamiliar place and give them the same level of supervision and guidance as you would if they were physically in that situation.

When they behave in the most unlovable way, that is the time when they most need to know they are loved.

When sharing something between two children, one cuts the item into two pieces and the other chooses first. The cutter will make sure that they cut the item exactly in half as otherwise the chooser will leave them with the smaller share.

Omg - this is genius !!!!

“None of us go to work wearing a nappy” my mum .

@JustineTimee

When sharing something between two children, one cuts the item into two pieces and the other chooses first. The cutter will make sure that they cut the item exactly in half as otherwise the chooser will leave them with the smaller share.

Omg - this is genius !!!!

That's what my mum always did with me and my sister.

Give them choices to get them to do what you want them to do but feel like they have autonomy...

So, what do you want to do first, put your pyjamas on or brush your teeth?

When my youngest was born, the nurse told me to try not to micromanage her older siblings when they held or played with her: that is, to teach them how to be safe with her but then leave them to play with her, hold her or take care of her how they wanted. “This way they’ll see her as their sister rather than your baby”. Excellent advice.

Later, that the middle of an argument or tantrum is not a teachable moment, but rather you need to hold and connect with them until they are calm enough to hear you. Applies to big kids too.

If you don't feel like you've failed as a parent occasionally, then you're doing it wrong.

all the times where hindsight has been 20/20 this advice has saved me a lot of heartache

Thank you every one for each post! I have taken many of these pieces of advice and feel better able to handle parenting :)

Don't tiptoe around a sleeping baby. From the beginning get them used to noise, my mother used to deliberately do vacuuming or have the TV on.
I can only speak for myself but it seems to work!

Sorry - that should be a fourteen year old needs as much sleep as a four year old. I obviously need some now!

Boobs fix everything. Baby hungry? Boobs. Fussy? Boobs. Tired? Boobs. Bored? Boobs. Teething? Boobs (ouch).

And WHITE NOISE

Tired Mum games!

Libraries - I lie in the sofa and kids bring me books and we talk about them.

Hospitals - I am the patient (lying on the sofa) and need to be looked after.

Theatres - I am the audience (sofa based role) and waiting for a show.

Babies - I am a baby that needs a nap, so make me lie on the sofa and cuddle me till I fall asleep.

Inspired or just tired - you decide!

Nurture their artistic talents by asking them to draw “mummy asleep on the sofa”

Babies - I am a baby that needs a nap, so make me lie on the sofa and cuddle me till I fall asleep.

I used to do this one! Also hairdressers is good for low energy games. Or school - I used to sit zoning out while he taught me things.

@DysmalRadius

Tired Mum games!

Libraries - I lie in the sofa and kids bring me books and we talk about them.

Hospitals - I am the patient (lying on the sofa) and need to be looked after.

Theatres - I am the audience (sofa based role) and waiting for a show.

Babies - I am a baby that needs a nap, so make me lie on the sofa and cuddle me till I fall asleep.

Inspired or just tired - you decide!

Absolute genius . Also... Toddler yoga? We do ours on the sofa perhaps? My toddler does a move that I think she learned at nursery, but whenever I ask her what she's doing, she just says 'I'm not an egg', which doesn't shed much light on the matter...

When sharing something between two children, one cuts the item into two pieces and the other chooses first. The cutter will make sure that they cut the item exactly in half as otherwise the chooser will leave them with the smaller share.

Also works with five kids and a Mars Bar. I say this as the eldest of five kids who often had to share a Mars Bar.

To this day, I get a bit of a thrill when I slice a pizza erratically.

"Woo-hoo! Different size slices! And it doesn't matter!"

Just to follow up on that, incidentally, someone will say, "But then isn't there contention over the end bits of the Mars Bar?"

No. I had a system. You rotate who chooses first, by age. You also introduce a certain amount of ambivalence as to whether the end bit is a good thing or a bad thing.

Being the eldest in a big family prepares you for life in all sorts of useful ways.

I was one of 7 and we had the same system. Also used when sharing out a bag of sweets. Whoever does the sharing gets last pick.

A parenting tip I wouldn't necessarily promote was that when something naughty was discovered, if the perpetrator was not immediately obvious, then she'd punish the first available child on the basis that they'd work out who it was and extract revenge. I guess it saved her the stress and it generally worked in the way she thought it would but it's not really the done thing nowadays...

Give it six weeks and another problem will appear. The one you are worrying about will be finished.

@dementedma

Hang in there. They WILL leave home eventually

Sadly not. I read so much of this thread feeling - my child is disabled

So much easier when he was a 'normal' baby

Here's a compilation of some advice given to me from friends and family at my baby shower. I keep it on my phone for times I need a reminder.

Society expects women to work like they don't have children and raise children as if they don't work. Be gentle with yourself and do the best that you can.

There will always be others who judge or criticise. You can't control what comes out of their mouth but you can control your reactions. Try not to let it get to you. Do what is best for you and your family.

There will be good days and bad days with your kids, on the tough days try to focus on the small wins.

Don’t become a martyr. Happy mom, happy child.

Your child is not an extension of you. They are their own person. Do not project your own fears or expectations on them. Nurture them to be their own person.

Enjoy your child at each stage. Don’t rush it. Time flies faster than you think.

You have 18 summers with your kid, before they venture off to do their own thing. Make memories with them.

Choose your battles wisely.

Lower your expectations and raise your tolerance level.

Don't do anything for your kid that they can do themselves.

Comparison is the thief of joy. Every child is different so try not to compare.

Be a good example to them. They are watching you.

Keep an open mind and an open heart.

@ElephantOfRisk

I was one of 7 and we had the same system. Also used when sharing out a bag of sweets. Whoever does the sharing gets last pick.

A parenting tip I wouldn't necessarily promote was that when something naughty was discovered, if the perpetrator was not immediately obvious, then she'd punish the first available child on the basis that they'd work out who it was and extract revenge. I guess it saved her the stress and it generally worked in the way she thought it would but it's not really the done thing nowadays...

My mum wasn't that arbitrary, but one of my feelings about childhood is that it's essentially unjust, so there must have been frequent miscarriages of justice that have left me with that impression. I think that that was more down to school though.

When she told one of us off, Mum'd start at the top of the list, and run down it until she got to the one she wanted....

"Tom, Joe, Grace, Michael - stop that!"

(Names changed to protect the guilty.)

This isn't quite advice, but it certainly shaped my view of myself and my approach to parenting...

"Of course I'd love you under any circumstances - your my children. I consider myself fortunate, though, that you've all always been people that I like so much."

Don't start anything you don't mean to continue.

Outsource if needed.

AAGGHH!

'you're' not 'your'

I am so ashamed. My mum was very big on spelling. I may have bring down the entire internet. Save your work now. The outage could last months.