14 Sneaky Parenting Hacks You Probably Won’t See on Supernanny

Parenting is a wild ride filled with giggles, tantrums, and more creative problem-solving than a reality TV challenge. While some moms and dads rely on tried-and-true techniques, others take a more unconventional route. Reddit users recently shared their most unconventional parenting hacks—and we couldn’t help but chuckle and maybe even take notes.

• My toddler is an extremely picky eater. One day, after refusing to eat and throwing her dinner all over the dining room table, I decided I’d had enough. I pulled out a blender and picked all the food up.
  Then I blended it into a mushy, unrecognizable purée right in front of her, poured it into a cup, handed her a silly straw, and said, “Fine. If you don’t want to eat dinner, you have to drink it instead.”
  She took one sip, screwed up her face, and then quietly asked for a new plate of food instead. She’s been less picky ever since.
• I told my kids that if they lie to me, their tongue will turn purple. The hesitation when you ask them to show you their tongue if they’ve lied is very revealing. The hack was ruined, however, when the 3-year-old (youngest child) had them all sit in front of the mirror, tell lies, and check each other’s tongues. © Keljameri / Reddit

• I try to follow gentle parenting practices, but today, I finally broke. My daughter was refusing to let me brush her hair and was screaming at the top of her lungs. I lost it. I went into the bathroom, grabbed my husband’s clippers, plugged them in, and turned them on with a loud buzz.
  I didn’t even go near her—just stood there dramatically, holding them up like a warning beacon. Her eyes got huge. “No, Mommy! I’ll let you brush it!”
  I turned the clippers off, calmly set them down, and said, “Great. Let’s try again gently.” She sat still the entire time. We both survived.
• My kid went up 4 reading levels. Everyone thought I was really putting in a big effort with his reading. Truth is, I just turned on subtitles on the TV. © yamsnz / Reddit
• My mom would literally change the clock to show our bedtime. And then she’d be like “Oh, ten more minutes til 8:30, see?” © Sharp_Memory / Reddit

• If your child is “asleep” in the car seat, hold their arm up and tell your partner, “If they’re really asleep, their arm will stay straight up,” then let go of their arm and watch them keep it up in the air. © pan-au-levain / Reddit
• Saw this video on Instagram: When it’s past their bedtime, Dad changes the language on the TV to Spanish. When the kid’s act confused, he says it “must be because you’re tired.” © MajorCompetitive612 / Reddit

• If a kid is upset and crying, have them drink some water and say, “It’ll make you feel better.” They can’t cry and drink at the same time, and generally calm down quicker so you can actually figure out what’s going on. (Or they realize whatever they bumped doesn’t actually hurt). © swayy1141 / Reddit
• My mom told my brother he raised his left eyebrow when he lied. He is 45 years old and his face still visibly tenses up to try and keep his eyebrow stable when he lies. © Chewsti / Reddit
• My parents took advantage of my short term memory. They’d give me a toy, wait until the new-shine wore off and I favored others. They’d hide it and regift it, and I’d be excited about it again. © False-Impression8102 / Reddit

• I let the laundry build up and up, then once a week go to my bedroom with chocolate/snacks, a hot cup of tea and Netflix, to fold the washing. I tell them anyone who comes in has to help. I don’t see any of them the entire time. © AreYou***Sirius / Reddit
• Ensure your kids won’t bother you while you nap by telling them to wake you up in an hour so we can start cleaning the house—they will do anything to avoid waking you. © BabesTina_**_ / Reddit

• When my son was a baby, dude cried like a banshee, and he cried a lot. I was the bath-giver, and it was especially bad in there, due to the small space.
  So I went on Amazon and got myself some noise muffling earmuffs, and it made the crying so much less stressful and easy to deal with so I could just focus on loving him without the noise grating my soul. Maybe not that unethical, but I’ve gotten negative reactions from some people when I told them about it. © Sir_I_Exist / Reddit
• This may have worked better for me since one of the kid’s parents has hearing loss, but I told my nephew that I couldn’t hear whining. But if he would like to try again in a different tone of voice, I could understand him better—right now I could see his lips move, but that was all. He did an admirable job with modulation after that, and I got him what he’d asked for. © auntiepink007 / Reddit

There’s no denying that parenting sometimes calls for a little creativity and a lot of humor. And if you thought these stories were surprising, wait until you see the parenting methods some celebrities swear by. Check out these 10 unusual parenting methods used by famous families.