20 Child Care Tips That Experienced Parents Swear By

The process of raising offspring is often an uphill task that requires iron-cast nerves, cold-bloodedness, and incredible savvy from parents. Sometimes it seems that kids are testing their parents on purpose, coming up with various situations and tricks. That’s why every experienced parent has several secret life hacks up their sleeve.

We at Bright Side have carefully studied the vasts of the internet and we are publishing the wittiest parenting hacks that they use to “tame” their offspring.

• When my younger brother refused to take a nap during the day, I came in to help my mom. I would lie on the bed together with them and turn away pretending I was sleeping. In reality, I was reading a book. Looking at my back, my brother would fall asleep and everyone was happy. © Foxy Rainard / AdMe
• There is one trick that I have found is very effective with grownup kids and it helps avoid nasty word exchanges — it’s called the “silent gaze.” For example, I lay out the food and call the kids to come and eat. Obviously, when they are on phone, they will say they are coming but then don’t. After numerous calls and screaming, they would finally come. This essentially spoils meal time. So I found a way out and it goes like this: I call them one time, when they don’t come, after 5 minutes I go stand near them and just keep looking at them, without saying a word. This usually makes them move. © Rekha Subramaniam / Quora

“How to keep your babies feet warm while walking”

• My younger daughter didn’t like taking a nap during the day. I came up with the idea of “daydreaming” together. She does it gladly. © ɹ0qɐʇnɯ / AdMe
• Always carry a pack of balloons with you. They’re small and don’t take up much space in your bag. Rather than letting a group of kids fight over toys, you can blow up 10 or 20 balloons and turn anything into a party. © Allaya Cooks-Campbell / Quora
• With this trick, my 8-year-old daughter tries any kind of food and eats mostly everything. It all started at the age of 4 when she asked to try my tomato soup, and I told her that it was mine and that she wouldn’t like it anyway. Meanwhile, I would exaggerate how wonderful the soup was. So she insisted on trying it and finally she did... and asked for a full dish for herself. Did the trick 2 or 3 times, and since then she has always liked the foods she’s tried — she learned to give things a try before saying she didn’t like it. © Rafael Morillo / Quora

• Wife’s idea — using a timer for brushing teeth. We set it for 2 minutes then let our 3-year-old go. She gets super excited and brushes well the whole time, then when it goes off she yells, “I won!” © Tarlus / Reddit
• When my 9-year-old decides she doesn’t like a certain food, I find a recipe that includes that food (recently she took a stand against eggplant so I found a moussaka recipe) and I have her make it 99% without help. Then we eat it for dinner with the family and she spends the whole time bragging about how she made this meal and “Isn’t it so delicious? I’m such a great chef.” And thus, she eats the eggplant. © SCATOL92 / Reddit

“I have a crawling baby. This is my mom hack to help the older kids remember to replace the outlet covers.”

• Small kids afraid of the dark? A spray bottle filled with water labeled “monster killer” sprayed under the bed/in the closet etc. will do wonders. © M**_Rules1994 / Reddit
• If you want to get your child into cooking, go out together/find a special spoon that is only to be used by your child. Make a big fuss about them getting to use their special spoon! © Eleanor Blatch / Quora
• I give my son a piece of sidewalk chalk and let him go nuts in the house, on the furniture, on the walls, on the wood floors, whatever. After he’s done I just vacuum most of it up and use baby wipes to get the rest of it. © jrd560 / Reddit

• My daughter loves using the sprayer so I have her scrub the floors with me too. It’s a fun project And they really get the job done! © pdxgrassfed / Reddit
• When kids want something, I pretend to give it to them. Kids’ imaginations are amazing. Just pretend to put a Band-Aid on. You can even offer different imaginary patterns or colors. © CapriciousK / Reddit
• If my 10- and 12-year-old start acting like little hooligans in, let’s say, the grocery store (they’re notorious for trying to wrestle and running around like crazy people) then I start to sing. Loudly. Something super embarrassing. They, at this point, know that the only way I’m going to stop singing is if they stop misbehaving. Works every time. © Kate Linderman / Quora

• I give you my remote loss prevention solution — superglue to stuffed animals! I use gorilla superglue — haven’t lost a remote since I started doing this 7+ years ago, and I have 3 kids. And how cute is that — a giraffe and an owl holding a remote?! Adorable. © mstaralynn / Reddit
• My mom bought an obnoxious toy vacuum for my kids. It’s loud and does nothing but pretend to vacuum. I got rid of it and bought a cheap/small vacuum to replace it and my 4-year-old has been vacuuming every day, he loves it! We’ve been trying to teach him to pick up his toys better and now we tell him he can vacuum once they’re all picked up and he ACTUALLY DOES IT! © Talia_al_Grrl / Reddit

• Ask your kids, “Do you want to help with laundry or take a nap?” Works every time. © TheSmolFry / Twitter
• I got tired of asking my sons to make their beds before school. I recalled that it’s better to see once than hear 100 times. The laptop that we have in the kitchen is always on. So I decided to change the background and replaced the picture of palms with yellow letters on a black background, that read, “Didn’t make your bed? 1 day without the PC.” In the morning, I assessed the situation. The older one had a zero reaction. Perhaps, he is inattentive. Then the second son came in — I heard some giggling. Then he rushed to his mother (apparently, for clarification), after which he returned to his room and made his bed. Surprised by the behavior of his little brother, the older one also learned the reason for this and eventually made his bed. © webpauk / Pikabu
• Want some peace? Tell your child you’re going to their room to clean it and you want them to help. Guaranteed 2 hours of peace in their room. Side note: may also work for husbands. © TheGasQueen / Twitter

What parenting hack are you proud of?

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