20+ Ingenious Parenting Life Hacks That Deserve a Place in Textbooks

Some parents find such ingenious ways of coping with parenting that their methods can be put in textbooks. Just a few tricks allow you to make children can go to bed, put away toys, and eat their vegetables.

• My father is a genius when it comes to unconventional punishments. Recently he took away my little sister’s phone, but just giving it back? Too easy! To get it back, she had to write 9 reasons why she’s human. Nine! Even philosophers couldn’t do that many!
  She ended up sitting in a stupor for 2 hours trying to prove she wasn’t a bot or a cat. And I watched and applauded — the best way to teach a teenager a lesson! © Caramel / VK
• I hold my sons in each arm and loudly sing children’s songs when they’re misbehaving in public. They’re 9 and 6 and get super embarrassed by it. It’s gotten to where I just have to clear my throat, and they freak out and start to behave. © oregonev / Reddit
• My sister is just a year older than me. It’s like being twins. When we were little and fighting, my parents would make us sit on opposite ends of the couch and not touch. If we were really bad, we weren’t allowed to look at each other.
  I have clear memories of the emotional agony this produced. The torture of not being able to be with my sister, who was only a few feet away, no matter how annoying she had been shortly before... It was the silliest and most effective punishment that probably strengthened our bond. My parents were kind of brilliant. © 2beagles / Reddit
• My mom takes my phone and then takes like 500 selfies, so I have to sit there and delete them all when I get my phone back. © jgo15 / Reddit

• My parents always explained expectations for behavior and how long everything was going to take before going in anywhere. For example, “Okay, sweetie, we’re about to go into the Doctor’s office, it’s going to be about 45 minutes, so I’m going to need you to sit quietly and read your books while we wait.”
  That was if I misbehaved it’s not a question of if knew better or not. I knew what was expected and if I did bad, it was actually my fault I couldn’t resent them for punishing me. © Bapy_bean18 / Reddit
• My parents always told me my broccoli were the flowers of the queen and that I really shouldn’t eat them, or else the queen would get very upset! I, of course, ate the whole broccoli in a few seconds. © Subwoofy / Reddit
• When I was a kid, I refused to get up in the morning. My mom said we were going to trick my dad into thinking I was still asleep. So, she made me put on clothes and then hide under the covers and pretend to be asleep.
  Then my dad would come in to wake me up, and I would “fool” him because I was already dressed and ready. This worked on me for years and I never questioned it. In hindsight, it’s pretty obvious that my parents just wanted me to get dressed without a fuss. © mfiggfi / Reddit
• My dad used to play a game to see who could match and fold the most laundry. He never once won. © *****plumber / Reddit

• Took my 3-year-old son to the doctor to get a shot. He was very worried about it, almost cried. We get to the doctor’s office, and a nurse lets me know that my son will get not 1 shot, but 5.
  I turn to my son with an exaggerated smile and say, “Good news! They figured out how to take that one big shot you were going to get and instead break it up into these 5 little, tiny shots so it won’t hurt nearly as much!”
  You could see the relief wash over his face. He stopped squirming and relaxed completely. He took the first shot and even smiled and said, “It’s true! The small ones don’t hurt!” © blackbird77 / Reddit
• My mom would tell me she only lets me eat soup after candy, and she’d only buy me candy that I didn’t like. After a few times, I stopped trying and begged her to let me eat soup first. She gave me a smirk and told me go ahead. This doesn’t sound as evil as it was. But trust me, I suffered. © turkeypr0 / Reddit
• My mom had a friend that would put vegetables on her own plate and not the kids. When the kids asked, she would be reluctant to share, “That’s grown-up food. But I suppose I can let you have a little.” Her kids grew up loving vegetables. © laik72 / Reddit
• When my first son was about 4, he would often burst into our bedroom way too early in the morning, full of energy. It was up to me to either get up and engage with him or send him off on some mission so as to grab a few more precious minutes of shut-eye.
  The one I’m proud of was telling him to find out which of his legs could run the fastest. He was charging around the corridor for ages doing a kind of manic goose-step before he came back in panting that they were both the same. © Georgeisthecoolest / Reddit

• When there were chores that needed doing, my dad noticed if he asked me to mow the lawn, I would complain and procrastinate. But if he asked, would I rather mow the lawn or wash the windows, I’d pick one and just get it done. Shattered my brain when he told me when I was in my twenties. I use it when I’m coaching or baby sitting all the time, and it almost never fails. © AppealToReason16 / Reddit
• My child was reluctant when it came to putting away toys. However, he loves timed tasks and is very competitive. I’d instruct my child to put away all the red toys as fast as possible. Then blue. Then green, etc. Toys away. © divorced_dad_670 / Reddit
• If we were out for dinner when my siblings and I were younger, my mum would always tell us that the kitchen had a little camera trained on every table. If a table was behaving well, then the chef would send forth the food; however, if the chef noticed that the table was misbehaving, they would withhold the scran. We sat quietly and waited patiently for dinner every time. © ParsnipVonButterpan / Reddit
• I convinced both my kids that the cart in the store doesn’t work unless both of them (or one, if the other isn’t around) have a hand on it. They are 10 and 7 now and barely believe a word that comes out of my mouth, but they still walk next to me at the store and hang onto the cart! © Steffles74 / Reddit

• When you need to get your kids to tidy their rooms, you let them know that they are going to help you tidy the whole entire house. Then, when they complain and moan, you cut a bargain with them that they only need to sort their bedrooms, and you’ll do the rest. It’s worked for me for years, and it was widely transferable to other tasks too! © failure_fiasco / Reddit
• When my kid doesn’t want to go to bed, I tell him that it’s fine, and he totally doesn’t have to. We just have to lay down in the dark for 10 minutes so that his sister can fall asleep, and then we’ll get up and eat candy and play video games all night. © kelleghar / Reddit
• If I want a long, uninterrupted nap, I tell my kids to wake me up in 30 minutes, because we’re going to clean house right after. I wake on my own, about 2 hours later. © Cuddlenazif**kmonstr / Reddit
• We convinced our kids that reading was a special treat by allowing them to stay up “late” and read in their rooms at night. If they misbehave, they may also get nightly reading time taken away. This has been working successfully for my kids for about the last 5 years. It has fostered a love of reading for both of them, and it gives my wife and I some calm time at the end of the day. © OfficialShmuby / Reddit
• When my kids don’t want to eat their meal, I just take the plate away from them and tell them to leave the table and play. Somehow they feel left out and refuse this offer and eat their meal. © damurdoc3 / Reddit

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