20+ Parenting Secrets To Help You Raise Your Kids Calmly

Being a parent is a very exhausting thing, as 40% of parents admit, adding that they feel stressed almost all the time. Kids don’t always do what you tell them to do, making your job even harder. However, you are already in this situation and you have to find healthy and calm ways to get things to go your way. Let’s see some tips that may make things at home easier.

• Pick. Your. Battles. Especially when they are little. Do not engage over every little thing. You and your children will be much happier if you let some things go. @An0therSunr1se / Reddit
• Encourage (not force) toddlers to do chores with you as soon as humanly possible. The benefits are endless: build a habit of being responsible and helpful and participating in the family, build confidence and independence, you have less to do when they’re sleeping and have a chance to rest, and you keep them busy and engaged and learning instead of using a screen to distract them while you’re doing stuff. There are a few downsides to including your kids in chores except that you need to be patient (of course). But the rewards are well worth it. Besides what else are you gonna do? Sing wheels on the bus a hundred more times so you can rush through chores and collapse exhausted after they go to bed? @soft_warm_purry / Reddit

• 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
• Establish and keep a consistent bedtime. Yes, on weekends, holidays, and vacations, too. If your child doesn’t want to get dressed in the morning, tell them that you’ll race them. Works every time for my son (he’s 8). @HagridsHut / Reddit
• Read to them every* night before bed, before they can even talk. It will help them as they learn to express needs with words, and eventually help them become better readers. @Unknown author / Reddit
• Put their coats on backward before getting them out of the car. They can’t wear them in the car seat, but trying to get them to stand up or sit forward or making them stand in the cold while you get their coat is a hassle. Undo the straps, put the coat on backward, then into the stroller. Then again in reverse. Easy removal once they’re in the car. If the car is still cold you can put the coat back on after they’re buckled. @Shrimpy_McWaddles/ Reddit

“How to keep your babies feet warm while walking”

• SO many meltdowns can be averted if you can redirect attention. I’ve used it for bonked heads and such. ’Oh no!!! That poor table/ground/rock!!! You put a dent in it!’ And ’I know it hurts. But at least your toes aren’t falling off (when it was an arm or finger that hurts)’. @Tymanthius / Reddit
• 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
• Reverse psychology actually works very well with a 3-year-old. Example: 3 yo throwing an epic fit because he doesn’t want to brush his teeth. Me saying “Fine, don’t brush them. I don’t want you to” 3 yo throws a fit because he now wants to brush his teeth. @theogbcheeks012007 / 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 “Isn’t it so delicious? I’m such a great chef.” And thus, she eats the eggplant. © SCATOL92 / Reddit
• Use the oven timer to get the little kids going. I started when my kids were super little. You can blame the oven timer ‘oven says it’s time to go!’ I used it up until middle school to set the time to go to bed, get dressed in the morning, and get out to the bus. @medamom22 / Reddit

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

• Are 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
• Apologize when you are wrong, treat them with the respect and understanding you would want someone to give you, be honest, don’t clean but relax when they are asleep, say I love you and give hugs often, make time to play with them, be the parent you needed not the parent you got when you were a kid. @craftycat1135 / Reddit
• Be attentive. Not just to the words, but the actions. When you know your kid, you pick up when they’re not feeling good or when something is bothering them. Don’t talk down to them; lift them up with your words. @Hey_There_Blimpy_Boy / Reddit
  

• As a baby- make their baby food and freeze it in an icetray. It’s cheap. It’s simple. It’s healthy. Introduce them to new flavors at a young age. As a toddler and young child- Do not cook separate meals for them (I’m looking at you chicken nuggets and waffles). Your kids will eat if they are hungry. @safety3rd / Reddit
• You don’t need a diaper bag!!! I used an old 1970 carry-on travel bag and I still use it. Think before you leave the house, do I have everything, think of all the what ifs, pack extra clothes, shoes, socks underwear. My kids are 10 and 7. When we go on all day stuff extra clothes are in a bag in the truck. Remember, sunscreen, bug spray, first aid kits ( don’t buy them make them), keep them in the car. If they have favorite toys remember to take pictures with your phone and triple-check before you leave anywhere. @Comicinsane / Reddit
• If my 10- and 12-year-olds 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
• Don’t just tell them “no” to something, show them “why” is it a no. For example, when a stove is on, I will reach out slowly holding my son’s hand so that he can feel the heat, and explain to him that if he gets any closer the heat will burn him. @crease1234 / Reddit
• Ask your kids, “Do you want to help with laundry or take a nap?” Works every time. © TheSmolFry / Twitter

Our society changes and along with it, parenting shifts, too. Things that were once considered unacceptable are now viewed as absolutely normal. So, let’s keep our heads open to new information.