#1 Found A Hack For Short Hikes. Mantracking
We live near a state park/forest and my wife and I like hikes. HOWEVER with a younger kids it can be a pain. It's either too slow for the adults to get decent exercise or take FOREVER because of groaning, wanting to pick up every rock, etc. Today I had an idea. My wife took a head start and set clues at intersections and landmarks to show the way she went. The kids and I looked for the clues to "track" and "catch Mommy." They took turns being the "clue finder." My wife slowed to a stop near the end of the trail and waited to be "caught." Result? She got an actual home at her pace. The kids hiked farther and faster than normal. They got practice taking turns, being observant, and thinking critically. Your mileage may vary, but I recommend giving it a try.
Image credits: Salvidor_Deli
#2 It Is All In Marketing
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#3 Best Hack
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Creativity is truly a great skill to have under the belt when parenting. It helps find solutions to various childcare challenges, which makes raising kids significantly easier.
“Creativity is a vital skill that new parents learn very quickly. We all do this to a different degree,” says transgender dad of six, Logan Blackburn-Issitt, who also runs the Dad Business parenting blog.
“The real skill is in matching your creativity to your child's personality,” he notes. “Whether it's pulling faces to get your one-year-old to lie still for a nappy change or using a blender to hide the veggies. Sometimes it's a lack of animation, like reading the last bedtime story in a monotone to induce sleep, that works best.”
#4 My Son Will Only Eat Paw Patrol String Cheese Because He Swears It Tastes Best. I Was Tired Of Paying Extra For It And Bought The Generic Brand
But he said it didn't taste the same and wouldn't eat it. So yesterday I put paw patrol stickers on it and he ate two in a row. "See, mommy?" he said. "I told you the paw patrol cheese tastes better."
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#5 It’s A Good Trick
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#6 I Have A Crawling Baby. This Is My Mom Hack To Help The Older Kids Remember To Replace The Outlet Covers
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The tricks that he uses the most with their kids are distraction and redirection. “Kids fighting over one colour pencil, you get really excited about something one of them has coloured. Kids getting frustrated about waiting at the doctor's, start having a sing song or play a game,” he says.
“The best piece of advice I have is to try and make it fun. Look for the fun, the opportunities to play and laugh. Forget about the funny looks other people will give you and let your inner child out to play. It's so easy to get bogged down in adulting: money, time management, work, etc., but kids aren't affected by these so give yourself permission to forget about them for a while as well, go and play,” he kindly shares.
#7 Went On Vacation, Wife Brought A Game-Changer: Snackleboxes
The concept seems so simple, and I'm sure has been done many times before, but for some reason it blew my mind. Get some sectioned containers, clean them thoroughly, gather together some of your and kids' favorite non-liquidy snacks, and you have the perfect travel-ready collection of treats for even the pickiest and most indecisive eaters.
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#8 Easy Dad Points Tip I Picked Up This Weekend: Duct Tape And Sharpie = Road
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#9 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 ten or twenty balloons for $3 and turn anything into a party. This is the family room at a religious gathering we went to last weekend. Instant friends. And they all get to keep one.
Image credits: Allaya Cooks-Campbell
Staying creative not only helps to deal with parenting challenges easier but it also sets an example for children and fosters their creativity, which is crucial in today’s world driven by innovation and novel ideas. "Creativity has been demonstrated to impact career success, enhance educational accomplishments, and contribute to overall well-being,” said Crayola Executive Vice President Victoria Lozano.
#10 Parenting Hack
If your three-year-old is anything like mine, she absolutely loves listening to Disney soundtracks constantly and as we all know, it is easy to be driven insane by listening to the same song 3000 times in a row. I recently found a refurbished iPod nano that was fairly inexpensive and put all her favorite soundtracks on there. Now when she wants to listen to music, she just asks for her iPod, and listens on headphones. Since the nano is pretty much only a music player, there are no apps or videos, just music. No more asking for our phones or yelling at us to change the music we’re already listening to. Not sure, but iPod nano could be the move.
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#11 Kids Want To Express Their Individuality. Dying Their Hair Is A Pretty Benign Way To Do That
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#12 To Whoever Posted This Hack Before: You Are A God Among Men
Using a piece of plywood and some zip ties (and some duct tape for flare, obviously) solved what was until then a total nightmare trying to find a tension-mounted baby gate that worked on a rounded bannister post. Seriously, this was driving us insane, and whoever posted this before on Daddit has my undying gratitude. Now I just need someone to tell me what hardware store purchase can fix my kid getting sick at daycare all the time, and I will truly be made in the shade.
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Parents themselves agree that encouraging creativity in children is very important, with 9 in 10 saying it’s essential for their development and learning. 53% believe they need to be creative themselves so their children will be too.
Unfortunately, 33% of parents struggle to incorporate creative activities into their day due to lack of time, ideas, or resources. In fact, 29% find it difficult to come up with novel things to accomplish with their little ones.
#13 Small Kids And Ice Cream Cones?
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#14 Parent Hack 101
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#15 Parenting Win
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However, fostering creativity isn’t as complicated as it might seem at first. Children naturally possess this skill, and all parents need to do is provide opportunities for their kids to use their imagination and let their creativity flow. It can be as simple as making the tools to create easily accessible.
#16 Dad Hack
Senior Advisory Dad here with a small lifehack to all you first timers out there. Today I wanted a piece of chocolate with my coffe, but my 3rd child, who is almost 1, woke up from her nap before I got around to make that cup of coffee. She knows well what Chocolate is, but shows zero interest in coffecups so the solution is to put the chocolate in a cup and "sip" from it. Used that trick on my to older sons when they were younger. Dosent work any more but I can still foll the with Coca Cola in a coffee mug.
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#17 Beach Dadhack
Wanted a wagon for the beach but didn’t want to struggle with it in the sand. I found a wagon that fit inside a cheap sled I found on Amazon. Bungee the sled on top the wagon from the condo to the beach, then put the wagon on the sled when you get on the sand. Worked like a charm. If I was really motivated, I would have found a way to just add wheels to the sled that could swing up out the way in the sand, but that may just have to be a project for the next beach trip.
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#18 She Kept Pulling Things Out Of The Bottom Shelf Of The Diaper Cart. So I Replaced It All And Tricked Her Into Playing With Her Own Toys
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"This can include setting up a dedicated space for drawing and crafts, keeping art supplies like crayons and paper readily available," says Amanda Gummer, PhD, a child psychologist, parenting and play expert. "Try and keep play materials accessible, so your kids can dive into creative play whenever they feel inspired."
#19 So I Adapted An Apron To Be A Food Catcher For The High Chair! Especially Important When You Have A Greedy Cockerspaniel
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#20 Just Bragging On My Wife. Our Son Loves Trash Truck But Tt Toys Are Non Existent. She Took Matters Into Her Own Hands And DIY’ed One
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#21 Tetra Pac Hack - Make An Extra Breather Hole So When They Squeeze It, It Doesn't Spray Out
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In addition, child psychiatrist Megan Maher, MD, suggests that one of the simplest ways to encourage the flow of creativity is to put away the electronics. Screen time takes up a lot of our day, which can be dedicated to activities that promote imagination. "Parents want to engage their kids and being fully present and not distracted by a phone tells kids that this time and activity are meaningful," says Dr. Maher, noting, "Don't apply pressure—make it fun."
#22 Taking Kids To (Non-Kid) Museum Parenting Hack
I took my 4 year old to a museum.It was mostly classical art, sculpture and paintings. For small kids it’s kind of difficult as they need to walk a lot and after 5 minutes they normally want to leave. But I really wanted to see some art and decided to give it a go. At the entrance they gave us this floor plan and I gave it to my son, not knowing it would become a great game as he decided to try to find all the artworks in the map. That’s it! Problem solved! So next time I will find a way to do this myself and print out a sort of DIY museum bingo. It was really helpful.
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#23 Instant Kid Size Countertop
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#24 Parenting Hack
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Simplicity is key. A creative activity doesn’t have to take up a huge chunk of the day. Including a child in cooking and making it playful counts as a creative exercise. As does letting kids pick out their clothes in the morning—independence can be a great creativity booster.
#25 Dad-Tip: Add Grip Tape To Help A Slippery Bunk Bed Ladder!
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#26 Your Young, Picky Eaters Hate This One Simple Trick
Made my 6yo son’s lunch on Friday, but forgot it was pizza Friday at school. So, I threw the lunch in the fridge before we left for drop off. 24 hours later, my wife SWORE there was no way he’d eat the lunch because it would be ‘disgusting’. Guess whose face lit up like Christmas when he saw the plate?
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#27 Use A Cheap Shower Curtain To Make A Little Pool For The Kids At The Beach
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Lastly, experts recommend not to overthink it. “Parents don't need to be creative themselves to raise creative kids; they just need to provide opportunities for imaginative play, encourage exploration, and support their child's creative endeavors," says pediatric mental health expert Roseann Capanna-Hodge, EdD. "Doing fun and creative activities together just adds another level of connection and shared memories."
#28 Toddler Dads: This 80x80 "Dog Blanket" Cost $25 On Amazon And It's Waterproof And Machine Washable
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#29 This One Is 100% Effective
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#30 Christmas With A Toddler Requires A Little Creativity
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#31 How To Keep Your Baby's Feet Warm While Walking
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#32 Anybody Else Fold The Bottom Of The Kids Menu Like This So The Crayons Don’t Roll Off The Table At The Restaurant?
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#33 $10 At Home Depot And 10 Mins Of My Time. Little Man Is Loving It!
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#34 I Brought My New Fan On Our Zoo Day And Felt Like A Superstar
Every other person that we passed commented that it was such a good idea. Spoiler, I saw someone do this last year. We always used to use the Ryobi clip-on fans previously, but I upgraded when this one went on sale. I highly recommend looking into something similar for whatever battery powertool family you've chosen!
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#35 Quick Tip: No-Slip Slippers
Back in November I was lamenting that these adorable granny-square slippers might be too slippery for a toddler when an ingenious anonymous commenter suggested adding hot glue to the bottoms. Brilliant!
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#36 You Have To Do What You Have To Do
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#37 Does It Work On Husbands Too?
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#38 Our Child Loves Helping Out With The Laundry
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#39 After 7 Days Of Her (5 Mo) Kicking And Screaming Every Time She Got Her Medicine, This Little Thing Turned The Entire Affair Into A Quiet 30 Seconds
Our little girl absolutely hated getting medicine, didnt matter if it was interspersed with the bottle, or if she was mostly asleep she would just cry and scream every time the syringe went near her mouth. My wife brought this home and instantly she just sucked the medicine down without so much as a peep.
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#40 Pro Tip For Blowouts
If your baby is really handsy during their diaper change and you just need a second to clean them up use a second shirt/onesie and only put their arms and head through, tying the arms of the shirt together. This has helped me so much as a SAHD.
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#41 Genius
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#42 Life-Hack For Diaper Changes; Add A 10$ Book Light To Your Changing Tables
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#43 Saving This One For Later
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#44 Pool Noodles FTW
I don't know who needs to see this, or if it's been reposted, but pool noodles are dirty cheap & practically the only thing that will work in this instance to keep your baby's head from smacking back if you use a changing table regularly.
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#45 This Hack
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#46 Parenting Hack. Scotch Tape Reduces Toys Volume By At Least 50%
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#47 I See Your Wooden Spoons And Give You My Remote Loss Prevention Solution- Super Glue To Stuffed Animals
I use gorilla super glue - 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.
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#48 Dog Beds Make For Affordable, Safe And Comfortable Places To Let Your Kid Stretch Out On The Floor
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#49 It’s Been A Hot Minute Since I Mentioned This Little Invention Here - Maybe Because While Strappy Is A Life Saver. Strappy Is Designed And Made By Me
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#50 Stuck In The Doc Office Waiting W Kids? Outline Drawings Are A Huge Time Consumer
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#51 Creative Pacifier Storage
Basic souffle cups (you can even ask for a couple empty extras at a restaurant!) make for easy storage of pacifiers. Keep clean pacifiers in a drawer stored like this, then just grab one anytime you need at pop it in your diaper bag or purse!
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#52 Wife And I Have Spent A Small Fortune On Baby/Toddler Gadgets And Gizmos. 99% Of It Is Junk. These Things, Though? Inexpensive, Indestructible, Machine Washable, Do Exactly What They’re Designed For. Worth Their Weight In Gold
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#53 Perfect Fit. Thanks Costco
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#54 I'm 45 With A 3yo. Just Discovered A Life Hack
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#55 Mom Is Out Of Town And My Basketball Game Is Starting, So I Built Them A Fort, Made Snacks, And Put A Movie On
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#56 I Mean Whatever Works I Suppose
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#57 Not Sure How Old Until He'll (2m) Catch On But Saw This Toddler Hack A While Back. It Works, And Puts Old Ps3 Controller Back Into Use
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#58 When They Don't Want To Eat What's For Lunch, Turn It Into A Smoothie!! Today's Flavor Pineapple, Cottage Cheese, A Whole Banana And A Raspberry Yogurt Drink. She Barely Took A Breath And Got Mad When It Was Gone!! Add In Some Veggies, Mix It Up
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#59 Told Her We Need To Clean The Wall Before We Can Paint It. So Far I've Had 6 Minutes Peace
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#60 Make Shoe Shopping As Easy As Possible
Every time I go to a sale, I pop a piece of card stock on the kitchen table, and Sean holds the kids' feet in place while I trace them. I make sure that I trace them in their color and write their names at the top so that I can keep track of who I'm trying shoes on.
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#61 The Costco Yourigami Is Awesome And Cheaper Than The Nugget
So my wife was talking about the nugget forever which is a couch that can turn into other fun things that is like $300+. Costco has the yourigami which is $159, has more pieces and is awesome.
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#62 Mind Blowing: Toddlers Will Eat Anything If They See You Take It Out Of A Nuggets Box
Carrots? Boiled chicken breast? Ahyessir! No questions asked!
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#63 Papas. This Emotions Toy Thing Is Freaking Incredible
Toddler starts fussing. You ask them to get their emotion. They bring sad or mad to you and it causes them to acknowledge their emotion and start to deal. And they play with them. It's so amazing. It's lovevery so expensive. But worth getting second had if possible. Or maybe find a ripoff or make your own. Might be a fun lathe project.
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#64 For Parents With Artistic Kids- Use A Pizza Box For A Canvas
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#65 Told Her She'd Be Better At Rocket League If She Knows How To Score With Her Nose. We Got An Hour Of Quiet Out Of This Trick
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#66 For The Parents Assembling Battery-Operated Toys: AA Batteries Fit In C Sized Receptacles, Saving The Day When Most Places Are Closed
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#67 For Parents: Save Old Crib Matress Protectors To Use For Sleep Potty Training Later
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#68 I Thought My Wife Was Crazy, But This Really Is A Game Changer
We previously had the Breeza hot water dispenser, which was good. I fought her for so long on getting the full baby Breeza because of how expensive they were. She had enough points at work to get one and I am so glad she did! This thing is amazing, no more measuring out scoops at 2am.
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#69 Anyone Else Tired Of The Remote Getting Lost?
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#70 Flying With A Carseat? Here's A Pro Tip. Throw Diapers And Other Bulky Stuff In With It!
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#71 Maybe This Is Common Sense, But Kitchen Shears Are A Game Changer For Cutting Up Toddler Food Into Bite Sized Pieces
I feel like a fool for not thinking about this sooner, tediously struggling with a knife and cutting board to cut up their dinner lol
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#72 Dad Hack For A Tired Kiddo
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#73 That’s The Smartest Parenting Advice I’ve Ever Heard
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#74 Life Hack #52, What Do You Do When Your Daughter Falls Asleep On The Way To Target? Grab A Doggy Bed And Let Her Sleep Of Course
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#75 Parent Hack: For The Hard To Reach Spots On A Sippycup Lid That Even The Small Tip Of A Bottle Brush Can't Get, Use Eco Friendly Paint Brushes And Dawn Dish Soap To Clean Out Those Areas. We Usually Boil Ours But In A Quick Pinch This Works Wonders!
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#76 Dads Going To The Park This Morning! Don't Forget Your Towel
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#77 My Husband Just Texted Me This Bathtime "Hack". I Married A Damn Genius
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#78 When I Was Tricked
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#79 A Simple Decision
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#80 Oats Is The Best
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#81 Pro Tip For New Dads. This Hold Is A Game Changer. No More Wearing Out Your Arm And Banging The Seat Off Your Legs
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#82 Follow The Light
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#83 I Have No Idea Who Needs To See This Tip But If You Babywear And Don't Have A Highchair Available, Here's A Lifehack
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#84 Bringing Out The Paints Is One Of My Favorite Parenting Tricks. Grumpies Melt Away
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#85 Dad Hack.... Offer $10 To Any Child That Can Get A Visible Sun Tan Toy Outline On Their Stomach Or Back... Sit Back, Crack A Beer And Enjoy The Peace
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