Adding to this, for the TV I use the sleep timer built into the TV. Then I tell them when times up the show turns itself off… something about me not being the one to push the button on the remote has led to easier acceptance with less bargaining.

My best friend had a brand new baby. A brand new baby that DIDN'T SLEEP and she was beside herself. I showed up to her house and said "put a fluffy bath towel in the dryer" - when it was nice and warm I rolled it up and put it down by baby's feet in her bassinet. She calmed right down and SLEPT. She slept so well she needed to be woken for her next feeding and then went right back to sleep with her little feet touching the warm towel. I can't sleep with cold feet and there's nothing like a warm fresh towel from the dryer to put a baby (or sometimes a grown-up) to sleep! 😴 It's a trick I have used many times.

Buy a foot measurer. You can get them online for like $10. So much easier to know you are getting the right size shoes. I can never tell when they try them on unless it is obviously way too big or too small. Also, then I can just size them and order shoes online.

I wear a server apron everyday. I know some people are too stylish for a hack like that but I got some really cute ones on Etsy. When I fly it’s like having an extra carryon and in day to day life it is so easy I am not trying to dig through a diaper bag. I keep my phone, a pen/sharpie, a cloth, snacks, a small toy.

I got the idea from seeing Japanese mothers in smocks.

Once your kid is mobile: all toys (other than sleeping toys/lovies) go into stackable bins (with lids). For toddlers the selection can be random, but when they’re older you can sort/label. Bins will probably need to be fairly large to accommodate bigger toys.

Then the two rules of toys are: ONE BIN AT A TIME, and THE BIN CONTENTS STAY IN ONE ROOM. If they seem bored with the selection or want to leave the room, toss everything back in the bin. Don’t worry about internal bin organization: just toss everything for that bin in the bin.

The bins limit the total mess. It’s a level of cleaning toddlers can understand as long as you get them started (we make it sort of basketball with my kids, and they like cleanup time). It’s easy enough for older kids to self-maintain (with reminders).

It’s a little trickier with 2 kids, but the one bin/one room rule helps that.

Our big one is taking pictures of the kids with a toy at the store when they like it. They haven’t cried over a toy in ages. If they bring it up a different day, I then consider getting it as a birthday/Christmas gift.

When babies get super messy in the highchair, just stick the whole thing in the shower, bonus points if baby is still in it. I know it doesn’t work for every house layout but I’m in a ranch style house and just pick up the whole thing, walk it to the shower and hose it down baby and all. She thinks it’s hilarious.

I have three daughters, each two years apart. I couldn’t keep up with whose socks and underwear were whose. So each child has a designated color sock and underwear. They also have their own specific color towel. So if I find a towel, underwear or socks left on the floor I immediately know whose it is.

Keep the caps when markers dry out and you toss them out. Next time you can’t find one when cleaning up you’ll have some extras on hand.

Get a glow in the dark Halloween bucket for each kid to use as the puke bucket. We used to just have one but the whole house got norovirus one week and now we have one for each human. It's so much easier to find when sick in the dark and they think it's funny.

This one might involve too much plumbing for folks but I got a shower head that had the main head and then a hand shower. Also got it an extra long hose and another magnetic mount for the other side of the shower and now I have a perfect little toddler height shower. So much quicker/easier then bath time and she just pops in with me.

Probably only suited to a toddler but I try to remember to leave a banana in a conspicuous place when I want my daughter to have that as a snack and she will find it and and demand to eat it when she gets peckish. When I don't do that she'll get hungry and then ask for a snack she wants (biscuit/chocolate/ice lolly etc) and if I offer a banana she will be distraught.

If your kid refuses to do something you know they know how to do, do it wrong. They love to correct you!

Won’t put your pants on yourself, sure, I can help. They go on your head, right?……cue child grabbing pants and showing me how it’s done.

If you go outside your house stays clean. Especially if you have kids like mine who are 3 times better behaved in public.

(Not that I care too much about the exact cleanliness of the house, but I can't stand the fighting and whining that goes with playing inside.)

An empty plastic container in the bath. That's it. That's the hack.

Wash out the plastic tub your yogurt/cottage cheese/sour cream came in, and put it in the bathtub. Kid will find it during their next bath and take it from there. It's a bucket of endless fun for them.

Baby powder gets sand off skin when at the beach/ playground

This is my greatest hack. It is physiologically impossible to cry while drinking. Whatever the meltdown, whatever the cause, get them to drink water. If you need to, you can say, it's ok to cry but your tears will run out so you need to drink.the more you can get them to drink the longer they have to calm down properly and get over the shock or hurt of whatever happened.

Set timers to limit whining. “Ok, I’ll give you a little more time but once you hear the timer go off that’s it and I don’t want to hear any arguing.” That goes for playtime, or screen time or whatever. Give finite choices and don’t be open ended about things. Don’t say “do you want to get dressed?” That gives them the opportunity to say no, and then get mad when you don’t honor their answer. Say “ok it’s time to get dressed, do you want to wear the red shirt or green shirt today?” Or something of the sort. Give them a choice so they feel like they have control over something but make sure they’re between 2 choices you can live with. My son always said “I’m hungry” at bedtime, so vegetables were his only options. Soon enough he would just ask for a bowl of “Trees & ranch” while we read a book at bedtime.

Teach your kids to drink water.

Make that their go to.

None of my three drink soda. Occasionally they get juice.

I am not fanatical about it, they just learned water is best.

Give your kid (between ages 2-4) a spray bottle and send them outside to water things. Enjoy 30 minutes of peace 😆