Parenting Tips & Tricks

[Anna Michele]

[Anna Michele]

extend the life of those pants

[glowworm2k]

The trick my Mom swore by and that I plan to steal was to make us wear slippers in the house. They track around less dirt than socks or bare feet, reducing the amount of sweeping and vacuuming you need to do. It can also cut down on the laundry as you can wear slippers without socks and just put the socks on when you are going out (hence, fewer dirty socks to track down, wash, sort, fold and put away).

[Granger]

The medicine bottle idea will really help communication between hubby and I, not to mention my memory! Now to develop something similar for fruits and veggies!!!

[Zonny]

When DS was a baby, I used to make up his crib with the mattress pad, sheet...then another layer of something fairly waterproof or absorbent (like a diaper changing pad) and then another sheet on top. If there were a messy accident in the night, all you have to do it pull off the top layer and you have a clean bed again.

[erin9mmm]

Not sure if this would be considered a tip or trick but I turn my girl's old books that are in bad shape into felt story pieces for them. Cut out the pictures and glue felt to the back.

[Anna Michele]

Not sure if this would be considered a tip or trick but I turn my girl's old books that are in bad shape into felt story pieces for them. Cut out the pictures and glue felt to the back.

I'd love to see an example... if possible

[Zonny]

Another tip - food on sticks. Get some wooden skewers and thread on fruit, raw veggies, cheese at snack time. And cook your chicken or other protein on them, in the oven or on the grill. My kid has always gobbled up food far more readily if it's served on sticks!

[erin9mmm]

I'd love to see an example... if possible

I've never had a request before .

Now mind you these examples I dug out have been well used (I guess that's a good thing in this case) and there are more pieces to the story but the 2 on the right side of the photo are "The 3 Little Pigs" and "The Little Red Hen", from an old Richard Scarry book and I think the Christmas ones are just random pictures that I thought they could come up with their own story with. My girls love using them and often play 'school' with them. One of my daughters has even used it for a story telling assignment at her school.
All you do is take an old book that would otherwise be ready for the recycling bin cut out main pictures and then glue felt to the back. Well known stories work the best.
...oh I also made the felt board. Just glued more felt to a board and trimmed the edges with duck tape.

Hope that helps.

[erin9mmm]

^^^ hmm, I guess my little red hen was camera shy and jumped off the board before the picture was taken! lol

[Anna Michele]

oh now i get it so does the felt just stick on the felt then?

[erin9mmm]

^^^yes

[ninna]

To expand on Zonny's "will eat anything so long as it's on a skewer" idea...(which is SO true, by the way!), my kids will also eat anything that has been shaped using cookie cutters. Metal ones are better than plastic because they can withstand heat and have sharper edges. I used cookie cutters for a number of fun foods they already enjoy (ie. pancakes, to shape dough for mini pizzas etc) and my sandwich snob daughter will eat sandwiches if they have been cut into shapes using cookie cutters...

[Anna Michele]

[Anna Michele]

DIY shoe-tying board. http://www.pbs.org/parents/fun-and-g...e-tying-board/