Parenting Hacks - Part II

Adding to my list of what wasn't included in those parenting books...

• Don’t let your toddler wear clothes while they eat.
• Definitely don’t let your toddler walk while they eat.
• Bibs are stupid. (How does this industry even survive?!) Professional haircutting capes work faintly better.
• Always have steel wool on hand, somewhere in your house. 
• If an inanimate object has a voice, the toddler will utterly obey it. Use this to your advantage.
• If they won’t eat that vegetable, try freezing it. Re-serve them the frozen version in a few hours. We’ve no idea why, but this totally works…
• When you must trim those grimy hairs falling in your toddler’s eyes, give them a piece of buttered toast first. Encourage them to rub it all over their head. Way easier to cut oiled hair.
• Expired Alka-Seltzer Tablets make amazing water toys.
• If they are happy at the park, don’t rush away from the park for the sake of your to-do list. It is infinitely better for you to be bored and twitchy than for them to be.

Parenting Hacks - Part I

I've been compiling my own list of how to maximize time and energy as a young mom. Here's what I have so far:

- Before clipping their fingernails, let child play in mud. The filth makes it super easy to see where their tiny nail meets the skin.- It's much easier to clean *dried* food off floors/walls. Don't even bother (perpetually) wiping up the wet stuff. Leave it for at least half a day. (Exceptions: Egg, milk, potato)
- Or buy a dog.
- Let the dirty, cloth diapers stack up a bit. Trying to wash every one, real time, is silly. And annoying. Do them in batches. Seriously. It helps morale.
- Or use disposable diapers.
- Pausing to drink tea and breathe deeply is worth the delay in productivity.
- Always make eye contact with them.
- Fishsticks for dinner.