Parenting 'Hacks' That Sound Ridiculous But Actually Work

Parenting is a hard job, so you can't blame parents for seeking some tips and tricks to try to make it easier.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

Reddit user OnlyAcanthaceae874 asked:

"What’s a parenting 'hack' that sounds ridiculous but actually works?"

Fictional Origins

"Her: I don't like broccoli"

"Me: it was grown in Arendelle"

"Her: this is actually good"

~ pronouncedayayron

Timed Event

"My kids respond very well to a timer, they turn it into a game and race to finish first.

"'Ok kids, I'm setting a 3 minute timer to get your PJs on and brush your teeth. Ready, set, go!"

~ AndyTheJedi

Points

"I'm a dad of 3 little goblins, and it's so true. They LOVE a timer. They also love arbitrary points."

"Like, 'twelve points if you can get your shoes on before me!' And my oldest (7) is very into video games, so I have started using arbitrary 'achievements'."

"Like 'the clean plate challenge' where he gets an achievement for finishing everything on his plate. 'New food challenge' if he will TRY a new food. And my personal fave: 'no questions asked' where he gets an achievement for eating his breakfast, getting dressed, and brushing his teeth without being asked."

"I still have to prompt him like, 'hey are you going to earn the no questions asked cheevo today?' And then he does it."

"What is an achievement, you ask? It's nothing! It's air, sound, emotion, intangible... But somehow valuable enough to get the kids to do some things you need them to do."

~ BIRDsnoozer

Motivation

"I bought my daughter Strawberry Shortcake underwear before she was completely potty trained and told her it was too bad she couldn’t wear them, but they were only for big kids who used the potty."

"Within a few days she was wearing them with no accidents."

~ KnittyKitty28

The Look

"When your toddler falls down (and they aren’t truly hurt) they will often look at you to determine how to feel. If you look concerned and rush to them they will cry."

"If you smile they will 90% of the time smile, giggle, and start to play again."

"Only try this if they look to you to see what to do. If they are bleeding, crying, or for sure injured rush over and take care of them right away. This is only for small falls."

~ Past_Ad5967

Rename

"Kid: I don't want a ponytail!"

"Me: But it's picture day. And your hair gets in your face"

Kid: "No!"

"Me: "OK...how about a 'kittycat'? knowing she doesn't know what that means"

"Kid: Yeah, I want what that is."

"Proceeds to do a ponytail. Both happy."

~ UnluckyInformation51

Pizza

"My cousin went through a phase where she only wanted to eat pizza, but didn’t actually know what pizza was."

"So her mom would just hand her whatever food she made, and tell her it was pizza."

~ LadyFoxfire

Waiting Game

"When I was potty training my daughter she was pretty good about going to the toilet to pee and wore underwear most of the day. However when she needed to poop she asked for a pull-up and would find a quiet place and poop—she was afraid to poop on the toilet."

"One day she asked for a pull up and I could tell that she really had to go. I pretend I couldn’t find any pull-ups and told her to sit on the toilet while I ran upstairs and looked for one. When I came back downstairs she had pooped on the toilet and never had a problem after that."

~ unoeyedwillie

Tada!

"My dad used to shout 'now stick the landing!' when I fell; and he'd put his hands up. As a little kid, I'd copy him, and as I grew up, it became a running gag."

"If I fell he'd say 'now stick the landing!' and if I was uninjured I'd do an exaggerated charade of a gymnast posing. If I didn't pose, dad would know I'm actually injured and run over to help."

I'm in my 30s, but my family are genetically clumsy, so we still do it to this day. If I die in a fall and Dad doesn't make a 'didn't stick the landing' joke at my funeral, I'll have to haunt him disappointedly."

~ Doununda

Burger Ƙing

"A kid my sister and I used to babysit went through a phase where he would only eat Burger King, so his mom gave him every meal out of a Burger King bag."

"He ate Burger King spaghetti, Burger King grilled cheese, Burger King cereal..."

~ OMG_Nooo

Choices

"Give them false choices, where you are happy with either choice and they both meet your actual goal. It gives them a sense of agency."

"Would you rather brush your teeth first, or change into your jammies first?"

"We have to head home in a few minutes, would you rather start getting your shoes on, or do you want to find them now, and you can carry them while I carry you to the car?"

"Thought it was ridiculous when I first heard this in a parenting class. With my two kiddos, it worked exceptionally well."

~ karimf

Replacement Parts

"Whenever mine bumps his elbow, stubs a toe, etc... I’ll ask if he wants me to put a spare one on.

"When he says yes, I tell him to close his eyes, I gently squeeze his arm, leg, or whatever part I’m 'replacing', make a click noise, and gently squeeze and make another click noise when I put the 'new one' on."

"9/10 times, it immediately feels better."

~ Ghost17088

Pseudonym

"For my boys when they were little until about four, I made 'pink chicken'. Well' the package said Salmon, but whatever."

"At about 4 aanda half, I remade it and called it salmon and they thought it was great."

"About 10/12 the oldest was off all fish so….we had a good run."

~ 57_Eucalyptusbreath

Double Up

"For babies and toddlers, double-wrap their beds: Mattress protector -> Sheet -> Mattress protector -> Sheet"

"So, when they have a Diaper Blowout or Potty Accident or Crummy Tummy Vomit overnight? Instead of having to spend a bunch of time dealing with stripping and remaking the bed at 2am, you just yank off the top layers and… presto! It’s all ready for them again."

"Means that they’re kept awake for a couple minutes to get their diaper changed (or whatnot) and then back in bed before their brains even register they were awake."

"Plus you aren’t trying to get the stupid sheets on while you are still half asleep. Just yoink the soaked ones off, toss them in the bathtub or washing machine or wherever, and you and your kid are back to sleep in no time."

~ MonkeyChoker80

Culinary Critic

"When my kid was little and we were trying to expand their palate, I bought a fun-looking notebook, numbered the pages, and every 10th one had a star. Then I bought star stickers and this became my kid's 'culinary critic' notebook."

"Every time they tried a new food, they would either write the name or draw the food and give it between one and four stars. When they filled out a page with a star symbol, they got to choose from a menu of special treats (a trip to the bowling alley, baking cookies with Mom and Dad, etc...)."

"They almost never refused to try anything once we started the book."

"It worked because 1) if they rated something low they knew we wouldn't ask them to try something too similar 2) it gave them a semblance of control, after all they never had to try anything it just meant they didn't get to fill out a page in the book 3)I had read a study that kids like fast, tangible rewards shortterm + working towards bigger rewards long term."

"Getting stickers and to draw/write at that age was a big, fun thing AND being able to physically see how far away from the big reward they were was a huge motivator."

~ Conscious_Writing689

What's a parenting hack you recommend?