parent hacks

Make your own single-serve Jell-O cups

I love it when the whole family's involved! Will, husband of legendary Parenthacker Hedra, sent this in...perfect for grab-and-go summer snacking:

A few weeks ago I was grocery shopping with the girls, and Miss M wanted more Jell-O (tm) cups, but they now use high fructose corn syrup, which she can't have. Very sad Miss M. So I suggested we look at the powder mix and make it ourselves. The mix has no corn syrup, so we bought some and took it home.

When my mom made Jell-O, she would pour it into custard cups so that we had individual servings. We don't have custard cups, but then my eye fell on the small paper cups that Miss M had been playing with earlier in the day. Perfect. We mixed the Jell-O in the bowl, with the girls helping with the stirring - their favorite part of cooking. I put a bunch of cups in a baking pan, we ladled out the Jell-O, and put it in the refrigerator to cool. When it was done, they had little portions of Jell-O that they could easily manage themselves. And no lid to remove!

Even easier: when you mix the Jell-O, do it in a large, glass measuring cup so you can pour (instead of ladle) the liquid into the paper cups.

Also, I just read the directions on my Pomona Universal Pectin (which I use to make jam) -- you can mix it with fruit juice to make your own fruity "gel" snacks...with no sugar or artificial color!

Another option: this beautiful fruit juice gelatin cup recipe from Biggie at Lunch in a Box. I know how I'll be using up some of my summer blueberries.

Any more Jell-O tricks to share?

Related: Make healthy snacks easiest to grab

Store kids' divided plates on their sides to save cabinet space

Vanessa's smart dish storage tip:

Kids love those cheap character plates made out of melamine that have divided sections. But they're a pain to store because the wells are different sizes which makes it impossible to stack them together flat. We now store our kiddie plates in a shoebox in our cabinet on their edges, facing out. No more avalanche every time we open the cabinet door and it's easier to find the exact plate we're looking for when a grilled cheese sandwich absolutely must be served on Thomas and not Little Einsteins.

Related: Reuse lidded divided storage containers as lunchroom "bento boxes"

Load the dishwasher's silverware basket on the counter where it's out of the toddler's reach

Well, Marie -- it may have taken you ten years to figure out this hack, but I never figured out either one:

A decade ago I figured out that when unloading the dishwasher I should immediately remove the silverware container from the dishwasher and put it on the counter above the drawer. That put the most dangerous things out of reach and I could focus on unloading the rest of the dishwasher. This week (10 years and four kids later) I figured out that to reload the dishwasher, I should remove the silverware container and place it in or next to the sink. That keeps the most dangerous things out of reach as I load everything.

Related: Let toddlers pour beverages over the open dishwasher door

Organize hair bands by color using a pill case

Lisa's simple organizing tip for rubber hair bands:

Little rubber bands are invading our bathroom! I took an empty seven day pill case (they come in various sizes and shapes) and filled it with hair bands. So now those 400 rubber bands from Wal Mart have a nice neat home in the drawer. Easy peasy, just flip the lid, take what you need and close the lid. Our pill case is clear so my daughter can pick what color she wants and even get them out with no mess.

It took me FOREVER to organize my daughter's hair thingies. I ended up finding a little set of acrylic canisters that screw together so you can grab the whole collection at once. I wish I could show you, but I can't seem to find it on Amazon, or at the Container Store (where I bought it).

Related: Store hairbands on a carabiner

Newborn baby hats make good ice pack covers

Amy's smart hack will help cool down summer scrapes:

In my house, when someone needs an ice pack, we always wrap it with a towel to take the "bite" off. I recently discovered that ice packs fit perfectly into newborn hats, and it stays in there much better than using only a towel!

What a great idea. I find that most towels are too thick -- they never get cold enough.

Anyone else have a good suggestion for insulating ice packs?

Related: Baby feeder converts to teething ice pack

Mop up the rain puddle at the bottom of the slide with a diaper

Nina's hack will come in handy when you're at the playground after some rainy weather:

A solution to drying up the pool at the bottom of the slide after a rainy day (when you forget to bring a rag): use a disposable diaper! I didn't want to use his clean washcloth, so I turned a Pull-up inside out and sort of wore it like a glove to wipe up the water. It actually worked better than a rag because of its absorbency.

Related: Snap a bib over the park baby swing for a clean(er) teething surface

Happy Father's Day!

I just want to thank all the dads who participate in the conversation here at Parent Hacks. I've always appreciated the balanced vibe here, and I'm glad this is a place where both moms and dads like to hang out.

Hopefully today will be whatever you want it to be -- active, slothful, simple, elaborate, whatever. You deserve to be king for a day!

Momversation: Is your Mom self overtaking your sexual self?

The title says it all, doesn't it? Daphne kicks off the conversation (as only she can) and Giyen, Mindy and I chime in (with props).

Join the Momversation! Leave your comments on the Momversation.com page for this episode.

Replace shoelaces with elastic to transform lace-up shoes into slip-ons

It's summer and the shoes are going on and coming off now more than ever. Michelle T.'s thrifty hack makes the whole process easier for everyone:

Ever get tired of tying your kid's shoelaces? Or does your kid get frustrated when he can't tie them himself? I switched out my son's regular laces for elastic! Fabric stores carry the basic black or white "flat" elastic, but I found colored elastic that's usually sold for hair ties. I was able to get rust orange for my son's brown shoes (they came with orange laces). Just lace them up as usual, then double knot the bow! Your kid will be able to slip shoes on by himself. (Just remember to teach him to hold the shoe tongue up when sliding on the shoe.)

I love this! So much easier than the curly elastic laces, which I find can often be too tight.

High protein treat: Cocoa fruit dip

My foodie energy has waned for so long that I rarely "whip something up." But I was inspired by a fascinating class given by a nutritionist friend of mine, and this delicious, filling snack as the result:

COCOA FRUIT DIP

I didn't measure, so everything here is to taste.

Smooth nut butter (liquidy is good; I used Trader Joe's almond butter)
Cocoa powder
Honey (I got some lovely local, raw honey at the farmer's market)
Few drops of vanilla
Milk for thinning (I used almond milk, but cream would be delicious, too.)

Whisk everything together until it's the consistency of chocolate glaze. Dump into a colorful bowl and use it as a dip for banana chunks, strawberries (any berry), marshmallows, pretzels or anything else that could benefit from a little chocolate. I dipped my celery and loved it.

Note: A reminder that honey should only be fed to kids after they are a year old. (Botulism safety.)