Parent Hacks

Make an ice pack out of hair gel or corn syrup

Kara's first-aid hack: Use frozen hair gel as an ice pack (I’m fond of bright pink Dippity Do). Squeeze some into a quart- or snack-size Ziploc bag and toss it in the freezer. You should use corn syrup instead of hair gel for teethers and mouth injuries (just in case...

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Teach babies to drink out of a Dixie cup

SourPatch's cup-learning hack: I’ve been teaching my 14 month-old to drink with a cup all by himself (crazy me, didn’t think to introduce him to a cup until he was past one year old). He’s adept at drinking without spilling if someone else is holding the cup, but I wanted...

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How to keep your kids entertained during airport delays

Vacation season's here. Here's how Margaret dealt with a canceled flight: After a weather cancellation, a rebooking, a canceled rebooking, and eventually going standby, we made it home from a recent trip three days late. So, my daughter and I spent a lot of time in the airport! Here's some...

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Track medicine dosage with a reusable chart

Here's how Shauna avoids double-dosing: To give long-term medicines without the confusion of who gave what to whom and when, make a simple calendar on the computer (with days only -- not dates) and laminate. [You could also slide the calendar page into a plastic binder insert. -- Ed.] With...

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links for 2007-03-30

Teach Your Kids to Work - Part III | GNMParents Does Laura uses a star chart to encourage her kids to work? (tags: parenthacks parenting) Blog posts tagged as "parenthacks" Visit your fellow Parenthackers! Lots of great posts are popping up. Want people to visit you? Tag your blog posts...

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Gmail and digital pictures allow working parents to collaborate on health remedies

Noran, who proudly shared that she's a first-time parent at 44, uses Gmail and a digital camera to keep in touch with her husband about their baby's health scares: I'm an emergency room registered nurse, and I work 12-hour shifts on the weekends, with my husband watching our baby. (I...

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Use a dry erase board for the family grocery list

Stu (who's now one of the editors of GNM Parents -- did you know that?), took some of the guesswork out of grocery shopping for older kids: I was having trouble getting my kids to go to the market with me, and they would complain that my food selection was...

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links for 2007-03-29

finslippy: "...like drinking a fizzy, liquid Starburst." Alice Bradley of Finslippy shares her two-ingredient drink "recipe" that sounds like heaven in a glass -- with no high fructose corn syrup. My kids will flip. (tags: parenthacks) BabyGizmo.com Unbiased reviews of hundreds of baby products. (tags: parenthacks baby)

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Kiddio audio "adventures" a good complement to audiobooks

We're so busy playing music around here that I often forget just how much my kids love other types of audio entertainment. We've listened to several StoryNory stories and enjoyed them immensely, but I've never searched out any other options. Jens Hewerer, Top Kid of "very little startup" Kiddio recently...

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Can rewards for good behavior backfire? Talk amongst yourselves.

There's a good discussion going on in the comments of "How to use a star chart to encourage good behavior," interestingly enough, kicked off by an editorial tussle. We're now talking about how rewards can backfire; how kids' natural feelings of accomplishment and pride can get buried by the momentary...

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Up to 70% off selected toys at Amazon

Amazon's having a spring toy sale -- if you've got birthday presents to buy, now may be a good time to do it. Up to 70% off selected toys . [Thanks for the pointer, David!]

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Record your child's voice with your cell phone

Andi found a reason to be happy about her toddler's obsession with her cell phone: We all know that our babies and toddlers love to play with our cell phones. They will often babble away on pretend phone conversations for much longer than they would think of speaking under any...

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Add prune juice to formula to keep newborns regular

Zac of Baby Roadies on the benefits of Nature's Laxative: When our newborn son Hank was having difficulties keeping everything moving downstairs (if you know what I mean) [oh, we KNOW what you mean, Zac. -- Ed.], our doctor recommended an ounce of prune juice mixed in with his formula...

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links for 2007-03-28

Thingamababy: HOW TO: Make a Reusable Tracing Book for a Toddler (tags: parenthacks toddler) Allowances for Kids: Teaching Children the Value of Money ∞ Get Rich Slowly (tags: parenthacks parenting kids)

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Athletes: Chocolate milk is as effective as sports drinks

Bill passed along some good news for the little sports fans: A "Healthy Living" article in the March/April 2007 issue of Midwest Living cites a 2006 study from Indiana University that found chocolate milk equal to or better than sports drinks at supplying energy and "refueling" muscles after exercise. It's...

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