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Archive: August 2007
31 Aug 07 | Comments: 22
Jill from Atlanta had a wonderful idea: while I get back on my feet posting-wise, how about a little open discussion about homework tips? Most of us are likely in the grace period before the big-time assignments, so let's talk...
Parent Hacks admin: The Fall31 Aug 07 | Comments: 14
Fall approaches, and, here in Portland, the school doors open next week. For many of you, the school year is already underway -- a reluctant transition for some, a relief for others. I know for me "back to school" brings...
DIY Learning Tower to encourage pint-sized kitchen help? Talk amongst yourselves.26 Aug 07 | Comments: 32
In the comments of the kid-friendly kitchens post, Marta asked: Anyone have a hack for improvising one of those Learning Tower things? They cost a lot. I agree -- a lovely product, but the price is prohibitive. When I was...
Serve food to new self-feeders in a measuring cup25 Aug 07 | Comments: 8
Liz said, "I am not sure if this is a hack or just a lightbulb moment..." Isn't it funny how some Parent Hacks come on like a flash, and others are just the unconventional way we've always done things? My...
Put a bell on toddlers' belts to more easily locate them24 Aug 07 | Comments: 42
From Will, Hedra's husband! When your toddlers start to walk around, it can be tiring to track their presence at all times, especially in crowded areas, or in the outdoors. When we had this situation while on vacation in Vermont,...
links for 2007-08-2323 Aug 07 | Comments: 1
Make your own Chinese finger trap (tags: kids toys) Unclutterer: Grandparents, consider the fold away crib What a great idea. (tags: kids babies)
Toys to Iraq: Still accepting toys and stuffed animals!22 Aug 07 | Comments: 10
Edmay Mayers is coming home after a long tour in Iraq with the US Army Corps of Engineers. But two of her comrades have agreed to take over her "duties" as volunteer distributors of toys to Iraqi children there. Michael...
links for 2007-08-2222 Aug 07 | Comments: 3
Techmamas: Gadgets That Keep Young Boys Entertained On Airplanes My favorite: the Cheerio necklace. (tags: parenthacks kids travel gadgets) Easy homemade baby butt paste - DIY Life Secret ingredient: Maalox. (tags: parenting baby diapers)
Nonslip shelf liner keeps tablecloth from slipping21 Aug 07 | Comments: 19
Leah's hack would simplify craft time at our house considerably: Oilcloth tablecloths are excellent - they're durable, bright and wipe clean when the kids inevitably spill on them - but they slide around a lot. I put rubberized shelf liner...
Color code hot and cold water taps with nail polish21 Aug 07 | Comments: 14
Amazing how a little change can help kids get what they need on their own. Here's kittenpie's great idea: My girl understand that red=stop and green=go, so in the bathroom, I have painted (in nail polish for durability) a large...
Ice cubes help keep a sick kid hydrated20 Aug 07 | Comments: 8
Here's Kip's novel method for keeping the liquids going into his ailing daughter: Sarah (now 5) was having a sore throat. Quick strep test came back negative, so a virus was suspected, and the doctor said to keep liquids going...
Working with a one year-old's light switch obsession20 Aug 07 | Comments: 7
Kris's light switch hack keeps her son happy (for a while at least!): My one year old son is enthralled with being helpful by turning on and off the lights in every room when we enter or exit. The only...
Kid-friendly kitchens help even the youngest pitch in19 Aug 07 | Comments: 17
Heather wrote up a fantastic post on her blog, Oh My Stinkin Heck, about encouraging kids to help in the kitchen by making it more accessible to them. Really, the topic is much bigger than that -- it's about honoring...
Parent Hacks admin: Email woes17 Aug 07 | Comments: 8
I'm not sure what I've done to raise Gmail's hackles, but I just discovered that it has been junking a bunch of my email, including many of your notes to me and a bunch of Parent Hacks comment notifications. I've...
Record your own storytelling CD16 Aug 07 | Comments: 10
Sarah's hack would work well for bedtime, sleepovers, travel, or road trips: For a cool bedtime (or anytime) CD, record yourself, grandparents, siblings, etc. reading your child's favoritie books. They can even tell stories they made up or (especially for...
Let baby "finger paint" with baby food in restaurants16 Aug 07 | Comments: 9
Christy's hack may give you a few precious moments of quiet at a restaurant: When my first child was about 8-10 months old and we wanted to go out to a restaurant for dinner she was always too finicky to...
links for 2007-08-1515 Aug 07 | Comments: 1
Z Recommends: Food Week Gadgets: Fit & Fresh Food Containers Because lunch packing is right around the corner. (tags: kids storage)
Track medicine dosage right on the bottle15 Aug 07 | Comments: 6
Excellent hack from Kristi: Perhaps it’s “Mommy Brain,” but I sometimes forget where I am in the dosage schedule of my son’s medicine. I found it helpful to use a Sharpie, which I have on hand anyway for all the...
Oversize long-sleeved shirt as parental snot guard14 Aug 07 | Comments: 10
Jodi at The Mom Tech Review passed along this decidedly low-tech tip. Parents of snotty toddlers rejoice! If you kid has a cold and likes to wipe his snot all over you, protect your clothing with a large long sleeve...
Encouraging the next generation of hackers14 Aug 07 | Comments: 10
From Sara: I suspect that many Parenthackers, like me, have their antenna constantly up for "how can I teach my kids to love computers like I did when I was a kid" (for me, that mostly means programming). Since Josie's...
Custom silicone bracelet as preschooler travel ID13 Aug 07 | Comments: 18
With the summer travel season upon us, it's a good time to revisit the ways in which we can make our lost kids "findable" in crowded places. We published a hack last year suggesting rubber bracelets as ID, but Dawn's...
Pureed vegetables disappear into more easily-accepted foods12 Aug 07 | Comments: 9
Liz is doing what she must to get the vegies in: My one-year-old is going through some sort of regression that only permits him to eat macaroni & cheese (with homemade cheese sauce I learned from Parent Hacks, thanks!), yogurt,...
Pipe cleaner party hats11 Aug 07 | Comments: 1
Jill's got a great idea for your next birthday party: I saw a fun idea I thought kids might enjoy for a birthday. The party "hats" consisted of five sparkly pipe cleaners per person. They could be made into any...
Alarm clocks work for early-waking babies, too10 Aug 07 | Comments: 11
Lisa's hack is fascinating -- an incredible reminder that babies are capable of a lot more learning than we think: I read a hack not too long ago about a toddler (about 3 yrs., I think) that used to wake...
Blowout damage control: pull the onesie off down over the legs10 Aug 07 | Comments: 16
hedra has just caused me to say, out loud, "WHY didn't I think of this when my kids were babies?" If you're one of the lucky parents whose infant has those ghastly blowout diapers where the poop shoots up their...
Clean the bathroom while your kid's in the tub09 Aug 07 | Comments: 5
Leslie's practical "get it all clean at once" hack: My hack came about as we were supposed to have someone come over for dinner and I really needed to clean the guest bathroom. But with two kids (18 months and...
wallOVERs: Web-based kaleidescope fun for preschoolers09 Aug 07 | Comments: 4
Thanks a lot, Vincent. I just spent 20 minutes distracted by your hack. We recently spent an afternoon at a local children's museum. My three year old spent a good portion of that time enthralled by a Mac running an...
Danger Rangers DVDs teach kids about common safety pitfalls08 Aug 07 | Comments: 1
Through action adventure storylines and songs catchy enough to be labeled "brain worms," the Danger Rangers work toward their real mission to battle the 90% of childhood injuries which are preventable through education. Season 1 also covers a vast array...
"This Little Piggy," the extended version08 Aug 07 | Comments: 6
Duane's kids get extra tickle time with a song that never gets old (for them, at least): You know, "this little piggy went to market" gets to be a pretty boring game for everybody but the baby. Wanna bet? My...
Glow sticks as travel night lights07 Aug 07 | Comments: 11
Allyson's hack does double duty: after-dark fun, and an easier bedtime: I just discovered a wonderful hack while on vacation. We brought along glow sticks to play with on the beach after dark, but discovered they worked great as night...
Coffee sleeve makes frozen drinks easier to handle07 Aug 07 | Comments: 3
Art's hack should be posted at all quick-mart checkout counters: With warm weather upon us the requests by my children for the {insert brand name}ee frozen drink of choice at the local convenience store has risen with the temperature. Along...
Stash extra pacifiers in crib corners06 Aug 07 | Comments: 17
Kurt's hack brought back memories -- we did just this when our son was a baby: If your child sleeps with a pacifier she probably also wakes up from time to time crying because the pacifier is no longer in...
Consistent front-back swimsuit color makes kids easier to track in the pool06 Aug 07 | Comments: 8
Richard's hack is one that would never become apparent unless you're in the situation: I made the mistake last year of buying my son a set of swim trunks that are red on the front, but black on the back....
links for 2007-08-0606 Aug 07 | Comments: 3
The Opinionated Parent » Unfortunately, kids don’t come with a manual. Thank you for the mention, Nicole! (tags: parenthacks) Stay At Home Dad Digital Camera Give-Away: Canon PowerShot SD750 DevDad ("Stay At Home Dad, Geek Style") is giving away a...
Congrats, Sarah! You (or perhaps your grandma) are our Presto winner!05 Aug 07 | Comments: 2
I was so pleased when my random process for choosing prizewinners landed on Sarah -- it sounds like this Presto Printing Mailbox will be put to wonderful use. May you and your grandmother use it for many years to come....
links for 2007-08-0505 Aug 07 | Comments: 1
True Dad Confessions Now dads have a place to confess, too. (tags: fatherhood dads) Bowling for Kindergarten Readiness As Parenthacker Tim says: "Yes. Bowling is good parenting." (tags: parenthacks kids) MacGyver Tip: Avoid popsicle drippage with a coffee filter -...
Turn a hotel air conditioner into a humidifier05 Aug 07 | Comments: 4
From Mommyprof: If you are in hotel with the little ones and find someone develops a cough in the hotel room, you can make an impromptu humidifier by soaking a bath towel and then draping it over the room air...
Shower curtain as changing pad04 Aug 07 | Comments: 7
Another reason to never buy a changing table! From Sarah: When my first child was born, we had no changing table, or even a changing pad. So I sent my husband to the store for a changing pad, but they...
Martha Stewart (and staff): Parenthackers?04 Aug 07 | Comments: 7
There's a fine line between the hacker-ish DIYers and the stylish crafters. Case in point: the Martha Stewart Omnimedia folks got in touch to tell me about Good Things For Kids, a new special issue of on newsstands now. It's...
links for 2007-08-0404 Aug 07 | Comments: 1
How to Decide if Traveling to a Sales Tax Holiday is Worthwhile Something to think about while you're planning the back-to-school shopping rampage. (tags: shopping taxes kids school)
Presto Printing Mailbox: Send email and digital photos to offline relatives03 Aug 07 | Comments: 50
Grandpa wants regular updates and photos of the kids but doesn't have (or want) a computer or an Internet connection. How to bridge the generation/technology gap? Presto's solution is delightfully simple: plug a Presto Printing Mailbox in at Grandpa's house,...
Setting up family cell phones for emergency contact03 Aug 07 | Comments: 8
While your older kids are out and about this summer, being able to get a hold of each other in case of emergency becomes crucial. For those kids who use mobile phones, Betsy's suggestion makes good sense: * Make sure...
Extra shower curtain rod as swimsuit drip-dryer03 Aug 07 | Comments: 11
A timely hack from the Hengst family: Put an extra shower curtain rod in your shower to hang wet towels and swimsuits from in the summertime. The water drips right into the shower and not on the floor. If you...
Mattel/Fisher-Price toy recall02 Aug 07 | Comments: 4
Many of you emailed me with news of the massive Fisher-Price toy recall currently underway -- thank you. In general, I don't post recall notices here; the CPSC covers this territory well, even offering an RSS feed of recall notices...
Pipe your car's navigation system into your kid's portable DVD player02 Aug 07 | Comments: 3
Eirik's brilliant road trip entertainment hack for GPS/navigation system users: Our four year old son has been very interested in the navigation system I am running while we're out driving. He leans over to follow it closely and it's actually...
An easier way to apply sunscreen to kids' faces02 Aug 07 | Comments: 9
Cheri's summer-simplifying tip: I have found a way to make applying sunscreen to my kiddo's face SO much easier! I was always finding myself chasing their faces around and telling them to "Look up!" Finally I had my son lay...
Develop a Shutterbug: Time with Kids with Cameras01 Aug 07 | Comments: 2
When I heard about the "A Little Perspective" kids' photo contest, it struck me as golden Parent Hacker opportunity for some late summer family fun. Get out the camera, but this time you may get to be the subject or...
Can you clean a computer keyboard in the dishwasher? Talk amongst yourselves.01 Aug 07 | Comments: 27
Sally wonders (as do I): Slashdot had a story about a successful dishwasher sanitizing method for keyboards. Apparently, they have more bacteria than a toilet!!??!! But I’m not sending this to fuel the fears of the germ-o-phobic – I’m more...
links for 2007-08-0101 Aug 07 | Comments: 3
27 Skills Your Child Needs to Know That She’s Not Getting In School | zen habits Leo's always wise. Thanks for passing this along, Carly! (I should have linked it a long time ago -- I'm a Zen Habits subscriber!)...
How to keep kids in bed till wakeup time01 Aug 07 | Comments: 15
Father-to-be Keith has already started filing away parent hacks for future use! This one is sure to come in handy for these crazily early summer sunrises: To keep their little ones in bed until an appropriate time, some friends of...
