Parent Hacks

Amazon Deal of the Day 7/31/08: Victorinox Swiss Army Knives

Amazon's Deal of the Day: Swiss Army knives (your basic camping and exploration staple and the inspiration for the Parent Hacks logo): both usually priced over $50, but today only, they're $19.99. I've got a soft spot for these -- I was given one as a kid and it made...

Read more →

links for 2008-07-31

SavvyPicks: Best Family Travel Resources - The Savvy Source for Parents Lots of fun links to follow here.

Read more →

Have kids soap up at the pool shower

My kids have been swimming more this summer than any before. We do this as well...a hack was hiding in our midst! From Chris in Austin, TX: Here's my favorite summertime "hack"--we swim quite often at our neighborhood pool, usually in the afternoon hours. I always bring shampoo for the...

Read more →

PC.com: Family-friendly Twitter Tips

My latest post for PC.com is up now: Family-friendly Twitter Tips If you're still holding out on Twitter because it's "yet another social networking site," or it somehow feels to geeky, click on over and see if I can't change your mind. I spend very little time at social networking...

Read more →

Ice chest "drain" as toddler beach shower

Elizabeth's creative post-beach de-sanding trick: With all the camping hacks, it reminded me of one that we use. We live near the Texas Gulf Coast, and nothing is worse than putting a sandy toddler back in a car seat. What works for us is to fill up an ice chest...

Read more →

links for 2008-07-30

How to build a digital wall harp I can't imagine actually doing this, but I'm sure one of you can. YouTube - Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams In case you've never seen it. Thanks for the reminder to watch this again, Kids Off the Couch!

Read more →

How to teach kids to tell time? Talk amongst yourselves.

Amy, AKA The Lovely Mrs. Davis, asks: I'm looking for ways to teach school-age kids to tell time. Do you or your readers have any tips for this? My 8-year-old is still not great at this and I could use some help. I left this one to the schoolteachers, and...

Read more →

Ben Gay stops mosquito bites from itching

Itching...burning...irritation. This time, it's the mosquitos! Here's Molly's suggestion: Your post about jellyfish made me think of a mosquito/bug bite soother, an old trick we used in Peace Corps. Apply a tiny dab of Ben Gay to the area and it relieves the itch almost instantaneously. Works like a charm...

Read more →

links for 2008-07-29

Working Dad: Car trips are a chance to bridge the distance with your kids You'll recognize a few of your road trip hacks in this Seattle Post-Intelligencer article! Thanks, Paul -- you always do great work. DeliciousBaby Journal | Danger For Rent: Car Rental Agency Puts Infant at Risk Debbie...

Read more →

The MomSpeak: How to get top resale dollars for your kids' outgrown clothes

Bargain-consciousness has always been a core value here at Parent Hacks -- after all, becoming a parent doesn't have to mean buying into the crazy gear/toy commercial machine. Hey, we've got an entire archive devoted to saving money. So, when FM asked if I'd like to contribute bargain-savvy hacks to...

Read more →

Cornrows make for a low-maintenance summer hairdo

Laura's got an interesting hairstyling tip: My friend's daughter has extremely unruly naturally curly hair that takes a ton of maintenance to keep from tangling, knotting, etc. They recently went to an amusement park for several days and before she went, she took her daughter to get braids (cornrows) in...

Read more →

How to deal with jellyfish stings

Jellyfish hacks! Good to know, because my kids always want to poke and prod the jellyfish that we find washed up on the beach. From Kimberly: We live on the Gulf Coast and just got back from a beach trip -- and it's jellyfish season. Thankfully our 18 month-old didn't...

Read more →

links for 2008-07-25

12 Tips for Better Doctor Visits with Kids « PsychMamma Simple wisdom -- thanks, Psychmama. A Mom's Life: Works For Me Wednesday - Popsicle Drip Catcher Dang. None of us has an excuse for popsicle drips anymore. Kids want a dog? Answer these 5 questions first. We're new dog owners...

Read more →

Your baby shower's coming up? If your guests shop your Amazon shower registry (enough), you get six months of free diapers

Amazon's got a bunch of baby product sales going on this month, but this promotion is so potentially useful for a new parent (hello? Free diapers!) I had to pass it on. Between July 1 and September 30, if your family and friends buy at least $750 worth of goodies...

Read more →

Build an iPhone stand out of K'nex

Oh yeah. Parenthacking of the highest order. We bow to you, Andy. I just went on a cross-country airplane trip with my wife and 3 boys that range in age from 6 weeks to 4 years. For the 2 older boys I knew that 3 hours or more on a...

Read more →