Parent Hacks

PC.com: Share Your Vacation Journal and Photos Online With a Travel Blog

My final post for PC.com is up: Share Your Vacation Journal and Photos Online With a Travel Blog I became interested in travel blogging services because I was helping my mom get set up with a blog in preparation for a two-month road trip. She had no use for an...

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Dinnertime rattle: ice cubes in a Tupperware container

Here's how Julie from Reston, Virginia keeps her baby entertained during dinner: My husband and I were tired of listening to our 7 1/2 month old scream to be let out of his high chair before we were finished eating dinner. Our method of keeping him entertained - a couple...

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Illustrated custom CD inserts for pre-readers

This gives you a clue about the media savviness of today's young 'uns. From Lauren: My five-year-old wanted us to burn some CDs for him to listen to but got very frustrated because he wouldn't know what song was coming up next. He can't read yet so I printed a...

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Amazon deal: Leatherman multitools on sale

Amazon oh-so-helpfully let me know that they've got a big sale on Leatherman multitools going on right now. And when Amazon says big...well, there are over 100 discounted tools and accessories on the sale page. And I know how much Parenthackers like their multitools. So, if you're doing a little...

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Tie helium balloons to kids' bracelets rather than their wrists

Christy! What a great idea. Never would have thought of this myself. I've got a hack that I just discovered by accident when we were at a local festival. I thought that with county fair season approaching, parents would appreciate this. My daughter begged me to wear a bracelet to...

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Parent Hacks admin: Slight email subscription change

For those of you who get your Parent Hacks delivered via email, I've made a change in the delivery schedule so you'll get updates the same day the posts go up. This may result in your getting more than one email message some days, but otherwise nothing else will change....

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More proof that Parenthackers are the smartest people in the world

Meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting and corn sprinkles. Intelligent, respectful, definitive rejection of the peanut allergy hack. "Companies spend a lot of money marketing junk food - it seems to be reasonable that we should combat that with our own marketing "campaign" for carrots and broccoli!" Mention of the...

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Amazon deals: Nutrition bars, gDiapers, board games

I didn't see anything particularly interesting in today's Amazon Friday sale , but I did notice a few other promotions you might find interesting: 25% off of a bunch of nutrition bars : Nutrition bars are my kids' favorite in-the-car after school snack. Amazon has put a big selection of...

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Listen to me on The "O" Myth

On Friday morning at 10AM PST, I'll be the guest on the BlogTalkRadio show The "O" Myth. The show, hosted by professional organizers Brandie Kajino and Krista Colvin, is all about debunking organizing myths and the "perfection" misconception. I'm really looking forward to this -- Krista is a friend of...

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In case of allergy, give the first taste of peanuts in the doctor's office

Safety note: Many parents strongly objected to this hack (see comments) and pointed out that it could lead to a dangerous situation if the child is indeed allergic to peanuts. I posted this hack for vetting by the group, and the majority say it's unsafe. It's worth reminding everyone that...

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"Old school" wipes: damp washcloth in a plastic bag

Sharon's (dad's) hack is convenient, saves money, and minimizes paper waste: This is a hack I’m borrowing from my dad, a 70’s single parent. Before the advent of disposable wipes, he would carry with him a damp washcloth in a plastic bag for wiping food off of faces, cleaning up...

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Hacks for going to the shopping mall with preschoolers

I generally avoid the mall, but during the back-to-school shopping season I seem to find myself there at least once or twice. In fact, it's not a bad place to hang out when the kids are antsy and the weather's bad. Kristin offers some great tips for keeping everyone happy...

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Baby powder helps Robeez shoes slide on more easily

Melissa! I could have saved a year of baby foot-jamming had I figured this out myself! Robeez rock, as I'm sure we can all agree. However, they are a bit of a pain in the butt to get on the baby's feet (which, no doubt, is why they stay on!)....

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Cut waffles with a pizza slicer

James has yet another brilliant use for the versatile pizza cutter: My toddler daughter enjoys having a toasted waffle for breakfast, but she's not skilled enough to cut up the waffles herself. For a while, I cut them up using a fork, but that wasn't very efficient. Then I had...

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Silly food presentation: what do you do? Talk amongst yourselves.

Let's start with Duane's example: This hardly counts as a hack but I thought you'd find it cute. We're trying to get better at enforcing the "nobody gets down from the dinner table, nobody has dessert until everybody is finished with their dinner" rule in the house, which means attention...

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