About Parent Hacks

Thanks for stopping by. We're glad you're here.

We parents rely on each other for quick, practical advice. Books and magazines are fine, but the real-world perspective of one’s friend, sister, neighbor (or the friend of one’s sister’s neighbor) is often the most helpful.

At Parent Hacks, we collects and publish your tips, recommendations, workarounds, and bits of wisdom – your hacks – in a single pot so we can all benefit. Here’s the stuff that would have been left out of the instruction manual...if there were one. We're not experts. We’re just out there, raising our kids, finding the little tweaks that make this crazy adventure go a little more smoothly.

Wait...maybe that's what makes us experts.

Parent Hacks is an independent project, but was inspired by the "hacker ethic" behind the O'Reilly Hacks (TM) series of books. Most Hacks books focus on tech topics, but the same experimental, tinkerer's approach applies to parenting. O'Reilly defines a hack as "a clever solution to an interesting problem." Our goal is to give you as many clever solutions as we can.

What you'll find at Parent Hacks

Practical parenting tips, or "hacks"

Our bread and butter. We publish tips about everything from organizing your house to potty training to family travel to getting a good night's sleep.

No tip is too small or obvious to be worthy. "But I haven't got a tip," you say, or "I'm sure everyone already knows this." Pshaw, we say! Every parent eventually comes up with a little workaround that makes his or her life easier, and the rest of us smack our foreheads and wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Stand up and be counted among Parenthackers! Tell us your hack! Even the simplest idea can change someone's life.

Real-world product recommendations

Our philosophy about baby gear, or parenting books, or stuff in general is you probably don't need it. The few things you do need, or that will make your life easier, are worthy of attention. We tell you about those things.

Note to those pitching products for review: We are very selective about the items we feature. Generally, a product must be more than attractive: it must be exceedingly useful, clever, or solve a parenting problem. Does your thingie qualify? Please proceed to the review guidelines for consideration.

Intelligent, generous conversation

You may think you're here for the hacks, but the people will keep you coming back. The moms and dads that contribute hacks and hang out in the comment section (and our social media circles) are the smartest, most generous, most inventive parents around.

Parent Hacks has been described as "an island of civility in the parenting blogosphere." Please...join the conversation here in the comments on each post, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Heads-up on Amazon discounts

We dig around at Amazon looking for discounted prices on baby gear, quality toys, household items, and other things of interest. When we find a particularly good deal, we'll post about it here or on Twitter/Facebook.

Parent Hacks is an Amazon Associate, which means that we earn a small fee for anything purchased through a link from Parent Hacks (you pay nothing; Amazon pays the fee). While Amazon Associate fees are one of the ways this site supports itself, we only point out items we think are actually useful or worthwhile, and the discount is good enough to warrant your attention.

If you're a fan of Amazon bargains, be sure to follow @parenthacks on Twitter or "Like" the Parent Hacks Facebook page. We sometimes post one-day-or-less deals there.

If you're feeling the karmic pull to throw some change into our tip jar, consider starting all of your Amazon shopping at Parent Hacks -- there's a link in the sidebar straight to Amazon's home page.

Occasional musings on bigger parenting issues

I (Asha) am a big picture person, and I can't help but wax philosophical about parenting. So much about parenting isn't what I expected, or even what I believed. And talking about it with you has made me realize I'm not the only one who feels that way.

How to participate at Parent Hacks

The magic of Parent Hacks is in the conversation. Here's how to jump in:

Leave a comment

Tell us what you think about a hack. Applaud it. Respectfully disagree with it. Improve upon it. The more people talk about a hack, the more useful it becomes.

Submit a hack

Got a tip of your own? Send it in! Email hacks@parenthacks.com with the subject line HACK SUBMISSION and your bit of brilliance will come straight to the editor. If you've already written up your hack on your blog or website, send us a link so we can pass it on.

Please do NOT try to pass product review requests as hacks. See Product Review Guidelines.

Ask for advice

If you've searched the site in vain looking for a solution to your parenting problem, email hacks@parenthacks.com with the subject line I NEED ADVICE. We often post community members' questions. Perhaps we can offer some wisdom. At the very least we can commiserate.

Follow @parenthacks on Twitter

If you've been waiting for a reason to join Twitter, here it is. Seriously fun conversation, notices of site updates, quick-turnaround Amazon deals, and fast-and-furious tweeting of quickie hacks. (No, not hacks about quickies, you naughty person. Hacks that take fewer than 140 characters to describe.)

"Like" Parent Hacks on Facebook

The Parent Hacks Facebook page is a great place for conversation, and we post updates there so you know whenever there's a new post. Plus, when your hack gets published, you can tell all your high school buddies about it.

Subscribe to Parent Hacks via email

For those who prefer their hacks delivered. Enter your email address below and we'll send you the full text of each day's hacks. We will never spam you, distribute your email address or send you anything else without your express permission.

About the Founder and Editor

I'm Asha Dornfest. I live in Portland, Oregon with my husband, Rael, our two kids "Luke," 13, and "Mimi," 9.

("Luke" and "Mimi" are my kids' Internet names. I keep their actual names out of my writing mainly to hold their search engine spots open. When future employers and love interests Google their names, I want the results to be stuff they've created, not me.)

I've been a writer for many years. Before Parent Hacks (before parenting!) I wrote books and articles about Web publishing (Microsoft FrontPage For Dummies among other titles).

Becoming a parent changed everything (as it usually does). After my son was born, I began to write about motherhood. My writing often circled the theme of "this is not how it sounded in the parenting books." Soon after, I created Parent Hacks as a way to connect with other parents and, ultimately, to find out if anyone else felt as surprised by parenting as I did. And, lo, the answer was (and continues to be) a resounding YES.

My book, Minimalist Parenting: Enjoy Modern Family Life More by Doing Less, with co-author Christine Koh, is available at bookstores everywhere.

Product review guidelines

At Parent Hacks, we talk about products and services we think are exceptional, either in quality, design, or sheer problem-solving functionality. We welcome pitches for reviews of products or services, but only respond to those we think would fit with the Parent Hacks vibe. Please forgive our inability to respond to every pitch -- our staff of one had to draw the line somewhere.

When we receive pitches and product samples from vendors, or if we write any sort of sponsored content, we mention it up front. We also like to give away many of the products we get for review.

Want to pitch Parent Hacks? Email reviews@parenthacks.com. This is the ONLY email address at which we accept review requests.

Advertising on Parent Hacks

Our advertising partner, Federated Media, handles all display advertising at Parent Hacks. You may contact them directly, or submit a graphic ad for approval using FM's self-service platform.

Media and sponsorship

Parent Hacks has a loyal and engaged readership, and has been honored with a number of press mentions and awards. Asha and Parent Hacks have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Real Simple, Family Circle, Parents, Parenting and several other publications. For the last four years, Babble has named Parent Hacks a Top 100 Mom Blog, with the additional honor of “#1 Most Useful” three of those years. Nielsen identified Asha as one of 16 influential “Power Pack” moms online.

Asha has also been a guest on TV shows, radio broadcasts and podcasts, including CNN and ABC News Now, and has spoken at a number of events and conferences. She was one of the original cast members of the popular video series Momversation. She is a member of the ONEMoms Advisory Council for The ONE Campaign.

Parent Hacks works with select brands and organizations whose goals resonate with the practical, tech-savvy, and generous vibe of our community. Please email hacks@parenthacks.com with the subject line MEDIA/SPONSORSHIP INQUIRY to discuss media or sponsorship opportunities.

Thank you for visiting Parent Hacks. We hope you'll stay awhile.

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