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Category archive: health/development
09 May 08 | Comments: 31
Shaunta says: To get rid of cradle cap, wash your baby's hair with dandruff shampoo. We used baby oil and a comb, but it took forever to go away. Anyone else have cradle cap cures? Related: What do you do...
Pistachios: yummy AND good for kids' fine motor skills09 May 08 | Comments: 2
Rachel's found a new favorite snack: I have just discovered the greatest fine-motor food work and added variety to my four year old's diet! I bought pistachios for a cake I was baking and my son was intrigued. I showed...
Perfect gift for new moms: The Rookie Mom's Handbook06 May 08 | Comments: 61
Heather and Whitney (aka the Rookie Moms) are true blog friends. I think these are two of the warmest, smartest women around. We've bonded over the business of blogging and parenting and life. They've sent in bunches of great hacks....
Lotion as "medicine" for boo-boos05 May 08 | Comments: 10
Serena's new "magic healing potion" is plain old lotion: New hack I came up with on the spot for our not-quite three year old, who is very much into rituals, such as putting medicine on a cut and then the...
Bibs worn during morning toothbrushing keep clothes clean and dry05 May 08 | Comments: 1
Here's how Jill keeps weekday mornings moving along: I’ve found a use for the nice, big, plastic bibs that my daughters (3 YO & 1.5 YO) no longer use while eating. I store a couple of bibs in the bathroom...
Smelly diaper ointment reveals "stealth poop"05 May 08 | Comments: 4
Heather discovered that original Desitin ointment has an unexpected benefit: Three of my kids have had GI issues that have at times resulted in what we call 'stealth poop' - that is, no odor or very mild odor. Usually, those...
InfantSEE: Free Vision Screening for Infants01 May 08 | Comments: 10
In 2006, I took my 12 month old son for vision screening. My husband, despite a childhood of good pediatric health care, is one of the adults who wasn't diagnosed for lazy eye until after the age of treatment. Though...
Parent Hacks exclusive: THE CRAZY PARENT WORKOUT!!!!29 Apr 08 | Comments: 3
Hey, parents! Tired of that persistent belly pooch, but too tired to work out? No time to exercise? Parent-child swim lessons coming up? What if I told you that you could get all your errands and school pickups done FASTER...
Apply antibiotic ointment while the kid's asleep24 Apr 08 | Comments: 6
When you can't win the game, change the rules. (In a good way.) From Jeff: Our 4 year old son was diagnosed with impetigo (also known as infantago, among other things). His doctor prescribed an antibiotic ointment for him, which...
Keep track of medicine dosage by writing on the foil pack22 Apr 08 | Comments: 3
We've had so many good suggestions for how to keep track of medicine dosages. Here's Stacy's, specific to pills that come in little foil packs: I can never remember whether pills that need to be taken daily (antibiotics, etc) have...
Turnoff Week starts, uh, today! Some thoughts and resources.21 Apr 08 | Comments: 6
How did I let Turnoff Week sneak up on me like this? And does anyone else find it funny (in a sad way) that it's no longer called "TV Turnoff Week" because there are so many more things to turn...
When they're little, sing 'em what you like, with a little backup21 Apr 08 | Comments: 11
Brian's baby is getting better musical exposure than mine ever did: For an infant that you're trying to sing to sleep it really doesn't matter what you sing them, just that you're singing. My wife and I both sing songs...
Savvy Source: A great place to start your preschool research17 Apr 08 | Comments: 7
When I started researching preschools, I was amazed by the lack of a centralized resource to find out what was available in our neighborhood. Through conversations with other parents and a dose of dumb luck, we found an ideal preschool...
Empty formula cans make perfect bedside table wastebaskets17 Apr 08 | Comments: 19
So smart! From Janette: Empty formula cans [Any cans, really. -- Ed.] are the perfect size to use as bedside/lazyboy side trash cans when you have a cold. In the morning, you can just throw it, and all your nasty...
Childproofing a water cooler? Talk amongst yourselves.16 Apr 08 | Comments: 11
Kelly's got a good question: Recently a friend started looking for a way to childproof something that I hadn't thought of...a water cooler! There are many that have safety locks on the hot water tap, but that still leaves the...
Mix medicine into Jell-O Smoothie Snacks to get it down the hatch15 Apr 08 | Comments: 15
Steve's get-the-medicine-in-the-toddler hack: My 18 month-old had an ear infection and like most toddlers she was prescribed amoxicillin. She has had ear infections when she was younger and we would either give her the medication via syringe or add a...
Word choices can take the sting out of a disagreement14 Apr 08 | Comments: 18
Sara is teaching tact and open-mindedness early: Can a word be a hack? If it can, I propose "mistaken." We've introduced this one to our 2 year old, and it just feels right. We use it to admit we are...
Cut plastic "tube" popsicles in half for toddlers12 Apr 08 | Comments: 3
Regina's found a way to make popsicles slightly less messy: My toddler likes to eat those popsicles that come in the long tubes that you put into the freezer and eat straight out of the plastic. However, the tubes are...
Turn temperature-taking with an ear thermometer into a game of telephone11 Apr 08 | Comments: 2
Shalini turned temp-taking into a game: After constantly struggling to take my squirmy 16-month old's temperature with the ear thermometer (he won't even hold still for the three seconds it takes to get a reading), I discovered that if I...
Stave off exam room anxiety by doodling on the paper-covered exam table10 Apr 08 | Comments: 18
Jaclyn's discovered a great way to keep her daughter entertained during those loooong exam room waits: I discovered a new hack during my daughter's 2 year-old check-up. We were waiting in the exam room and I was desperately trying to...
A slightly healthier "fruit snack"09 Apr 08 | Comments: 7
Rednexmama read the labels on so-called "fruit snacks" -- those little packages of gummy fruit candies -- and found quite a difference between brands: I actually found super-yummy fruit snacks that aren't just sugar under the guise of "made with...
Reusing medicine dosing syringes from Target prescription bottles25 Mar 08 | Comments: 14
Parenthackers have sung the praises of the Target's prescription medicine bottles before -- and Kim takes it a step further: Liquid medicines from the Target pharmacy come with a dosing syringe and have a neat little stopper in the bottle....
Oft-forgotten germ spreader: lip balm!21 Mar 08 | Comments: 8
Lisa's on the germ hunt: My family has been passing the cold bug around to one another. So I've been trying to catch all the ways that our germs are spreading (buying new toothbrushes, careful with sharing cups etc). I...
Too Tarts SmartChoice spray candy masks bitter medicine flavor20 Mar 08 | Comments: 4
Before you scoff at this hack (as I did when I heard the words "spray candy"), read on. Jessica's onto something: The last two times my five year-old son has been prescribed cough medicine the taste has been completely awful....
Bug Bam bracelet repels mosquitos safely18 Mar 08 | Comments: 7
Deb passed along this kid-friendly alternative to chemical mosquito repellant: My little girl can't stand having anything on her skin, including sunscreen, and I hate coating her in toxic bug repellents. But she's one of those mosquito-magnet types. So now...
Little Steps Handrail mounts on (and hangs below) a standard stairway rail16 Mar 08 | Comments: 2
The folks from Little Steps found Parent Hacks due to Kathy's comment on last year's handrail hack (tie a length of soft rope to the rail which hangs down to toddler-grabbing height). Apparently, many of you have been clicking through...
Freeze pacifiers for teething relief13 Mar 08 | Comments: 5
Amy's got a good pacifier hack: My 16 month-old son has always been attached to his pacifier, and has had a tough time cutting teeth. So, I run his pacifiers under the faucet, and squeeze the bulb portion under the...
Attune Wellness bars: Chocolate + probiotics = mmmm04 Mar 08 | Comments: 8
In what may be the most delicious PR pitch ever, I recently received a box full of Attune Wellness bars and an accompanying email that suggested them as a good on-the-go snack hack. In my experience, energy bars (or protein...
Torani syrup helps the water go down01 Mar 08 | Comments: 8
Here's how Darienne makes water more palatable to her preschooler: My 3 year-old has always been a big milk drinker. We tried to get him to drink more water by giving him water with a bit of unsweetened fruit juice....
When one twin gets medicine, the other gets apple juice26 Feb 08 | Comments: 8
Kristin's got the opposite "problem" many parents have -- her kids want to take medicine! When one of my 2-year-old twin boys are prescribed medicine, it's inevitable that the non-sick boy will pitch a fit for medicine too. So...I have...
Pencil cup as toothbrush holder25 Feb 08 | Comments: 5
The Hengsts have a solution for those fat, character toothbrush handles that don't fit into the holes of a regular countertop toothbrush holder: We have the problem in our house that kids' toothbrushes don't fit in the traditional toothbrush holders...
Oatmeal bath soothes diaper rash02 Feb 08 | Comments: 8
A reminder that we don't always need fancy solutions..simple ones work just fine. From Sara: My mother-in-law bought some fancy Aveeno bath soak for Miss J once, and it was basically oatmeal. Now, when she has irritated skin (diaper rash...
Put a rubber band around push toy wheels to slow them down01 Feb 08 | Comments: 5
Regina's got a smart hack for early walkers: When kids are first learning to walk, their push toys generally go too fast. To slow my daughter down I put rubber bands around the front two wheels and now she is...
Toddler-friendly tofu26 Jan 08 | Comments: 25
People forget that tofu is fantastic toddler food. It's white, bland, nutritious, and can "hide" in all sorts of other foods. Here's Kristen's suggestion: Trying to get your baby to eat tofu? Stick it in miso soup! You can buy...
Keep bedside Pedialyte chilled in an ice bucket25 Jan 08 | Comments: 3
From the very resourceful Jess: Our 10 month-old daughter has a nasty bug ... a cough, accompanied by some flu symptoms. So we're giving her Pedialyte. But when she wakes up coughing in the middle of the night, she wants...
Use a kitchen timer to simplify potty training24 Jan 08 | Comments: 11
Prompted by recent kitchen timer conversation, Andy shared this wonderful story about using a timer to help with potty training: In the process of potty-training our son, we had gotten stuck for a while at the point where he agreed...
Pack a bathrobe for the pediatrician's office16 Jan 08 | Comments: 9
As we're on a bit of a roll with the sick kid-related hacks, I thought Emily's would fit right in: Now that it is cold and flu season, I find myself taking my daughter to the doctor more often. Many...
How to make baby nose-wiping...fun?16 Jan 08 | Comments: 17
Scott's come up with a way to make the inevitable snotty nose-wipe tolerable for his baby: My ten-month-old daughter has a terrible cold right now, and she has developed a fear of the nose wipe. Anytime she sees me coming...
Prolong handwashing with a song15 Jan 08 | Comments: 7
Several Parenthackers have mentioned this particular trick in the comments of other posts, but I felt it bore repeating given cold-and-yuck season. From Heather: This is the time of year where germs take up residence at our home and refuse...
Bedtime sore throat soother: Warm milk and honey14 Jan 08 | Comments: 17
Coughs abound this time of year. Here's Melissa's soothing remedy: Here's a great way to soothe a sore throat without having to resort to medicines.... Microwave a mug of milk as you would to make hot chocolate. But instead of...
Safety followup: Letting babies sleep in car seats12 Jan 08 | Comments: 4
Many of you commented with safety concerns about a recent hack that suggested letting newborns sleep in their infant car seats. Jennifer sent me a link to this article explaining why car seat sleeping can lead to breathing problems, especially...
Movie-inspired dinners: Ratatouille19 Dec 07 | Comments: 4
Rosemary's story gives us eggplant-lovers hope: With all this talk about sneaking healthy food into our children's meals, the Disney/Pixar movie Ratatouille provides us a wonderful opportunity to get our kids eating healthy without all the trickery. I started making...
Christmas tree light switch delights kids AND protects the tree19 Dec 07 | Comments: 7
Christmas tree light switches are yet another way toddlers can get safely (well, relatively safely) involved with the tree. Your mileage may vary given the activity level of your toddler, but both Christy and Carly have had good luck: From...
How to make flu shots less scary for kids18 Dec 07 | Comments: 12
Shots are scary. No two ways about it. But the anticipation of shots makes it so much worse. Here are some smart ideas for making shots as innocuous as possible (and, yes, I tried to come up with a pun...
Childproof your Christmas tree with jingle bells15 Dec 07 | Comments: 4
David childproofed his Christmas tree by installing a festive "toddler alarm system:" My wife and I have a very inquisitive (and smart) 2 year old boy and a large artificial Christmas tree. We were concerned that he might be tempted...
How to administer eyedrops and take the temperature of a squirmy toddler? Talk amongst yourselves.14 Dec 07 | Comments: 23
We've been felled by illness around here, too, so I feel Jenna's pain: We've just had two rounds of ear infections and pinkeye with our 14 month old. Any suggestions for how to take a squirmy toddler's temperature or how...
Fitness First exercise ball winner!12 Dec 07 | Comments: 1
What fantastic ideas you shared for staying active indoors when the weather outside is frightful. Highlights: Dance parties Hullabaloo (we like playing this, too) Tag Pillow fights Obstacle courses and mazes Let your kids follow along with your exercise routine...
Kids' exercise ball good for fun and fitness11 Dec 07 | Comments: 97
Of all the toys we've tested this year, the one that gets the most consistent and varied play is a kid-sized exercise ball from First Fitness. Not only is it good fun to roll around the basement, it encourages both...
BabyLegs: More than just baby leg warmers06 Dec 07 | Comments: 146
Baby leg warmers? Who would think that such a simple, obvious idea would be such a godsend? Nicole Donnelly, apparently. Not only did she come up with the idea to keep her daughters' legs warm during "nakedy time," she has...
Sanitize pacifiers while on the go05 Dec 07 | Comments: 3
I'll bet Sarah's son had the best breath in playgroup: Here's a tip on keeping binkies (pacifiers) somewhat clean in public. My son would never tolerate his binky being clipped to his person, so I was forever picking up, rinsing...
Toddler Spanish practice with Professor Pocket04 Dec 07 | Comments: 55
hedra here, helping out with a review. [Hooray! The more hedra in the world the better. -- Ed.] Because I tend to write huge long content, I'm putting the 'bottom line' stuff up front - you can read on for...
Amazon formula rebate ends this Friday27 Nov 07 | Comments: 5
Just a reminder that Amazon's deal on Similac, Isomil and PediaSure products ends Friday, 11/30. The deal: spend $119 on selected products, enter the code SIMNOV07 at checkout, and get an instant $20 rebate (and free shipping).
How to remove a band-aid painlessly27 Nov 07 | Comments: 3
Rachael shares her solution to an age-old problem: Here’s my hack for removing those pesky band-aids that kids love to put on and HATE to have taken off: If you dip a cotton ball or q-tip in oil (olive or...
Handkerchiefs are gentler on runny noses than tissue18 Nov 07 | Comments: 16
Grandpa was right! From Kelly: Here's one hack that my sister-in-law taught me. It may be obvious, but I thought it was helpful. When your child gets a cold, instead of using tissue after tissue all day (leaving piles of...
MotherTalk review: The Daring Book for Girls16 Nov 07 | Comments: 39
By now you've certainly seen the turquoise cover of The Daring Book for Girls sparkling on the bookstore feature tables and the bestseller lists and the morning shows and YouTube and the blogs. Whereas The Dangerous Book for Boys was...
Give kids pill-swallowing practice with Red Hots candies16 Nov 07 | Comments: 11
Another brilliant hack from veteran Parenthacker Jill (and it's yet another way to use up your kid's Halloween M&Ms): The tequilla shot medicine hack made me remember having to learn to take pills when I was a kid. Because Sudafed...
Deceptively Delicious: A Parenthacker sneaks and tells12 Nov 07 | Comments: 25
We recently talked about all the controversy surrounding the release of Deceptively Delicious, the cookbook that advocates hiding vegetables in kid-friendly food. When I asked for Parenthackers' first-hand tales, JT wrote this gem of a sum-up: My guess is, if...
"Build your own" dinners simplify meals for folks with allergies12 Nov 07 | Comments: 4
Shauna's DIY dinner hack: My son and I have several food allergies while my husband and daughter do not, so to avoid making three different dinners every night, we've implemented one or two "Create Your Own" nights. We use pita...
Baby Daze helps you track the details during those hazy newborn months06 Nov 07 | Comments: 96
Oy, I get tired just thinking of those newborn months the first time around. There seemed to be so much to remember -- when did he last nurse? when did I give him the Tylenol? who bought him this hideous...
Tequila-drinking rules for giving medicine06 Nov 07 | Comments: 5
From Antares (an "Austin hackin' mama"): I knew the college drinking days would come in handy for something someday. Remember how if you took a shot of tequila and made sure to drink something else *before* you swallowed again it...
Red popsicles help reduce the trauma and drama of a bloody lip02 Nov 07 | Comments: 6
Dave has discovered a perfectly good reason to keep the freezer consistently stocked with Haagen-Dazs bars: Hersch did a face plant and bit his inner lip pretty badly. There was a lot of blood and he wasn't up for letting...
Soothe a fever with a damp washcloth kept bedside31 Oct 07 | Comments: 4
kittenpie's bring-down-the-fever hack: To help comfort a kid with a fever, one of the great things is of course to run a damp cloth over their forehead, neck, and limbs. My child's bedroom is not near the bathroom, though, so...
No-spill car breakfast: oatmeal in an insulated mug24 Oct 07 | Comments: 5
I discovered this while camping, and then again while rushing out the door to get my late-risers to school: oatmeal is the ideal on-the-go breakfast, especially when served up in an insulated travel mug. Oatmeal stays hot, can be eaten...
Keep that maternity jacket! Fits perfectly when your baby's in a front carrier.23 Oct 07 | Comments: 7
Doesn't really matter if the baby's on the inside or the outside, does it? From Cathy of Chief Family Officer: This seems like a pretty obvious idea so it may have come up before, but it was new to me...
Halloween hack: Give toys instead of candy23 Oct 07 | Comments: 27
One way to avoid leftover candy is to avoid candy altogether. Says Judi: No candy at our house. Stickers or doodads from Oriental Trading instead! Anything leftover goes into the arts and crafts bin for use throughout the year. Bonnie...
Squid Soap: good idea, poor execution22 Oct 07 | Comments: 19
I was recently sent a review sample of Squid Soap by the makers of Airborne. The parent hack potential was high: the idea is that kids "ink" their hands with the built-in stamp, then wash with the soap for 20...
Cool Mom Picks: Safer Toy Guide19 Oct 07 | Comments: 5
Holiday toy shopping may be a little trickier this year, what with all the recalls. If you're not sure where to begin, start with the Cool Mom Picks Safer Toy Guide. Believe me, these fabulous women know their stuff. From...
Chew on This: Teething Bling18 Oct 07 | Comments: 5
When my son was an infant, I often found myself wearing a big multicolored teething toy on my wrist like a giant clown bangle. It was practical, but it definitely lacked style- especially on the days I forgot to take...
Calm coughing without medication15 Oct 07 | Comments: 18
With infant cold medicine being pulled from the shelves, and the safety (and usefulness) of regular cough medicine in question, it's good to have a few cough-suppressant hacks up one's sleeve. Here are Christiane's: Our oldest son (of three children)...
Dry erase marker on the bathroom mirror: an all-purpose noteboard09 Oct 07 | Comments: 9
It's cold season again and, right on schedule, we're all sniffling around here. So was Tiffany and her family, and here's how she kept track of all the medicine doses: My entire family was sick last week (me, my husband...
Use old mattresses as jumping pads03 Oct 07 | Comments: 24
Debbie's response to a recent IKEA mention: My three-year-old son wet his inexpensive toddler mattress (SULTAN BLUNDA) all the way through (yeah, he's got talent--as does my husband for forgetting to put a pad on it that day). We replaced...
Baby bottles make good infant medicine travel carriers02 Oct 07 | Comments: 0
Gretchen's simple solution for keeping sticky medicine droppers and bottles together: I hate that the Infant's Motrin doesn't have an integrated dropper, because the bottle and syringe get separated so easily. I tried keeping it in a small plastic bag,...
Tie-down straps make dining room chairs unclimbable02 Oct 07 | Comments: 14
John's "foil the climbing toddler" babyproofing: My first son was very tall as a toddler and an excellent climber. Whenever he was being 'too quiet' we would find him climbing onto the dining room table and often spinning the hanging...
Singing scales while brushing teeth01 Oct 07 | Comments: 8
Toothbrushing + toddler how-to, from Rachel: My daughter is 2.5 and is able to regularly brush her teeth, but does not always want to. If I want to get in there to finish the job, I encourage her to open...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Tricks for keeping toddlers hydrated31 Jul 07 | Comments: 6
Beat the heat with some kid hydration hacks, from Sara: We're traveling in the very hot and dry country of Turkey this summer with a two year old, and have found the following to be helpful in keeping her hydrated:...
Freeze old teethers for cool boo boo relief22 Jul 07 | Comments: 4
Good thing Sara didn't throw out all those old teethers: Remember those water filled plastic teething toys? My daughter is well passed teething, but I popped them into the freezer and now when she has a "hurt" I offer her...
Homemade stairway gate? Talk amongst yourselves.04 Jul 07 | Comments: 24
Katherine needs some Parenthacker ingenuity! I need help with a bottom of the stairs gate....and not just any stairs; these have a (thin!) metal banister (there is a wall along the other side). Ideally, we'd keep the gate open when...
Advice for expectant parents: Bring your pediatrician's number to the hospital01 Jul 07 | Comments: 5
Wow. These hacks have really been taking me down memory lane. I, too, had some scares in the hospital, no doubt magnified because I was recovering and hormonal and (!) a new mom. Great advice, Sara. I find myself giving...
Brush toddlers' teeth with two toothbrushes26 Jun 07 | Comments: 5
Here's how Becky avoids toothbrushing battles: I use two toothbrushes. One I give to my son so he can brush his teeth while I take the other one and brush his teeth at the same time. I used to let...
Use Lunapads postpartum to save money and resources24 Jun 07 | Comments: 14
Lunapads are washable, reusable menstrual products -- the feminine hygiene equivalent of cloth diapers. I've had several friends tell me how wonderful they are in terms of comfort and value, and then Kelly wrote in saying how useful they'd be...
Keep important medical and legal documents handy on a keychain USB drive23 Jun 07 | Comments: 13
Kate came up with a smart "paperwork" hack: Because we both take medications, and both have living wills and powers of attorney on each other, we decided to get keychain USB drives to keep them handy. We're going to be...
Reuse infant incline pillow when your toddler has a stuffy nose22 Jun 07 | Comments: 6
Kris found a good use for her baby's old crib wedge: When my son was an infant he had a major spitup problem, so we bought one of those foam incline pillows for the crib (they go under the sheet),...
Use an airline baggage tag as temporary ID15 Jun 07 | Comments: 1
Here's how Gillian helps make sure her son is findable in crowded airports: We've traveled a lot with our 4 and a half year old son and I'm always worried that he will get lost in the airport. On one...
Baby jumper helps facilitate toddler foot soaks14 Jun 07 | Comments: 1
Should your toddler ever require a pedicure or a medicinal treatment (as Maia's son did), do this: My son had an injury to his toe when he was 18 months old, and we had to soak his foot in epsom...
Essential "dangerous" skills for boys and girls? Talk amongst yourselves.11 Jun 07 | Comments: 69
Silly me! I've got a perfectly lovely copy of The Dangerous Book For Boys sitting here waiting to fly into the hands of one lucky Parenthacker! My intention was to give it away in conjunction with my interview with author...
Video iPod helps pass stressful waiting room visits10 Jun 07 | Comments: 8
Fish recounts: Our 3 year-old son had a nasty ear infection. Usually he does OK at the doctor's but by the time the urgent care opened in the morning he was in a state. I remembered the Video iPod on...
Plan for common mishaps with the help of your pediatrician09 Jun 07 | Comments: 1
Beth's wise suggestion for making the most of your child's routine visits to the doctor: I have learned to end our well-baby doctor's visits with this question to the pediatrician: "What do you get the most calls about from parents...
Preview family movies without sitting through (or paying for) them twice23 May 07 | Comments: 5
Just in time for the summer movie season, inconsequentia's hack for checking out movies before taking the kiddies: We've long been looking for a way to check out some aspects of certain films before deciding whether to take the children...
Scented lip balm as personal air freshener22 May 07 | Comments: 2
Marie's hack made me smile because both my kids are very sensitive to smells. We often choose restaurants based on our kids' first sniff once inside the door. I read Parent Hacks almost daily but didn’t think I had anything...
Keeping little fingers safe from closing car windows22 May 07 | Comments: 7
It's all too easy to absent-mindedly close the rear car windows without first doing a finger-check. Hence Tim's wise advice: With the spring weather, our three year old daughter has taken to having her car window open. When trying to...
Gas drops dissipate bubbles in formula19 May 07 | Comments: 5
From Laura -- a mother of triplets, who can use every extra minute she can find: If you're mixing large batches of formula you are well aware of the foam that appears and takes forever to dissipate! Another triplet mom...
Just moved? Double-check the screws on self-assembled furniture16 May 07 | Comments: 3
Gretchen offers extremely important advice for families who've just relocated: We've finally dug out from the mountain of boxes from our move, and have found that the screws on a lot of our furniture managed to back themselves loose during...
Plastic clothes hangers prevent door slamming12 May 07 | Comments: 3
More low-tech babyproofing, this time from Erika: Our kids - 3yrs and 16 months - love to slam and close doors. This often was resulting in pinching, banging and little ones locked in rooms they didn't want to be in....
Heal minor scrapes at the Body Shop06 May 07 | Comments: 2
Here's one of the ways veteran Parenthacker Jill (who now goes by Atlanta Jill) soothes owies: My crying son and his curious friends reminded me of a common hack we use around here: when some part of their body gets...
Apply lip balm while they're sleeping03 May 07 | Comments: 5
Kim and Lou say: Our daughter is going through a "licking lips" phase which is giving her a rash around her mouth. When we apply Aquaphor she licks it off. Our daycare woman suggested to apply it to her lips...
Probiotic cure for colic?02 May 07 | Comments: 7
Hedra uncovered research that points to a probiotic as a promising treatment for infant colic: Okay, so my kids are too old now to benefit much from this (at least in this form). But having learned (the hard way, with...
Schedule your kid's sick time!28 Apr 07 | Comments: 3
Smart advance planning advice from Laura: Babies have immunizations at 2, 4, 6, 12, 15, and 24 months (your doctor may vary). The shots may cause your baby to be feverish, cranky or tired. If you can, schedule these appointments...
TV Turnoff Week: What's your plan?23 Apr 07 | Comments: 25
It's TV Turnoff Week, and parents all over the country are shaking in their boots wondering what life without "screen time" will look, sound and feel like. I'm one of those parents. Compared to the national stats, we don't watch...
CleanWell: All-natural hand sanitizer22 Apr 07 | Comments: 6
I'm a well-documented lover of hand sanitizer, but I can't say I'm fond of the alcohol smell or the sting that comes along with it (if you have a little scrape on your hand, and what kid doesn't). The folks...
How to get toddlers to spit out the toothpaste? Talk amongst yourselves.20 Apr 07 | Comments: 19
Kristen asks: Can anyone suggest how to get a toddler to spit out the toothpaste? I use such a small amount of toothpaste that it's not much of an issue around here. Any ideas?
Pacifier encourages babies to swallow medicine18 Apr 07 | Comments: 5
They don't call it "The Plug" for nothing. From Ashley: My two month old has bad gas and we have been giving her gas drops, but as soon as we put them in her mouth she spits them out. So...
Dog bed as staircase landing pad18 Apr 07 | Comments: 6
Michele of I Got Two, Babe came up with this answer for the baby + stairs problem: We have almost 2-year old twin boys who have been fascinated with the stairs since they could crawl to them. We have them...
Track medical history with Excel16 Apr 07 | Comments: 7
Kelly's hack makes me realize that I'm doing a better job tracking my car's maintenance records than our own health history: I started taking note of my kids' medical histories when my oldest was a wee guy, but in notebook...
When does parenting get easier?11 Apr 07 | Comments: 10
Fascinating discussion going on at The Juggle about which parenting years are the hardest. I find myself crawling toward the end of my day, bone tired, and when I finally make it to bed, I'm asleep in minutes (my kids...
Relocating with a toddler? Talk amongst yourselves.05 Apr 07 | Comments: 13
Sean just got a new job, and he, his wife, and their two year-old son have moved to a new town. The going is rough. Says Sean: The poor little guy just will not stop acting out and crying at...
Nosefrida nasal aspirator: A Parenthacker tells all04 Apr 07 | Comments: 12
Heather was the lucky winner of the Nosefrida nasal aspirator we gave away back in February. She's since had a chance to try it out, and here's what she had to say: First, the good: easy to use, easy to...
Mighty Tite keeps car seats secure03 Apr 07 | Comments: 18
[UPDATE: Be sure to read the comments on this post; several parents suggest the Mighty Tite can actually overtighten the seat belt and be unsafe. -- Ed.] There was a time when I could never seem to get my son's...
Make an ice pack out of hair gel or corn syrup31 Mar 07 | Comments: 4
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...
Track medicine dosage with a reusable chart30 Mar 07 | Comments: 1
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...
Gmail and digital pictures allow working parents to collaborate on health remedies30 Mar 07 | Comments: 1
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...
Add prune juice to formula to keep newborns regular28 Mar 07 | Comments: 12
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...
Athletes: Chocolate milk is as effective as sports drinks27 Mar 07 | Comments: 10
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...
Add a homemade "alarm" to your bedroom door20 Mar 07 | Comments: 5
An interesting twist on babyproofing (kid-proofing, really), from Leah: I am a parent of a five year-old who is blind and nonverbal, but much sneakier than you might think. As we live in an apartment, we needed a cheap and...
Use blue painter's tape to babyproof a hotel room10 Mar 07 | Comments: 7
Kristin's eminently practical travel babyproofing hack: Not quite sure why I didn't send this in when I first had the brain spark, but we realized too late that our trip to China to pick up our son would have been...
Cornstarch gets Vaseline out of hair28 Feb 07 | Comments: 6
Lisa of Lil Duck Duck says cornstarch gets petroleum jelly, Vicks Vaporub, and other oily, sticky substances out of your kid's (or your) hair. Details on her blog.
NoseFrida nasal aspirator: revolutionizing the snot sucker28 Feb 07 | Comments: 69
Ah, the nasal aspirator. This ubiquitous bit of baby gear has a place in most nurseries for good reason: babies inevitably get congested and must be "suctioned" so they can breathe properly while they nurse and sleep. Problem is, most...
Airborne: Does it help your family avoid colds?25 Feb 07 | Comments: 32
We're battling the round-robin rhinovirus around here...the cold that infects one kid, then another, then me. It seems that no amount of hand washing, Purell, or general voodoo is keeping us healthy. All except for one of us...my husband. He...
Bottle nipple as medicine dispenser21 Feb 07 | Comments: 4
Cathy came up with an ingenious medication dosage hack: So they sell those nifty baby medication pacifiers where you crack the thing opened, put in the medicine, and in somebody’s dream world, the baby peacefully sucks the medicine down no...
"Scrub" toothbrushes and toys with denture cleanser tablets21 Feb 07 | Comments: 8
Soni ("A devoted, albeit child-free, reader") offers this cleaning advice: To clean toothbrushes, I put them in a clean pasta sauce jar or some other container where I can cover them with hot water, drop in a denture cleaning tablet...
What are your "secret ingredients" for a quick, home-cooked dinner? Talk amongst yourselves.20 Feb 07 | Comments: 31
Sara's meat soup recipe caused her to wonder what other people's "secret ingredients" are. Hers are: Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes, bagged fresh spinach, frozen half-baked bread (La Brea makes some, but I've started seeing generic brands in the grocery...
Lead in vinyl lunchboxes: A bigger problem than we first thought19 Feb 07 | Comments: 13
Some time ago, we talked about the presence of lead in some soft vinyl lunchboxes. The topic came up again for me based on this GNM Parents post -- apparently the Consumer Product Safety Commission statement I cited in my...
Getting kids cooking17 Feb 07 | Comments: 2
We've got the kids' cookbooks covered...what next? Dori Young of Kids Cooking offers this advice if you're not sure where to begin: I feel that your kitchen is the ideal setting to teach and learn. Kids respond to learning through...
A better way to ice burned fingers14 Feb 07 | Comments: 12
From Kip: A friend's 2 year-old touched a hot stove burner. Our friend immediately started trying to put the hurt fingers under cold water, but the child wriggled and protested that the cold water didn't feel good. The child's grandma...
Breastmilk as cure for an eye infection11 Feb 07 | Comments: 10
My pal at urbanMamas cured her son's eye infection with a well-aimed squirt. Her pediatrician and pharmacist later confirmed that, yes, breastmilk is indeed a well-accepted cure for eye infections. Will the wonders of breastmilk never cease? Tags: Breastfeeding, Breastmilk,...
Soft rope "lowers" stairway banister for toddlers10 Feb 07 | Comments: 11
My friends are getting used to me prowling around their houses with my camera phone exclaiming, "Hey! That's a parent hack!" This time, it was some low-tech babyproofing in the form of a length of soft rope tied to the...
Making medicine go down a little easier09 Feb 07 | Comments: 2
Bob found that the gentle approach helped the medicine go down: I've got a 13 month-old who is once again on antibiotics. In the past, getting him to take "the pink stuff" from a syringe has been a struggle but...
Eucerin cream gets rid of baby's saliva rash05 Feb 07 | Comments: 16
Christine from BebeReviews.com found a solution for her baby's teething-induced saliva rash: My pediatrician recommended Eucerin cream (not the lotion -- big difference). I applied the cream on my baby's skin after his bath -- it was super-thick like paste....
How much time with your kid is enough?03 Feb 07 | Comments: 12
There's a fascinating discussion going on at the Wall Street Journal blog The Juggle about how much time working parents can and/or should spend with their kids. Is one hour per day enough? Two? I've been reading the comments, many...
When pediatricians make mistakes01 Feb 07 | Comments: 7
This is why I love Dr. Parker so much. He talks openly about the fear of misdiagnosing a patient, and why the willingness to face that fear is ultimately better for his patients (and their parents). I'm no medical expert,...
Nesquik chocolate syrup gets hypoallergenic formula down the hatch31 Jan 07 | Comments: 10
Michael offers this "whatever works" hack for making hypoallergenic formula palatable: Our son, Curious Boy, has Bovine Protein Intolerance and so could not consume anything with any beef, dairy or soy products. My wife breastfed him exclusively until he was...
No-chemical head lice treatment28 Jan 07 | Comments: 11
We've talked before about using Cetaphil as a non-toxic lice treatment, but Suzanne takes it a step further: she uses a nit comb and plain water. The details are on her blog.
Use extreme caution when giving cough- or cold medicine to children under 227 Jan 07 | Comments: 5
My father in-law, a well-respected family doctor and extremely conscientious grandparent, passed along this article based on a Medwatch alert from the FDA. According to the alert, the risk of overdosing infants and toddlers with over-the-counter cold and/or cough medicine...
Toilet training rewards that don't involve candy17 Jan 07 | Comments: 33
Jill's brilliant take on toilet training bribery (we expect nothing less from her at this point): Here's my best potty training hack. It worked for #1 and #2 is loving the process and doing well so far. I bought large...
Gum wrapper fun16 Jan 07 | Comments: 2
The other day I was cleaning out the disaster area that I like to call my office, and as I was gathering up some gum wrappers to throw in the trash, I suddenly remembered that childhood, time-passing activity of the...
Write medicine dosage amounts on the bottle with a Sharpie10 Jan 07 | Comments: 9
Serena wields the ever-powerful Sharpie for yet another hack-worthy purpose: I recently came up with yet another great use for a Sharpie - writing my son's medicine dose on the bottle. He's only 17 months, and so for most medicines...
Adrienne gets creative with a swim noodle20 Dec 06 | Comments: 3
Through a series of circumstances, hacker-extraordinaire Adrienne of Baby Toolkit was left with "half a noodle to contemplate." The result? Some inspired babyproofing. Tags: Baby, Babyproofing, Parenting, Swim noodles
Hearing protection muffles teething baby wails19 Dec 06 | Comments: 13
When Adrienne of Baby Toolkit passed along this hack, I admit I snickered a bit. Hearing protection? Really? But, you know? Those baby wails can set one on edge like nothing else, and the more I thought about it, the...
Moxie's Holiday Gauntlet series12 Dec 06 | Comments: 0
Moxie's got a wonderful series of posts up on common holiday bugaboos: Santa, and related confusion Christmas tree management Gift issues Stress on kids during holiday visits The kid who licked the pole in A Christmas Story Tags: Ask Moxie,...
CPSC website lists toy recalls and product safety news11 Dec 06 | Comments: 2
My friend Jason (of Platial) has been watching the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission RSS feed of child product and toy recalls, and has been shocked by the sheer volume of stuff deemed unsafe. Definitely worth a look during...
Car travel safety: what to do if you're stranded? Talk amongst yourselves.06 Dec 06 | Comments: 6
Merlin of 43Folders has started a fascinating discussion about the ingenuity of Kati Kim, who, with her two children, managed to survive nine snowy days stranded in their car with little food. (James Kim, the father, is still missing and...
Lead in Christmas lights?26 Nov 06 | Comments: 7
In case you missed Maggie's comment on the post about lead in Halloween toys, I've decided to promote it to the front page. Thank you, Maggie, for letting us know about this. Unfortunately, there are many hidden lead dangers that...
Timestrips tell you how long food has been in the fridge16 Nov 06 | Comments: 3
Whitney passed along an interesting find, which I was about to balk at ("bah! Masking tape and a Sharpie is good enough for me!"), but then I took another look and thought it might actually be useful in some situations:...
Smaller dose of "children's" medication can stand in for the more expensive "infant" version16 Nov 06 | Comments: 15
A big money-saver (one you'll appreciate if you've ever dropped several bucks on a miniscule bottle of Infant Motrin), from Jeff: Okay, here's my hack. But you gotta be extra careful because it deals with administering medications to infants. The...
Hand wipes as dashboard cleaners08 Nov 06 | Comments: 5
AJ of Thingamababy on the ever-handy wipe: Here's a tip I wish I realized a year ago. I'm big on using handy wipes or hand sanitizer in the car when food is involved. After a wipe is used by a...
Bendy straws help the medicine go down07 Nov 06 | Comments: 10
Heather (aka hedra, creator of the no-sew Halloween costume and other hacks) sent along this most-excellent tip, just in time for sickie season: My almost-2-year-old twin daughters are at the 'ME DO IT!' stage, in a big way. They're also...
Lead in vinyl lunchboxes?02 Nov 06 | Comments: 5
LaReen passed this along: I found this today and thought that it was interesting. It says that vinyl lunch boxes could contain small amounts of lead. I thought that it would be good to let other parents know. Lead! In...
Watch out for lead in Halloween props and toys26 Oct 06 | Comments: 1
The folks from the Sierra Club passed along this info about lead in Halloween toys. Interesting, unsettling stuff, and worth sharing: With Halloween just around the corner, we’re trying to get the word out about toxic toys and toy jewelry....
Social networking site for parents: Maya's Mom launches today25 Oct 06 | Comments: 6
Social networking sites for parents are hot, hot, hot! New entrant Maya's Mom launched today, and it looks great. It shares some features with MothersClick, namely, that you can create private discussion spaces for your offline groups, and you can...
How do you dole out the Halloween candy?24 Oct 06 | Comments: 12
Moxie guest-starred on Kristen Chase's ClubMom blog, The Mom Trap, last week, and shared her suggestions on distributing the Halloween haul of sweets. I generally let my kids (7 and 3) have a piece after lunch (or after school) and...
Halloween Fairy swaps candy for toys24 Oct 06 | Comments: 3
Jackie Weissman of Rock Mama Films invites the Halloween Fairy to swap her son's candy for a new toy every year. Her son is thrilled with the trade, and the candy parade is over before it starts. (In some families,...
Make healthy snacks easiest to grab22 Oct 06 | Comments: 5
This barely counts as a hack given how simple and obvious it is...or perhaps that best qualifies it as a hack, come to think of it. I find that my kids and I are most likely to snack on the...
MotherTalk Blog Book Tour: Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler19 Oct 06 | Comments: 2
Parent Hacks is a stop on the MotherTalk Blog Book Tour for one of the first books in Ann Douglas's new Mother of All Solutions series: Sleep Solutions for your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler. I don't think Ann would mind...
MothersClick: new networking site for parents17 Oct 06 | Comments: 5
Launched today: MothersClick, a new site for sharing ideas, creating private discussion groups, and generally hanging out together online. Cool Mom Picks has already done such a good job describing MothersClick I'll send you there for the lowdown. Founder Andra...
Happy hydration hour12 Oct 06 | Comments: 9
SJ (who isn't living up to the URL given the excellent hack) keeps the kid in fluids: Happy hydration hour: I used to worry excessively about hydration with my oldest when she was throwing up or otherwise ill, and I...
More on hiding, er, integrating vegetables into kid-friendly food05 Oct 06 | Comments: 0
Which is not to say veggies aren't kid-friendly. But still. From Momcast: Inspired by the crudite post, I've written about my favourite way of getting veg into my 3 yo: hiding them in the food! [Note bagged spinach alert. --...
Bring a familiar night light along while traveling04 Oct 06 | Comments: 0
Rachael's sage advice: All the discussion on the contents of our diaper bags made me think of two staples we recently added: We went to Costco and bought an 8-pack of these night lights (much cheaper at Costco). We keep...
Another (smart) mom's take on how to deal with picky eaters27 Sep 06 | Comments: 8
I love Chris's practical parenting blog In the Trenches of Motherhood. One of her commenters described her as "the big sister who knows all the answers." Now she's talking about what to do with the picky eater (which I can't...
The "Eat What We Eat" Rule? Talk amongst yourselves.19 Sep 06 | Comments: 31
I'm 1/2 Indian and 1/2 Jewish. If that's not a genetic setup for food appreciation, I don't know what is. I grew up eating and liking almost everything my parents put in front of me, whether it was my Dad's...
Healthier chicken noodle soup15 Sep 06 | Comments: 3
Shannon dresses up vegies and leftovers with chicken soup: My children love Campbell's soups, specifically the chicken variety: chicken noodle, chicken & rice, chicken & stars. But they are high in sodium and fairly low in nutritional value. I add...
Quick Serve Kids: Helping parents navigate the world of fast food14 Sep 06 | Comments: 4
By this point, many of us have seen Super Size Me and read Fast Food Nation. I can safely assume that none of us prefers to serve our kids fast food. And yet we do it anyway. Sometimes the drive-thru...
More good lunchbox ideas from Foodmomiac14 Sep 06 | Comments: 0
Continuing the lunchbox idea thread, here's Danielle's wonderful post on the topic at Foodmomiac. Tags: Feeding kids, Lunch, Lunchboxes, Parenting
Crudite platter encourages kids to eat their vegies13 Sep 06 | Comments: 4
Laura finds that her kids love snacking from a huge, colorful platter of cut, raw vegetables with dip (also known as crudite). Check out the enviable photo of her little boy considering the celery. Tags: Feeding kids, Parenting, Vegetables
Put spinach in fruit smoothies12 Sep 06 | Comments: 9
At the risk of reproducing Ask Moxie item for item here on Parent Hacks, I just had to share today's post -- Moxie confirms that you can't taste spinach when it's blended in a smoothie (she includes some nice looking...
The Zero Boss on shedding parent pudge12 Sep 06 | Comments: 0
Few parents can let their kids' uneaten lunches "go to waste." Add to that the challenge of finding time and/or motivation to exercise, and you have a recipe for parental pudge. Jay Allen, aka The Zero Boss, has plenty of...
Kid-sized ice cream sandwiches10 Sep 06 | Comments: 3
Summer's not over yet -- there's still time for ice cream! Laura cuts packaged ice cream sandwiches into smaller portions with a cookie cutter. Less messy and a more reasonable size for her little boy. A money-saver, too. Tags: Feeding...
Chilly diapers soothe sore bums08 Sep 06 | Comments: 4
Sarah's memory of postpartum recovery led to this brainstorm: My toddler had a diaper rash and would not put a diaper on for anything. We tried putting him in the bathtub, smeared him with every cream known to man, and...
Gmap Pedometer calculates the distance of your strolls02 Sep 06 | Comments: 2
Rookie Mom Heather found this juicy morsel: Gmap Pedometer. Apparently it's a tool for runners to measure the length of their routes, but Heather used it to figure out the walking distance to a friend's house. Sure, a regular, old...
The Modern Girl's Guide to Motherhood01 Sep 06 | Comments: 31
An embarrassingly long time ago, the publisher of The Modern Girl's Guide to Motherhood sent me a review copy, asking if it might be of interest to Parent Hacks readers. "Absolutely," I said with good intention, and then proceeded to...
Plastic clamp as quick babyproofing tool01 Sep 06 | Comments: 0
Mark found a great tool for low-tech babyproofing: We discovered a great way to block off Zen from areas like the TV and the steps, places that standard baby gates just can do the job. We got some all-purpose plastic...
Potty training: a personalized photo tutorial31 Aug 06 | Comments: 12
We've all got our potty training tricks. Kirsten made an illustrated potty-training guide for her son: here's a potty-training hack that i'm using for my son. i took pictures of him in all the steps of going potty and then...
Real moms on TV: 'Surviving Motherhood'26 Aug 06 | Comments: 2
Here's what Stephanie (Crazy MomCat) has to say about the new-ish TLC show, Surviving Motherhood: While setting up my DVR to record my latest t.v. obsession (What Not To Wear), I stumbled across a little show that looked interesting. So,...
What are the best parenting and baby-care books? Ask Moxie.25 Aug 06 | Comments: 10
As you know, I'm wary of most "expert" parenting books for the same reason I'm wary of most get-rich-quick or lose-weight-fast schemes: they promise a lot, they provide black-and-white answers, and they require you to subscribe to a certain dogma...
KidSmart Vocal Smoke Alarm24 Aug 06 | Comments: 6
My kids have been knows to sleep through the shrill sound of the smoke detector, so when I saw this at Babygadget I was fascinated. The KidSmart Vocal Smoke Alarm allows you to record a personalized alarm sound: a message...
Lavender and tea tree oils: may be unsafe for babies21 Aug 06 | Comments: 3
Lisa's got eagle eyes: just saw the following from the Washington Post, which made me think of the "natural insect repellent" hack from a few weeks back. Sounds like it'd be best to avoid lavender and tea tree with babies,...
Family room "dance party" lets you exercise with your kids15 Aug 06 | Comments: 1
Karen Rani, author of the lovely Troll Baby, has a great tip for family fitness: I find that exercise equipment can be dangerous around a curious toddler, and walking with the stroller every day is good, but gets old fast....
Turning a newborn12 Aug 06 | Comments: 8
Mikko sent me this hack when her baby was barely two days old: When you're handling the baby on a nursing table, you'll often need to turn the baby around from one side to the other. The obvious way to...
MotherTalk Blog Book Tour: The Ghost in the House10 Aug 06 | Comments: 2
Parent Hacks is the fourth stop on the MotherTalk Blog Book tour for The Ghost in the House: Motherhood, Raising Children, and Struggling with Depression by journalist Tracy Thompson. My own transition to stay-at-home motherhood was rocky, and at one...
How to choose good-quality childcare01 Aug 06 | Comments: 6
Sara shares her fantastic research process for finding good-quality daycare for her daughter: I was a bit thorough about researching childcare for my daughter. Questionaires? Check. Spreadsheets? Check. State licensing & inspection reports? Check. What I learned from the whole...
Fitness jar motivates little couch-potatoes26 Jul 06 | Comments: 0
Dumb Little Man (who's not so dumb, obviously) passed along a great idea [via Lift]: keep kids interested in active play by filling a "fitness jar" with exercise and activity ideas. Each kid chooses a slip, everyone participates and cheers,...
Homemade, natural insect repellent25 Jul 06 | Comments: 4
From Heather, just in time for summer camp-outs: I have a pseudo-hack. It’s a recipe for all-natural bug repellent and it works as well as “Deep-Woods Off." I found this recipe many years ago in a local newspaper. The article,...
Keep your house cool(er) with foil-covered windows21 Jul 06 | Comments: 11
The whole country's getting baked! Here in Portland it's supposed to top 100 degrees today, so everyone's busy closing up their houses to keep cool. Just read this tip in the paper: Indoor blinds and curtains don't keep sun's rays...
Barbecue safety tips11 Jul 06 | Comments: 0
From Dana at Mombian: Thought I'd pass along these barbecue safety tips from the NYFD. I particularly like the one about drawing a safety zone with chalk so kids have a visual deterrent to keep them away. (No substitute for...
Spin him right round, baby, right round09 Jul 06 | Comments: 5
Allen sent in this tidbit (and the post title inspired by the catchy 80s Dead or Alive tune), from What's Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life (Lise Eliot):...
Childproofing on the cheap07 Jul 06 | Comments: 2
Sara's friend had some good ideas for cheap babyproofing: Visiting a friend who's had to childproof quickly (adopting a 1-year-old would do that, wouldn't it?) he shared a couple a tricks: You can buy mesh strap material in bulk (like...
DIY babyproofing04 Jul 06 | Comments: 2
Nick posted pictures of his various homemade babyproofing hacks -- including one absolute failure. (Those darn kids.) More childproofing/babyproofing hacks: • Tennis balls babyproof sharp table corners • Hairbands as lightweight cabinet locks • Low-tech babyproofing: Keeping doors shut Tags:...
Firework safety03 Jul 06 | Comments: 0
Dana at Mombian posted some sobering statistics on fireworks safety, and reminds us to take care when combining kids with explosives. She also points to a good list of tips from the National Council on Fireworks Safety. Have a happy...
Homemade, healthy "Lunchables"30 Jun 06 | Comments: 1
This from Andi: Lunchables are a favorite snack for many kids these days. Unfortunately, they can be expensive and are very high in sodium and preservatives. You can pack a healthier, and less expensive, version using whole wheat or multi-grain...
Spray bottle as portable air conditioning29 Jun 06 | Comments: 0
Here's how Kirsten keeps the kids cool on summer outings: I've gotten in the habit of taking a spray bottle filled with water with us whenever we go on hikes, to the zoo, or the park. Babies can't regulate their...
Forget the spoonful of sugar. Stickers make the medicine go down!27 Jun 06 | Comments: 2
Here's how KS gets the medicine to go down: My four-year-old has just been prescribed 10 days of antibiotics. With twenty doses that need to go down the hatch, I anticipated much begging, bargaining, and other tricks to get her...
Dr. Parker on why parents should obsess about sun protection26 Jun 06 | Comments: 4
Dr. Parker at WebMD (who I heart) explains why it's so important to put enough sunscreen on our kids, and to reapply it throughout the day. He even used the word "obsessive," which, coming from him, says a lot. I've...
Parenting's printable health and safety guides25 Jun 06 | Comments: 0
Christy passed this along: As commercial and preachy as Parenting magazine can be sometimes, their website has a section with some handy, cool printables. Tags: Health, Parenting
No time for exercise? You may already be exercising more than you think.14 Jun 06 | Comments: 4
Andi reminds us that running around after kids is exercise: Clip a pedometer to your waistband when you get up in the morning. You'll be amazed by how many steps you take on an average day chasing the kid(s) around....
On "crying it out"09 Jun 06 | Comments: 13
How to get kids to sleep -- one of the most heated parenting debates out there, with polarized camps on both sides. One groups says, "Let them cry it out! They must learn to soothe themselves!" The other says, "Nurture...
'Psychology cream' soothes away owies01 Jun 06 | Comments: 6
Karen has a lovely remedy for whatever ails her kids: This was passed on to my by my mother, and I fondly remember it from my childhood. Whenever my kids have a bump or bruise or sore tummy and they...
Helpful tips in Real Simple Family01 Jun 06 | Comments: 5
Uber-hacker Sara passed this along: Real Simple Family (magazine) had a number of hacks that I thought my fellow parent hackers would like: 1) Box4blox.com -- Lego storage that "sifts" legos by size (smaller legos fall through to subsequently lower...
Homemade Pedialyte-type rehydration solution30 May 06 | Comments: 0
Awhile back I passed along a Blogging Baby link on making your own rehydration solution for flu-ridden kids. Laryen commented that sugar (not Splenda, as in the BB recipe) is an important ingredient. Here's another option, from my (well-spoken) friend...
Keep a mini medicine/hygiene kit in your diaper bag22 May 06 | Comments: 3
Amy passed along a tip for keeping the diaper bag (relatively) organized: It seems like we can never find what we're after in our diaper bag, so we keep a small zippered case (I think ours was originally a brush/comb/nail...
'Fast Food Nation' author comes out with new book for kids20 May 06 | Comments: 2
You're convinced about the deleterious effects of fast food. But what about your kids? Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, has just come out with a new book aimed at 9- to 15-year olds. Chew On This: Everything You...
Quick, healthy breakfast ideas18 May 06 | Comments: 13
Here are Sara's: Growing up, my mother always fed us quick, healthy breakfasts before school. One of our favorites was breakfast tacos (I've seen these called breakfast burritos outside of Texas). On the weekend, she'd make up a big batch...
Strollometer gives you exercise stats as you stroll16 May 06 | Comments: 4
For all you gadget-hounds, here's a nifty accessory for your Baby Jogger (or any other stroller, for that matter). The Strollometer attaches to your stroller and tracks your mileage, speed, distance, and time, and even displays the time of day...
Sunscreen primer13 May 06 | Comments: 4
Now that we've seen more than 24 contiguous hours of sun here in Portland, we're ready to break out the sunscreen and beach umbrellas. Shetha at urbanMamas has written up a detailed primer on choosing and using sunscreen. I learned...
Compressed air de-barfs electronics12 May 06 | Comments: 2
How's that for a post title? This super-practical tip comes from Alec, the "geeky dad behind Rookie Moms": Recently our baby had the 24-hour stomach flu which culminated in him vomiting all over his activity table. The table is electronic...
Snot-wiping best practices10 May 06 | Comments: 8
You heard it here first, folks. (Thanks, Sara!) This is kind of silly, but.... If you wipe noses straight down, you'll pull more snot out of the nose and not end up with slime spread all over baby's cheek. Tags:...
Timing visits to the pediatrician06 May 06 | Comments: 4
Sara passes along this time-saver: If you schedule visits to the pediatrician's office for first thing in the morning or immediately after lunch, you'll usually have a much shorter wait because they won't be as backed up. Tags: Parenting
Baby feeder converts to teething icepack06 May 06 | Comments: 6
Sandy weighs in with her teething hack: If you used the baby fresh food feeders for your infants, you can use them again as ice packs for your teething toddlers. My son's molars have just begun to surface, and it...
Fascinating discussion on gender happening right now05 May 06 | Comments: 0
In case you missed it, I wanted to call your attention to an amazing discussion going on in the comments on Blog Book tour: It's A Girl. Brian kicked off an excellent dialogue about kids' gender identities -- check it...
Make your own drinkable yogurt04 May 06 | Comments: 6
Moxie, of the indispensable parenting advice site Ask Moxie, makes her own drinkable yogurt: Drinkable yogurt is delicious but super-expensive and sugary. To make your own less expensive and less sweet drinkable yogurt, buy regular flavored yogurt and cut it...
When they laugh, the toothbrush goes in04 May 06 | Comments: 2
Swan's trick for brushing her son's teeth: My son, The Voice, fights me about everything. He thinks its fun to, for example, 'fight-dress,' which is he tries to kick me while I'm putting on his pants. I don't know where...
In praise of boredom02 May 06 | Comments: 6
From the time they were toddlers, I've involved my kids in the best, most challenging, mind-expanding extracurricular activity around (and it's free!): boredom. Our family needs a lot of unplanned, unscheduled time to maintain our balance, so at the moment...
For the inevitable "bloody mess"29 Apr 06 | Comments: 5
From Jennifer, in the "why didn't I ever think of this" department: I have a handful of black and navy washcloths that I save for cuts, scrapes, and bloody noses. When I'm wiping up the kids (now 3 and 5),...
Pasta and juice that contains protein and vegies?29 Apr 06 | Comments: 4
Kristen (Cool Mom Picks, Motherhood Uncensored) seems to have read my mind in the protein-and-vegie department: 1) For kids not eating enough protein but who love their pasta (or mac n' cheese), try Barilla Pasta Plus - it has around...
A trick for getting medicine into babies29 Apr 06 | Comments: 6
Via Sara: The nurse at our pediatrian's office taught us a trick to get infants to swallow medicine: blow in their face. It surprises them so much they swallow as a reflex. We also used this, with moderate success, to...
Another reason to take Ziplocs on your road trips27 Apr 06 | Comments: 6
...because they make the best barf bags. Lisa provides the gory details, in case you're not convinced. Read on if you must. On a recent car trip, we found yet another use for the omnipresent Ziploc bags. The gallon size...
Target's prescription bottles simplify measuring and dispensing medicine26 Apr 06 | Comments: 9
Sara puts in a vote for Target's innovative prescription medication bottles: Target's pharmacy puts inserts into their liquid medicine bottles that let you get the medicine out by inserting a needleless syringe and turning the bottle over -- no mess,...
Cold washcloth helps teething25 Apr 06 | Comments: 3
Crissy found a way to entertain her baby and help his teething at the same time: In the morning I usually have a wrestling match with my 10 month-old when it comes time to get dressed. He is also teething...
Babies and dirt go together just fine25 Apr 06 | Comments: 3
A recent study suggests that early exposure to allergens strengthens babies' immune systems and protects them from allergies and asthma later on. Read Dr. Parker's entire "Healthy Children" post on the topic (there are a couple caveats), then throw away...
Apple as baby teether22 Apr 06 | Comments: 10
From Tim: Our one year old daughter has found a favorite way to sooth her sore mouth when she's teething. We buy small apples in the grocery store, peel them whole, and then our daughter grabs the whole thing and...
Low-tech babyproofing: keeping doors shut22 Apr 06 | Comments: 2
Here's how Amie keeps toddler fingers safe from pinchy doors: When we did our babyproofing we were unable to install commercial door handle latches because most require removing the doorknob/handle, and ours are very difficult to remove. Our cheap, easy...
Handy book for when you're trekking in Nepal with your kid21 Apr 06 | Comments: 4
Tiffany has traveled all around the world with her son, and, in fact, just got back from a solo trip to Nepal with him (he's six). Here's her reference book advice: What altitude is too high for a one year...
Podcast on getting children to eat well21 Apr 06 | Comments: 2
Sara says Dr. Fuhrman's podcast at DiseaseProof.com contains a bunch of good hacks for getting your kids to "eat healthy." Tags: Feeding kids, Health, Parenting
Mixture of white and brown rice goes down easier20 Apr 06 | Comments: 6
My kids routinely balk at brown rice, no matter how much I tout its whole-grain goodness. Refined white rice meets with total approval, of course. My compromise: a half-and-half mixture of cooked white and brown rice is white enough to...
Thingamababy has advice for parents-to-be19 Apr 06 | Comments: 2
AJ at Thingamababy posted ten bits of advice for parents-to-be, and would love to hear others' thoughts on the topic. Tags: Baby, Newborns, Parenting
Favorite alterna-meats19 Apr 06 | Comments: 16
We're connoisseurs of vegetarian meat alternatives. Fake hot dogs, vegie burgers, and other faux flesh has gotten more palatable over the years. I'd go so far as calling some products crave-worthy. If you're vegetarian, or your teenager is vegetarian, or...
Make your own oral rehydration solution13 Apr 06 | Comments: 1
Speaking of stomach bugs, a while back Sarah of Blogging Baby posted a recipe for homemade Pedialyte-type rehydration solution using Kool-Aid and salt. Tags: Health, Pedialyte
Stomach bugs and popsicles12 Apr 06 | Comments: 1
Lisa Donovan wrote a great hack on Jon's FamilyResource.com blog about how to help children recover from stomach bugs by giving them homemade yogurt popsicles. Technorati Tags: Health
Now I really heart Dr. Parker11 Apr 06 | Comments: 0
Got this note today from Dr. Steven Parker, author of the WebMD blog Healthy Children, in response to my mushy post about him a while back: Just wanted to say thanks for the kind words about my Blog at WebMD!...
365 First-Time Parenting Tips10 Apr 06 | Comments: 0
New dad Classic Jef has committed himself to writing up a full year's worth of tips for first-time parents -- in real time. Go to: 365 First-Time Parenting Tips Tags: Baby, Parenting
Mommytips.com07 Apr 06 | Comments: 0
Here's another parenting tips site -- this one geared toward stay-at-home moms, but with some useful tidbits for most parents. Technorati Tags: Parenting
Use a mirror to check on your baby in the backpack06 Apr 06 | Comments: 1
Craig devised a "rear-view mirror" solution for keeping an eye on his daughter while she rode in the backpack: My daughter is 3, but I thought I'd share a hack I used when she was less than a year old....
Let them eat seaweed05 Apr 06 | Comments: 0
Stacey Greenberg, creator of the beautifully illustrated Fertile Ground zine ("for people who dig parenting"), offers tips for adding mineral-rich seaweed to your child's diet. Technorati Tags: Feeding kids, Seaweed
Advice from the original Hip Mama05 Apr 06 | Comments: 3
Ariel Gore, creator of Hip Mama: The Parenting Zine, and author of a memoir (Atlas of the Human Heart), several parenting books (The Mother Trip, The Hip Mama Survival Guide, Whatever, Mom), and a new novel (The Traveling Death and...
Multi-purpose shopping cart seat cover04 Apr 06 | Comments: 1
Julia took the problem of crufty shopping carts into her own hands: The one thing I can't live without is my shopping cart cover. I modified a pattern that I found in my local sewing shop and it now goes...
Mailing labels heal imaginary boo-boos03 Apr 06 | Comments: 0
Jill discovered a Bandaid stand-in: I have a two year old with constant "boo boos" that need bandaids to get better. Few of these are actual wounds, but all of them need some love for recovery. Since real bandages aren't...
Working Mother's Guide to Life03 Apr 06 | Comments: 0
Sara's favorite "preparing for parenthood" book was The Working Mother's Guide to Life. Written by the founder of the Bright Horizons daycares, it is full of very logical, practical advice like "There's no one way to do this," "The three...
How to brush your child's teeth03 Apr 06 | Comments: 0
The Blogfathers on toothbrushing. Lots of common sense tips, and some conversation and myth-busting around flouride. [Thanks, Sara.] Technorati Tags: Toothbrushing
Trixie Tracker: for the obsessed parent who has everything02 Apr 06 | Comments: 7
Taking care of a newborn brings out any latent obsessional tendencies lurking in the recesses of your brain. Between lack of sleep and debilitating infatuation, the details of your baby's physical comings and goings can take on monumental importance. When...
When the Tooth Fairy forgets to visit01 Apr 06 | Comments: 3
I'm proud to report that the Tooth Fairy has never actually forgotten to visit in our house. On one heart-pounding occasion, she did have a close call during the wee hours of the morning, but we don't talk about that....
Put several crib sheets on at the same time01 Apr 06 | Comments: 4
Sara offers this excellent crib-making advice, which I can attest to, having recently dealt with a bout of stomach flu around here. Sigh. In those first months, when you find yourself changing crib sheets a couple times a night, consider...
Cut baby's fingernails while she's in a front carrier29 Mar 06 | Comments: 8
Sara passes along a tip for easing fingernail trimming: Cutting our baby's fingernails was the one of the more scary tasks we confronted as new parents: squirmy baby, sharp pointy things, restained limbs. It literally took 4 hands, and even...
Administering eyedrops to kids28 Mar 06 | Comments: 7
Found this in the March 2006 issue of Parenting magazine. Would have been handy when Luke had pinkeye last year. "To give my kids eyedrops without the hassle, I have them sit up and I very gently pinch each lower...
Mom's and Dad's comforting styles differ, thank God22 Mar 06 | Comments: 4
When one of our kids has a boo-boo (physical or emotional), I soothe them with hugs and sympathy. "Awwwwww," I croon while rocking my babies on my lap. "I'm sorry you're hurt/frustrated/mad." Lots of sniffing and patting and passing of...
Track your kids' medicine doses21 Mar 06 | Comments: 4
Dana and her partner keep a running log of their son's medicine dosage, so everyone knows who's taken what when. Technorati Tags: Health
St. Patrick's Day is the perfect opportunity for green food17 Mar 06 | Comments: 1
Lots of people posted their hidden vegie tricks in the comments on Green mac-n-cheese, but I thought Jill's was worth highlighting on St. Paddy's Day. When my son was in preschool, the annual March 17 snack was green mashed potatoes,...
Time to relax about the kids' finicky eating11 Mar 06 | Comments: 1
I've recovered from my Brussels sprouts funk just in time to read Elizabeth Roca's fantastic "Sugarplums" in the latest issue of Brain, Child. She examines the roots of her toddler son's food fetishes (lime yogurt, cream cheese and jelly sandwiches,...