Parent Hacks

Use a laundry basket as a hotel bath barrier

Judy recommends using a laundry basket baby bath for her toddler at home and while traveling.

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Stretch rubber band "grips" around slippery shampoo bottles

This winning hack from Peanuts earns the FOREHEAD SMACK OF BRILLIANCE.

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How to "semi-childproof" the toilet while potty training? Talk amongst yourselves.

Christina asks: how do you make the toilet accessible for a toddler to use while potty training but not for water play?

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Little kids, public restrooms, and handwashing? Talk amongst yourselves.

Abigail's kid's too short to reach the sink in a public restroom, but she's pregnant, so picking him up and propping him against a germy countertop isn't ideal. Any ideas?

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Keep an empty soda bottle in the car for little boy pee emergencies

The title of this hack says it all (perhaps too much for some of you?), but Kim deserves major credit for sending this in. Because, come on! This is so helpful!

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Piddle Pad protects car seat from diaper blowouts

In response to a hack suggesting disposable changing pads as car seat poop-protectors, @Heatherikki pointed out a smart non-disposable solution.

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Disposable changing pad keeps car seat clean(er) during potty training

I'm sure Candice speaks from potty-training experience.

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Advent calendar as potty training reward chart

"The prospect of opening an advent calendar door for each potty success worked amazingly well to motivate my 3-year old son after chocolate buttons, jellybeans, temporary tattoos and a sticker chart had all failed. It was like magic!"

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Homemade barrette board turns hair clips into decor

Adorable + functional: my favorite combination.

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Hairspray removes temporary tattoos

Our kids love to wear temporary tattoos -- those colorful decals that go on with a bit of water. I don't mind them wearing the tattoos, but I don't like trying to remove them...

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An educational bath toy that costs pennies to make: homemade siphon

There's nothing better than a dead-simple toy that invites hands-on (or mouth-on!) experimentation. Especially when said "toy" can be purchased at the hardware store for practically nothing.

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One simple maneuver for cleaner diaper changes

Stacy has been changing diapers for seven years. That's a LOT of diapers. And she has just discovered a simple change in technique that keeps her baby's hands out of the "poop zone."

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"Paint on" diaper cream with a makeup brush

Cristina's solution to sticky diaper cream-covered hands: To keep hands (and thus everything else) clean during changes when we have to apply rash cream, I bought an inexpensive foundation makeup brush. The gloppiest cream can be applied liberally this way and the clean diaper put on without all the cream...

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Potty training inspiration: make custom underwear decals!

Becky titled this hack "Inspiring underwear." I say: inspired underwear for those who are looking to motivate beginning potty-trainers: They say you should let your potty-training child pick out some big-kid underwear at the store so that he/she is inspired to keep them dry for potty training. But when I...

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Collapsible baby wipe packages work better than travel wipe containers

Lisa says lose the travel wipe container! When I was a new mom and carried a big diaper bag with every possible baby supply, I used a plastic, portable-sized and refillable baby wipe container. The problem was that I was always worried that I would run out of wipes, and...

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