Parent Hacks

Built-in potty seat: good for butts of all sizes

Is it weird to say I love a toilet seat? I discovered the NextStep built-in potty seat in a kid-friendly Portland cafe. It hit me just how much easier life would have been had this been in my bathroom when my kids were ages 2-5. Because potty training is just...

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My Carry Potty: for potty-trainers on the go

via www.parenting.com Sasha at Parenting's Show & Tell asks: what do you think of the My Carry Potty: brilliant or gross? No parent of a potty-training young-un has time to worry about the gross factor (didn't we get over that when they were newborns?). If you've experienced cleaning your kid...

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Painless detangling: "roll" hair instead of brushing it

Lisa tells a wonderful story about their hairbrushing-and-detangling breakthrough: Our daughter is 7 now but really it’s been probably 3-4 years that we’ve battled with the hairbrush. One of her priorities in life is to keep her straight hair long. Of course it needs to be brushed at least once...

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Homemade detangler saves money and gets the knots out just as well

Maggie's simple recipe for homemade detangler: My 4-year-old daughter still has that fine, wispy, flyaway baby hair that is a nest of tangles when she wakes up in the morning. I bought a bottle of brand-name detangler a long time ago, but have been refilling the bottle with 1/2 regular...

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In a pinch, wrap soiled clothes in a clean diaper

Tami left this tip on the Parent Hacks Facebook page: I was out and about with my one-year-old and he had a diaper blow-out. I had a change of clothes, but I didn't have a bag for the soiled clothes. What did I do? I wrapped up the soiled clothes...

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How to make a hooded towel for kids

via www.skiptomylou.org Cindy couldn't just stop at one great towel hack (linked in my post about how well the Turbie Twist towel wrap works for kids). She also made an adorable child's hooded towel out of a regular towel, a hand towel, and some rickrack. Go see! Related: Baby towels...

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Turbie Twist towel wrap great for drying kids' long hair

Have I passed some dubious milestone by recommending an "As Seen on TV" product on Parent Hacks? Hey -- a good hack can come from anywhere. The Turbie Twist is a thin, terrycloth towel you wrap around your head after you shower. If you've ever tried the same trick with...

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Cover healing umbilical cord site with a cotton nursing pad

Kim calls this the "rising moon." When I saw her hack in my inbox, I thought it had something to do with Twilight mania! Then I remembered the book is called New Moon, and that I'm not as connected to pop culture as a few other people I know. (Hey,...

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How to Keep Towels off the Bathroom Floor

via www.earnestparenting.com How did she do it? Amy details the long experiment in teaching her sons to hang up the bathroom towels. It's an interesting example of how design and functionality go hand-in-hand. In other words...make it easier to clean up and (most of the time) people are more likely...

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How to keep soapy shampoo water out of your kid's eyes

Here's how Alison got her little guy to tip his head back during shower shampoo rinses: Whenever I rinsed the shampoo out of my 4 year-old's hair he would curl his chin down to his chest making all the soapy water run down his face and into his eyes. To...

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Slow the toilet paper roll's spin to make it last longer

Rabia, I am so impressed that you took the time to send in your toilet paper-saving theory: Found this out quite by accident as my brother was doing some painting and remodeling in our bathroom. The bar that holds the toilet paper roll was covered in plaster dust and when...

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Cut your toddler's nails while he's "playing" with the computer

Another distraction-while-grooming tip! From Stephanie: Cutting nails has ALWAYS been a struggle with my son (now 2). He absolutely hated it and I was always afraid of cutting him since he was squirming so much until I found...THE COMPUTER (insert any favored hands-free distraction here. -- Ed.). I go to...

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Makeshift "peek-a-boo" nets you a few wiggle-free seconds to change a diaper

Martin's wiggly baby tip: My daughter is 8 months old and is wriggling and rolling like nobody's business - especially when we're trying to put on a fresh nappy (I guess you call them diapers). One way I've found of creating a few seconds' wriggle-free window of opportunity is to...

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Keeps kids' toothbrushes and toothpaste in reach with a sponge holder

From Nicole of Parentville: I use a flexible sponge holder for kids' toothbrush/toothpaste, since typically kids' brushes/paste are too little to fit in a taller toothbrush cup. Plus, the bottom of this holder has holes, so water is less likely to collect and can drain on the bottom. Nicole! You...

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Reuse mesh fruit bags to store bath toys (drip dry!)

I've been trying for a long time to come up with a good use for those mesh bags in which satsuma oranges come packaged. Finally! Pay dirt! They make great drip-dry holders for bath toys -- just hang the bag from a plastic suction cup hook in the shower! They'd...

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