3 Parenting Hacks I Probably Shouldn’t Admit To
But they work.
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My child sleeps in his daycare clothes.
If you have a toddler, you know everything becomes a power struggle — they want to have more control over their environment and make their own choices. Rightly so. This can be anything from what coloured plate to use to what t-shirt they want to wear.
I like giving my child the freedom to choose (most of the time). But, I found weekday mornings to be challenging. When there’s somewhere to be at a specific time, my stress levels ramp up.
My son would always resist getting changed before daycare. He then started demanding soccer t-shirts only! So, I decided to start dressing him in his daycare clothes the night before. Sometimes, he strips off in the evenings and chooses new clothes himself. Either way, I simply pop a nappy on before bedtime and let him sleep in whatever he is wearing.
The next day, I add a fresh pair of undies and (as long as he doesn’t spill breakfast down himself) he is clean and good to go! This hack saves me considerable time and stress in the mornings.
I keep ice cream in the freezer, always.
My son loves ice cream, and every day, he will ask for one regardless of what time it is. I mean, why can’t he eat ice cream for breakfast? Who made that rule? He has a point.
So, I decided to keep an endless supply of fruit or milky ice lollies in our freezer. I hide the box under other frozen items, and after lunchtime, put one lolly in the ice tray section each day. He can then open the tray and help himself.
This hack is my attempt to create a healthy boundary around sweet foods without restricting them or calling them ‘treats’. If my son goes to the freezer for ice cream in the morning, there’s none there. If he goes later in the day, he’ll find an ice lolly waiting for him.
If he requests an ice cream while we are at the park or beach (and I’d rather he didn’t have one right away), I often say, ‘I’ve got an ice cream for you at home’ — satisfying his desperate need to eat one immediately, while teaching him about waiting for things he wants.
