WASHINGTON — Children don’t come with instruction manuals, but life with little ones can be easier with some simple tricks.
“Parenting is a series of best guesses,” said Asha Dornfest in her book Parent Hacks – 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids. “Raising kids reveals our hidden problem-solving ninja.”
Dornfest says a volunteer Parent Hacks community worldwide provides tips and discoveries on child rearing challenges that fuel her blog and inspired the book. Some “hacks” are:
- Apply lotion to hands before finger-painting for smoother post-project paint removal.
- Put cupcake liners or coffee filters in car cup holders for easy cleaning
- Wrap big rubber bands around slippery shampoo bottles
- Use a pillowcase as a bassinet mattress cover
Another challenge is getting food and gunk out of tight spaces, such as the crevices of a high chair.
“One parent discovered that if you wrap a toothpick with the corner of a baby wipe, you can use it to scrub those little corners,” Dornfest said. “I thought that was completely genius. Obviously, you can use it anywhere else too.”
- Use a shot glass as a toddler drinking glass
- Wrap hot water tap with a red ponytail holder
- Tighten tank top straps by connecting them in back with a hair barrette
- Shorten pants by folding under with first aide tape that stays put in the wash
There’s an easy way to keep shampoo out of babies eyes when rinsing their hair.
“I think my mother-in-law came up with this one,” Dornfest recalls. “You hold a dry washcloth on the baby’s forehead when rinsing out shampoo. “It soaks up the water. Their eyes and face stay dry.”
- Put ketchup on the bun first, then the hot dog
- Wash small toys in a mesh lingerie bag in the dishwasher
- Cover trampoline springs with cut sections of a pool noodle
- Use an empty tissue box to contain ‘used’ tissues. Tape empty and full boxes together.
Infant car seats can be a challenge to clean.
“It’s not a question of ‘if’ a diaper blowout will happen — which is a spectacularly messy diaper leak — it’s ‘when’ it will happen,” Dornfest notes. The hack is to line the seat with a disposable waterproof puppy training pad. “So that should the inevitable happen, at least you won’t have to wash the car seat completely, given that you’re already going to be washing your baby.”
- Clean up glitter with play dough
- Clean out kiddie pools using a kitchen strainer
- Cover hotel power outlets with adhesive bandages
- When swimming keep valuables hidden in a disposable diaper
- Prevent light strollers from tipping with ankle weights on front wheels
Dornfest is constantly on the lookout for new solutions and encourages parents to share ideas on social media using the hashtag #parenthacks.
