Motherly Advice

[kschick96]

I thought it might be fun to start a thread with parenting tips and tricks that have worked for you in the past.


One thing I do is when DS is taking medication every few hours-I will get a piece of paper and log the time and med he just took. It's so easy to forget if it's time for Tylenol yet. I have found it is very helpful when you have multiple people in your house who are ill and taking different meds at different times-and it's mom's job to keep everyone on schedule!

[3timesoccermom]

My only suggestion would be to enjoy them as much as possible when you have little ones. It goes by MUCH faster than you think.

[buddysmom]

I took the front and back grill pieces off of our box fan.
Then I cut regular window screen to fit, and reattached with the grill pieces. This made sure no little fingers could get in the box fan.

I also always kept a dishtowel tossed over the top of bedroom/bathroom doors. This way if the child is playing with the door - it cant close all the way to smash their fingers. Adults can easily remove the towel if they need to close the door.

[Macaela25]

I give liquid medication in the bathtub if the child is prone to spitting it back. Easy cleanup.

I keep an extra set of clothes, diapers, wipes, water, and blanket in the car. Also since I have boys, I keep an empty water bottle hidden labeled DO NOT USE!!! in big black letters for those time when DS5 has an emergency in the middle of nowhere. DH is from a big city and peeing in the trees off the side of the road really freaks him out.

I keep my alarm on "stay" when we are at home so that no one wanders out when they shouldn't and keeps them out of the garage freezer.

Only decorate the top 2/3 of the Christmas tree, or put kid-friendly stuff on the bottom.

Banging on pianos and yodeling horrifically is good for small children. Really.

When you are in the shower, give your toddler a spray bottle of water and washcloth. They'll be entertained for days.

Teach them that using a broom and dustpan to clean up under the kitchen table is FUN!!

When you are mad at your husband, send your little ones out to "help" him wash the car or work in the yard. :D

Don't sweat the small stuff. No object, person, appointment, or obligation is more important than your babies. That automatically prioritizes everything.

[Justmeinflorida]

I give liquid medication in the bathtub if the child is prone to spitting it back. Easy cleanup.

I keep an extra set of clothes, diapers, wipes, water, and blanket in the car. Also since I have boys, I keep an empty water bottle hidden labeled DO NOT USE!!! in big black letters for those time when DS5 has an emergency in the middle of nowhere. DH is from a big city and peeing in the trees off the side of the road really freaks him out.

I keep my alarm on "stay" when we are at home so that no one wanders out when they shouldn't and keeps them out of the garage freezer.

Only decorate the top 2/3 of the Christmas tree, or put kid-friendly stuff on the bottom.

Banging on pianos and yodeling horrifically is good for small children. Really.

When you are in the shower, give your toddler a spray bottle of water and washcloth. They'll be entertained for days.

Teach them that using a broom and dustpan to clean up under the kitchen table is FUN!!

When you are mad at your husband, send your little ones out to "help" him wash the car or work in the yard. :D

Don't sweat the small stuff. No object, person, appointment, or obligation is more important than your babies. That automatically prioritizes everything.

Love it all, especially the bolded one..bahahaha. I'll remember to use it

[mom25grls]

No baby should cry, they cry for a reason so holding is GOOD! It doesn't have to be YOU holding, an old sibling works just fine! You do NOT spoil a child from holding!

Keep the older siblings involved throughout a pregnancy!!! When you go to have the baby, make sure the older sibling gets to take home a "baby" after they come to see you for the first time...they don't understand why they can't take "their" baby home with them that first time!

Let the siblings HOLD the baby no matter how old, supervision may be needed, if they have an investment in the new baby there will be less sibling problems down the road!

Don't panic! EVER! This scares the kids, even if you are scared, panicked or whatever, don't let the kids know. I once had all five kids in the basement under the stairs while a tornado blew between our house and the one next door (about a house widths between the two houses) and to keep them calm we sang 'Jesus Loves Me'. They still remember singing (and baby was 6 months old, she is 18 now) but don't know why we were singing it so loud. I got my fear out without scaring them!

[gettingwiser]

I love reading all this advice, it is all great! My little ones are still very little (4 & 1) so I only have a few bits of advice from what I have learned so far:

-Relax!! This was a biggie for me, with my first I was always worried about him not eating enough, not sleeping enough, if I produced enough breast-milk (went to 3 dif. lactation consultants) and all the while my husband kept telling me to just relax. I wish I listened then, when my 2nd came along, I did relax & it has made a huge difference for me, I am not stressed & have come to enjoy him and my older one much more.

-Don't push too much-we waited to potty train my oldest until he was 3 yrs old, even after most of my friends were already PT their little ones at 2 (and they had a huge amount of accidents all the time), I knew my son was not ready, and waiting made it much easier. All kids are different, but for my oldest, with his personality I can't push him or he just wont do it, so I've learned to give him time & he will get it.

-The power of forgiveness is amazing with children-we all make mistakes, and when I have made them with my oldest (like losing his favorite game by accident) & I apologize to him, he is the most forgiving being I have ever known.

-Have your kids help you in the kitchen-my son loves to help me cook, it started when he was really little, I would pick him up & he loved to hold the spatula & try to stir the food. He now loves to help me make & decorate cupcakes (his favorite) and cookies, and loves to just help me put food in the pans and be my little helper. It's very messy, but he loves it & he remembers & enjoys these times we have together. It's also a great way to keep them busy & they get such a sense of accomplishment from helping out.

-If you have a stressful day, just take your kids with you outside & play ball or just run around. It's amazing how little things make them happy, and how easily your stress goes away playing with them and laughing!

[LHath6]

Whenever they fall do not automatically rush to their side. Wait a second. If they look at you and you look scared or automatically run to them they will cry. If you give them a second, chances are they are not hurt bad and will get up and continue what they are doing. I am not saying ignore them everytime they fall but you can assess the situation to see if they are really hurt or not. Don't ignore scrapes and cuts but don't rush over and make a big deal out of it. The less drama, the less tears.

[Macaela25]

I second this after teaching preschool/kindergarten for 20 years. Kids will automatically look at you to gauge YOUR reaction to what happened to see what they should do. Unless they are seriously bleeding, my words are "Get up....you're OK." Then I calmly call them over to assess. If they can't walk over, I know it may be a little more serious unless they are a complete and total drama queen (or king...there are a few).

Whenever they fall do not automatically rush to their side. Wait a second. If they look at you and you look scared or automatically run to them they will cry. If you give them a second, chances are they are not hurt bad and will get up and continue what they are doing. I am not saying ignore them everytime they fall but you can assess the situation to see if they are really hurt or not. Don't ignore scrapes and cuts but don't rush over and make a big deal out of it. The less drama, the less tears.

[Justmeinflorida]

I have 4 children and raised 6....I'm 36 and they're SS's 22 & 18 (ex's sons and they still call me MOM ) and DS#1 15, DD#1 12, DD#2 9 and DS#2 3mo.

My only advise is don't sweat the small stuff...pick your battles! Kids will be kids. Enjoy them while you can because they grow up way to fast