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83 Parenting Hacks That Happened When Desperate Times Called For Desperate Measures
There are moments when parenting requires an absurd amount of creativity. Sometimes, getting children to eat their veggies or cooperate with everyday routines requires out-of-the-box methods.
And sometimes, those methods can be bizarre by definition. Here are some examples, shared by people on social media who have likely run out of conventional ideas.
Many of these, as you will notice, are clever workarounds you may want to try yourself. Enjoy scrolling, and feel free to upvote the ones you think are worth stealing!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I told my son bugs will go in his mouth while he’s sleeping if he doesn’t brush his teeth because they wanna eat the food that’s leftover.
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#2
I told my kids that the rainbow oil stains in parking lots are from kids who got hit by cars for not holding an adults hand.
#3
If they behave nicely from Monday to Friday, they won’t have to go to school on Saturday and Sunday.
Most of the parenting hacks on this list are unconventional because none of the parents seem to be babying their children.
Many have actually espoused an approach known as RIE parenting, a trust-based approach that treats infants and toddlers as capable, autonomous people who deserve the same respect as adults.
#5
My daughter wouldn’t take her antibiotics for her ear infection. Told her if she didn’t she’d lose her hearing. I muted the tv and just started mouthing stuff to her. She took it and I unmuted the tv magic.
#6
Give my kids each a wet wipe and let them play whoever comes back with the dirtiest wipe wins. They find the most hidden spots that I never would have gotten clean and keeps them busy forever. Saw this in a reel but my god does it ever work.
Infant-development expert Magda Gerber first introduced RIE parenting in 1973. RIE stands for Resources for Infant Educarers, a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles.
Author and educator Janet Lansbury is one of the many proponents of the RIE parenting method. As she explains, this approach builds parents' awareness by encouraging them to observe a child and give them space to show who they are and what they need.
#7
I pretend to not understand my sons homework so he will explain it to me. He teaches it to me and it helps him retain the information better. He thinks I’m rather dumb but it works, no fussing over homework anymore because the enjoys teaching it to me while he does it!
#9
everytime we brush our teeth our taste buds change so we have to retry foods to see if we still don’t like them.
“RIE parenting also makes us more self-aware,” Lansbury said. “Through our sensitive observations, we learn not to jump to conclusions; for example, that our babies are bored, tired, cold, hungry, or want to hold the toy they seem to notice across the room.”
Lansbury adds that the method also helps parents learn to differentiate a child’s signals from their own projections. In effect, they become more aware of the habits they create that can become the child’s needs.
#10
My daughters are about 18 months apart, I told the older one that every time baby sister goes potty on the big girl toilet they both they a candy. My oldest fully potty trained the baby for me and was so excited to do it.
#11
The quickest way I can get my kid to the bath or bed is to yell the British are coming in a panic. May she have a future fear of the British, yes. But it is working.
#12
Light a candle when they start eating. Whoever finishes the new item on the plate first gets to blow out the candle. My 5 year old and nearly 2 year old LOVE this challenge. They’ve eaten so many more veggies.
For parents who want to implement the RIE method into their own approach, Lansbury offered some tips. Her first piece of advice: communicate authentically.
This means speaking in your real voice and talking about real things that relate to the child.
“We encourage babies to build communication skills by asking them questions, affording them plenty of time to respond, and always acknowledging their communication,” Lansbury said.
#14
I put my phone number as the pass code on all devices. my 3 year old could call me if needed.
#15
If you don’t know which kid did something ask them all individually what the punishment should be for the thing someone done and the one that kicks the most lenient punishment did it.
Parenting doesn't come with an instruction manual (yet), and some days will require thinking outside the box. Apart from a ton of patience, that may include ideas that seem ridiculous but work really well.
Of course, not every hack on this list will work on every child. Still, you can’t help but admire the genius behind some of these ideas. Parents, have you ever come up with these unusual tricks of your own? Share them in the comments!
#16
I made potato soup with broccoli in it and we ate it by candle light so they couldn't see the broccoli. I told them we were having a fancy dinner. They raved about the soup and asked for seconds. I had made it before and they wouldn't touch it because of the green.
#17
As a widowed mom of 5 I knew I needed to spend 1 on 1 time with my kids. So I would get them all ready for school & drop them off. Then at lunch I would pull 1 child, take them out for lunch at their favorite place and do some activity. We get back to the school before it let out and then have them act like they were there all day. I called it "a secret mission". It made them feel special. They're all grown and 2 years ago they just found out that I did the same thing for all of them.
#18
My kids refuse to take any kind of liquid medicine, but they love eating a spoonful of "melted popcicle".
#19
I got a puppy and while training the puppy to sit I also accidentally trained my toddler so now at all times I keep fruit snacks with me and all I have to do is say “sit” and he stops what he’s doing no matter what and sits so he can have a fruit snacks.
#20
i told my son that monsters only show up if you pay the subscription for them and mommy and daddy don’t pay the subscription so we don’t have monsters anywhere around us.
#21
#22
I told my son when he talks to me crazy it physically makes me sick bc I’m his mom and I made him in my tummy so when he’s bad it makes my tummy ache so when he is being disrespectful or doing something he shouldn’t I start gagging. He’s 8 and it’s still working.
#23
When my son wants a toy at the store I take a picture of him holding the toy to “send to Santa” instead of buying it. Works like a charm & then when Christmas comes around I already have a list.
#24
I dance in public if my kids act up. I got so sick of the embarrassing behavior that I told them I'd out embarrass them. If they start fighting or acting ugly, I just ask them, "Y'all feel that beat?"
NO MOM GOD PLEASE NO
ok then, let's act right.
#25
Told them that when they lie their ears turn red. They cover their ears when they aren’t being truthful.
#26
The tooth fairy can’t visit if your room is messy (OSHA violation) or there’s bad weather (FAA restrictions), or if anyone in the house is actively sick (EPA rules).
#27
Sometimes when my daughter won’t leave the living room to go upstairs for bed I tell her “it’s safe upstairs” shut off all the lights super quick and start growling.
#28
If ur little one wont leave u alone and u just need space, hold a tissue. Each time they come close say "come here lemme wipe ur nose" They wont. It'll buy u 30 mins.
#29
Kids bring home SO much random artwork, coloring pages, stickers, and paper that parents don’t necessarily want to keep. Enter: Garbage Trolls.
Garbage Trolls are little creatures who live in dumpsters and can only decorate their homes with things people throw away. Unfortunately, they rarely have pretty homes because nobody throws away beautiful artwork!
So instead of throwing away your kid’s 47th coloring page, ask, “What if we donated this to the Garbage Trolls so they can make their homes beautiful?”
Suddenly, instead of having a meltdown over something being thrown away, your kid is THRILLED to donate it.
You’re decluttering, they’re practicing generosity, and the Garbage Trolls are getting an HGTV makeover. Everybody wins.
#30
My kid asks a lot of questions and it’s so over stimulating. So I have the kid record voice memos on the phone and I’ll listen to them later and we research the question. We also limited to 3 questions a day and hold question conferences. Now I have archives of kids little voice changing and thought progression.
#31
That the babadook likes to eat dehydrated children because it makes their bones crunchier so it important to drink your water so he doesn’t get you.
#32
Bed time is 7:30. Around 6 we start saying “ok, time for bed. Lets get ready” so when the toddler fights me for bed time she can “stay up later” when in reality shes going to bed on time. Works every night.
#33
I pretended to call the dentist after my son refused to brush his teeth and had a fake conversation with the “dentist” and said “I would just like to book my son in for a 26 teeth extraction tomorrow because we don’t need them anymore” my son was like why do I need to have them all removed and I replied with “because teeth are a privilege and some kids don’t have any, so we’re going to donate them to someone else”.
#34
A local babysitter keeps two toy rooms - one for younger kids and one for kids who are potty trained. Every kid begs to be potty trained so they can move up to the big kid toy room.
#35
As a teenager my mom told me that teen pregnancies, the babies are ugly. I was a virgin til I was 21…
#37
We lie and tell my son we have cameras so anytime I hear him being mean to his brothers or doing something bad I say “ok I’ll just go watch the camera” and then he tells me what he did.
#38
This probably doesn’t belong but I’m sharing anyway lol. I have a teenage daughter and every time I try to buy her clothes, she says they’re ugly, but she’s always wanting to borrow MY clothes. So I started putting the clothes I bought her in my closet and now she steals those.
#39
Christmas cleaning hack. We were given big fabric sacks and we had to fill them with toys and stuff, and leave them under the tree for Santa to collect. But they had to be in good condition, because were told that Santa would take the toys and clean them for boys and girls next year and if we put broken toys under there, we’d get broken toys the next year. It taught us to be more careful with our toys, give back to others, learn the consequences of our actions and it helped my parents declutter. Wins all around.
#40
When my kids were younger and going through something difficult, we had a tradition called a “pity party.” We’d pick out junk food, watch a funny movie, and give them permission to feel sad, frustrated, or angry…without judgment or pressure to feel better. But when the movie ended, so did the pity party. It was time to pick ourselves up and move forward. Those moments taught them that emotions should be acknowledged, not ignored, but they don’t have to define us. We could face hard things together, then take the next step, even if we weren’t completely okay yet.
#41
This is not that cool but I wish I started it sooner when my son became a teenager “how was the day?” became a quick “it was good” response. I started googling topics of interest for him like skateboarding, computer tech, music artists he liked, etc… and would say “did you see that new song so and so dropped” and we’d talk forever. Or, “did you see the new interview they did with Tony Hawk?” And he’d light up and tell me about how he watched it yesterday, etc. Lovely bonding and I was relevant in conversation to what he was interested in at the time Doing this with my youngest now and it works like a charm.
#42
when my toddler wont eat I ask her to show me how a animal would take a bite. "how would a tiger take a bite?" how would a gorilla take a bite? how would a giraffe take a bite? etc.
#43
My daughter once refused to hold my hand and ran from me, so I ran up and pushed her down, cause I would rather her get a skinned knee than be smushed by a car. So yea, i tell them “ you can hold my hand or I will push you down “.
#44
My daughter wouldn't let us take a splinter out of her foot so I told her that she would turn into a tree if she didn't let us take it out. The tree we have in the garden used to be a child called Jamie that lived in our house before us.
#45
We painted stones with gold paint so they looked like gold nuggets. Then I buried them in the sandbox, so he could play gold prospector. He could have an ice cream once he’d found all ten—I had hidden nine. After I’d finished my coffee in peace, I helped him find the tenth gold nugget worked every time.
#46
My daughter had her first friend sleepover at ours. They wanted to stay up late, so I changed our devices to a different country’s time setting so it showed as 3 hours later than it was.
#47
Whenever we’re out shopping and my daughter spots something she really wants, instead of saying a straight "no" (which often leads to disappointment or even meltdowns), we say "That looks really cool! Let’s take a picture and add it to your birthday or Christmas list!"
It works like magic.
She feels heard and included in the process. Taking a photo makes it feel official, like we’re taking her wish seriously. Over time, it’s spared us hundreds of potential meltdowns in shops.
I also keep a dedicated album on my phone and every time we snap a picture of something she wants, I immediately save it to that folder. When Christmas or her birthday rolls around, I scroll through the album and look for items that appear more than once (big clue that she really wants it). It helps filter out impulse wants that don’t stick and it makes gift shopping so much easier for us too.
#48
My son had torticollis, and couldn't turn his head to the right. The pediatrician told me to force him to turn his head every time I changed his diaper.
Obviously, he hated that, but we still had a problem. So instead of forcing him, after diaper changes, I'd put him in his vibrating chair with the TV to his right for 10 minutes. If he wanted to watch the TV, he had to turn his head to the right. He got a full range of motion in a week.
#49
One that I did with my daughter was get her to change her perspective when she was stuck on an idea.
I got her to stand up, bend over and look at me from between her legs, I did the same back. We then had a conversation like that.
It was absurd enough that she forgot what she was upset about and helped reset her.
#50
Embrace the silliness.
Make routine tasks fun where possible - they pick a 2 min song for a teeth brushing boogie dance party, put mission impossible music to tidy up a room the fastest and beat the family record (this gets old fast though if it becomes a daily thing, it’s something I’d keep in my back pocket when needed).
Adding fun and silliness is always a good trick - if you’re getting overwhelmed and want to shout at your kids, try using a silly opera singing voice. Or flip yourself upside down (downward dog style) and encourage your kids to do the same - it helps them calm down too since they’re probably high strung if they are pushing all your buttons + models better emotional regulation strategies. Sometimes doing something silly as a “time out” resets the situation and makes it easier to deal with.
#51
I avoided TV until age 2 because I read it can mess with brain development. Once we started watching TV, I discovered the show Daniel Tiger and it was a life saver. The episodes help kids identify emotions and have fun catchy songs that you can use to help prompt your child like, “Try new foods; they might taste good.” and “When you have to go potty, stop and go right away”. There’s also an app where you can pull up scenes on various topics and/or play the songs. A recent study of teenagers found that those who watched the show had more emotional intelligence and self-regulation strategies than those who didn’t. That said, even with a quality show, don’t lean on it too much.
TLDR: Watch Daniel Tiger, get the app. But don’t use TV as a babysitter.
#52
The colour hack for tantrums worked well for us at the right age. Mid tantrum you start telling them the colour of objects then after a few you get a colour wrong. She has to stop crying to be able to think about it correct you & usually the disconnect is enough to end the tantrum.
#53
My kids don't get upset when we accidentally drop food on the ground because "it's for the birds."
A few months ago, I accidentally left a whole plate of my son's favorite mini muffins on top of the car and drove away. My son was a little sad he didn't get to eat them but he thought it was great that the birds were going to have a huge party. "They're going to be talking about this day forever because usually they just get crumbs but today? They got 5 whole muffins!"
I've avoided so many toddler/preschooler meltdowns over the years. Definitely my favorite/most used parenting trick.
#54
Carrying a garlic press to restaurants to make food into baby-safe portions (steamed veggies, etc)
#55
I tell my (9, 12, and 14) year old I’m going to take a quick rest but to make sure to get me up in about 30 minutes so I can tell them the chores they need to do. Funny how they forget to come get me and I get a nice rest/ watch a show in total peace and quiet.
#57
My kids are older. I give them a “leave time” instead of a curfew and make sure they leave in time via life 360. That way they aren’t waiting too late to leave and driving 90mph to get home on time. It has worked well and created a lot less stress in our lives.
#58
My daughter hid in a clothing rack at the mall to play a trick on me. After searching everywhere, panicked, and finally finding her, I hugged her and told her I was so scared that I was lost and that she would never find me again. She saw the worry in my eyes and held my hand the rest of the time. From that point on when we'd go to a store, she would reach out and say "Mommy, hold my hand so you dont get lost".
#59
Download the tv app on your phone so you can turn the tv off from anywhere. They have zero clue that the tv doesn’t magically get too hot sometimes and it has to be off until it cools off. Less screen time without a big battle every time.
#60
I turn into the "item goblin". Sometimes toddlers be having objects they can't have and if I, mom, a human adult takes it that's tears. But if I crouch down, do a goblin voice and walk goofy or goblin-esc over to them saying "item goblin says no!!" This is silly and usually ends with laughter.
#61
my son went through a phase where he didnt like beef anymore ill tell ya what tho that kid LOVED 'brown chicken'.
#62
It’s really bad but… my mother has no teeth (from her genetics she lost her teeth at 30) so I tell my kids that if they don’t brush their teeth, their teeth will fall out like grandmas did because she didn’t brush her teeth either (mom if you see this I’m so sorry but it works).
#63
I’m a single mom and my kids don’t like to sleep alone so i put bunk beds in the bedroom along with my bed and made the room on the other side of the house their play room since it’s closer to the living room. We all have our own beds and places but feel safe and loved at night all together in one room. It may not be for everyone or forever but it works for us really well for right now.
#64
Told my daughter that boogers were farts that got stuck in her nose so she’d stop eating them.
#65
There comes a point at around 3 years old where they start to drop the afternoon nap. If they don't sleep they're feral by dinnertime because they're tired but go down easier at bedtime, if they do sleep they're easier to deal with for the evening but might stay awake until all hours.
I instigated the hour's quiet time after lunch - they didn't have to sleep, but a period of quiet downtime in the afternoon watching a movie, colouring in, reading or quiet play with their toys. It eased the transition and helped set them up for kindy which had a similar schedule.
#66
We do a “two minute cleanup” every night before bed to tidy the kids’ room. Initially the goal was for our toddler to “own” his messes and see that we all help each other out. And to see how easy it is to stay tidy if you clean a little every day. It’s become such a part of our evenings that we usually don’t even set the timer anymore.
Also we have a rule that we tidy up a toy before we get something else out. (Obviously not huge builds like a train set he’s spent two days on…) For example, we shove the Dress Ups back in their box before we get out the puzzles etc. Going to preschool reinforced this, as that’s standard procedure there as well.
#67
Countdowns as a race. Timers to give the kid something to beat. Kids have no idea what time is, so it can help put it into relation (I guess!). It's my most successful trick for getting ready to leave the house.
#68
I think this is good for both kid and parent. To help develop independence - make the kid do “minutes” or “tries” in correspondence to their age. So my 3 year old had to try his socks on his own for three tries. My 8 year old needs to look for their own water bottle for 8 minutes before asking me.
I think it’s easy for us parents to just step in and “help” and it makes our kids too dependent on us to fix their problems. They usually do it on their own within those tries. But if they do need help I still want them to come to me. It’s just a nice and easy reminder.
#69
Pretending his favorite heroes/characters had recipes for things like The Flash's favorite Lightning Lettuce™ (Caesar salad)and Hulk Sauce (very plain guacamole), there were lots more along the way but I can't remember them all. Carrots make you jump higher like a bunny, you get the idea. I lied a lot and now have a 6 year old who is a great eater.
#70
When my kid was around 6 or so we discovered a way that eliminated interuptions. If he has something to say he puts his hand on my arm. I put my hand on his so he KNOWS I know. No more repeating or getting louder or trying impatiently to wait for "one more minute". The instand feedback worked a charm.
#71
When dropping off the kid at daycare, tell them "ok, we're going to DAYCARE now! Are you ready to have fun at DAYCARE? Are you ready to see Ms. Sonia?" and so on. Getting a heads up that we are headed to daycare cut down on crying at dropoff by 97%, seriously. Sounds ridiculous because we go every day but apparently my kid wasn't totally sure where we were heading and arriving was always an abrupt surprise.
#72
I’ve given my kids both room temperature and cold expressed milk since day 1. Never bought a bottle warmer or warmed their milk up (ymmv obvs, I know some babies won’t take it cold).
I also weaponized my son about certain safety things (e.g., that he can’t wear a big coat in the carseat, or now that he’s older that he needs to wear a mask, etc.) as soon as he could talk. If he was riding with someone else and they tried to buckle him in wearing his coat, he’d throw a fit about not being safe. I also explained these things to my in laws, of course, but it was a good extra layer of protection knowing he’d throw a fit on his own behalf if anyone tried to skirt those rules. Kids LOVE enforcing rules on adults ime.
ETA: also, alarms! “Can you set a 10 minute alarm? When it goes off it’s time to put away toys/go to bed/whatever.” Helps with the transition, and also makes the alarm the “bad guy” not me.
#73
She helps me make a pour over coffee every morning, first thing. She loves “helping” and I get to have coffee very soon after we wake up. It’s taken a lot to get to this point (me working patience, her working on listening) and now I don’t really like to make a coffee without her there helping We like to smell the aroma and watch the bubbles drift up as the coffee filters through. Feels really special.
#74
If he won’t get dressed, we look up the National Day- oh look, it’s National hot dog day! Let’s find a red shirt and bun colored pants! Ohh can you find mustard socks???? Look at this hot dog guy! (Hehe just thought of ‘I think you should leave’ ).
#76
My favorite thing is having my guy tell things “bye bye” or “see you later” we started as soon as he could talk/understand and still use it as he is about to turn 3. Works wonders at the park! Okay we’re leaving in 5 mins… times up… tell the park bye bye and we’ll see you later. I swear all tantrums stopped immediately. Now we use it for screen time (bye bye Mickey Mouse) and other things too.
#77
Flip food over!
(I know I sound crazy)
Toddler was upset there was “white stuff” on their plain pancakes at a restaurant. “I’ll fix it!” and I secretly flipped them over and bam—no more “white stuff”.
Wanted a hamburger and got a cheeseburger? Flip it over!
The macaroni has seasoning on top? Flip it over!
(This is a lot of our restaurant visits—my kids think I’m a magician ).
#78
Highly suggest "dinosaur time" where you cram a handful of greens into your mouth raw and eat as much as you can.
#80
I had a customer that convinced her hyperactive son at age 5 he was allergic to sugar. He found out he wasn’t when he was 24.
#81
Fully understanding what transitions are and what a big deal they are to kids. Getting dressed is a transition. Getting out of the bath is a transition. Finishing meals. Starting meals. Leaving the house, obviously.
We forget that our kids don’t know the plan unless we actually tell them, so it’s really jarring if they’re having a great time playing while you get lunch ready then suddenly you just pick them up and plonk them in a high chair. Because they didn’t know they were playing until lunch was ready. They just thought it was playtime. When you put them down to play, say “you can play here until i’ve finished making lunch, then we’ll eat lunch at the table”. Find several excuses to remind them while they’re playing - “I’ve made us some sandwiches and now I’m cutting up fruit - when that’s done we’ll eat lunch at the table!” “It’s nearly time to come to the table and eat lunch! I’ll help you pack up in two minutes” (use a sand timer if you have one!) “the lunch is ready, let’s pack up together now and go to the table and eat!” Then as soon as you get to the table “this is good, isn’t it? When we’ve finished all our food it will be time to get ready to go to the library!” Etc etc. all day long. Make sure they always know what the next “thing” is. I first read about this when my daughter had just turned two and I figured she’d be too young for that kind of reasoning, but tried it anyway. It was LIFE CHANGING. Let them in on the plan. And if you don’t have a plan, make one up.
#82
- i keep most art supplies in the garage. Out of sight and out of mind means I can bring it out as an ace in the hole (crayons and coloring book readily available)
- I keep toys sets (legos, magnatiles, potato head) in bins in a closet with a lock. They can have 1-2 bins at a time. To get another, they have to clean up. This helps keep their interest and they actually play with the toys, sets together and I don’t have 165926 pieces around the house. They do have other toys with free access. This is just for sets with a lot of pieces.
- dinner is not a battle. I don’t care if it means I’m cooking something for each kid (2 of them) and then my husband and I. They are more willing to try new foods at breakfast or lunch and if they don’t eat as much, I don’t care. I am too tired at the end of the day to battle dinner. Full tummy for bed. Only rule is if you want dessert, you have to have a vegetable.
- snack drawer with items they can pretty much have whatever they want when they want. Various Bars, yogurt raisins, sometimes snack packs of crackers. We try to make this a healthy ish drawer. Anything we want to limit more is out of reach.
#83
Child only wants to wear his Spidey shirt? No problem, just buy fifteen different ones so he isn't wearing the same shirt every day.
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