Sometimes, raising kids feels like I’m starring in Girl, Interrupted.
Because what works for one family or one kid doesn’t necessarily work for another (hence: psychotic break). And of course, kids are always growing and changing. My two daughters are now 5 and 7 and verrry different from each other. Things that work for a while sometimes magically stop working a month later as they grow up and grow into themselves. Especially when it comes to discipline and routines, which are important but not necessarily an area of strength for me.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve tried systems that fizzled for one reason or another (often due to me not being able to follow through—mom-ing is hard, okay!). A moment of silence for everything that has gone by the wayside, including a variety of chore charts, potty-training charts, whiteboard systems, swear jars and allowance routines…I could go on.
But in the midst of it all, a few things have stuck (thank god). And I think they’ve stuck for a few reasons. One is that they incorporate a bit of fun and gamification into the ordinary or mundane. Two is that they are BRANDED.
As someone who has been in marketing for decades and has named many, many beauty products, I know the power of giving things a strong and memorable name, a look and feel, a compelling vibe. I truly think the branding aspect of these hacks has made them seem more interesting and enjoyable to my kids. And I recommend doing this with any situation your kids aren’t looking forward to. For example…
Dad going out of town → Girls Weekend! Our favorite girl movies, dance parties, a visit to the pottery studio and playdates with Mom’s friends.
Long drive → Road Trip! Special snacks, bare feet, audio stories, their favorite playlist, pillows + blankets.
Toy cleanout → Home Edit! Watch a kid-focused episode of The Home Edit on Netflix (obsessed), get pumped to organize, play music, let them make huge piles of toys, add some fun bins and go to town.
I’m sure many of you are already doing this, but I’m telling you…the NAME itself is half the battle!
Without further ado, here are four easy kid hacks that have really worked for our family and helped me stop banging my head against the wall (as much).
1. Rainbow Dinner
PROBLEM: You have little kids (or big kids, no judgment here) who are picky eaters or who you’d like to get to try new foods.
SOLUTION: A built-in dinner game that makes trying new foods more fun and less scary.
Here’s how it works: Start with your kid’s plate. Add a bit of whatever you’re having for dinner (reallly trying not to make separate dinners for everyone—no time for that). Then add small amounts of fruit, vegetables, meats, nuts, pasta or chicken nuggets, plus a few fun “treats” like Goldfish or crackers. Basically, fill the plate with at least half foods you know they’ll eat and half foods you WANT them to eat. The goal is to not have to cook anything net-new, but simply use what you have in the fridge, freezer and pantry to fill the plate.
Next, organize the foods in rainbow order. Think: red lasagna, orange butternut squash, yellow Goldfish, green spinach, blue blueberries, purple beets, brown steak, white spaghetti with cheese. These can be very small portions, depending on how much your kids eat (we’re not feeding a football team here).
Then, we play! Give the kids instructions to “Eat something the color of…” Then go around the table and have THEM think of instructions. A few examples…
Eat something the color of a stop sign!
Eat something the color of grass!
Eat something the color of a cloud!
Eat something the color of poop! (This is a real crowd-pleaser.)
Before you know it, the plate is clear, and foods my kids previously wouldn’t have touched have magically disappeared.
2. Learning Lab
PROBLEM: Your kids don’t want to read or do any type of work or homework.
SOLUTION: Create a calming time block with fun and surprises.
Listen, homework is inherently NOT. FUN. It’s just not. It’s work you do at home…after you’ve had a full day of school and are exhausted and maybe brain-dead. But it’s a necessary evil. My kids are still young, but even in kindergarten and second grade, they have some homework (reading, worksheets). Even reading can become a battle. And I’m completely over having to nag them day in and day out to do it.
I found this especially tough over the summer when they were out of school. I didn’t want three months to go by, filled with outdoor camps and family trips, without any reading, writing or learning structure. I didn’t want them to come back to school in August feeling behind or stressed. I didn’t want their learning to slip.
Enter: Learning Lab. A dedicated 20 minutes for learning. We sit down at the dining room table, and each girl has her own dedicated “stack”—homework if she has it, or, during the summer, a special notebook, colored pens and an age-appropriate workbook (provided by the school, in our case). Sometimes I’ll add a fun printable or coloring sheet that I find online (i.e., search “free printable PDF tracing for kindergarten” or “free printable PDF KPop Demon Hunters coloring sheet”). I make the kids a snack and play calming classical music.
Then we start the time cube. The time cube is KEY. The kids take turns flipping it over to start the clock on learning. The result: a finite, bite-sized chunk of time for learning that’s enjoyable for everyone.
Sometimes the kids want to keep going past the 20-minute mark to finish their projects. Sometimes it’s harder, and they’re distracted and don’t get a lot done. But the consistent name, location, snacks, music, supplies and surprises make the idea of “homework” less scary and more pleasant…for them AND for me.
3. Morning Bell
PROBLEM: It’s hard to get your kids to do all their morning to-dos on time.
SOLUTION: A simple “race to ring the bell” device.
Our school starts at 7:50 a.m., and we walk there—uphill. That means I need to get two little kids out of the house by 7:30. Which, let me tell you, is no easy feat.
Their alarm (bird-chirping sounds) goes off at 6:45 a.m. I hate to make it any earlier than that because I want to let them sleep as much as possible. By 7, we’re having breakfast, which can sometimes take a while…they like a leisurely breakfast, which I can appreciate (same). From 7:15 to 7:30, we’re getting dressed, brushing teeth, applying sunscreen and putting on shoes + socks. Then, out the door.
It’s a ton to cram into a short amount of time. And needless to say, mornings can be a bit of a scramble.
This led to Morning Bell.
We keep a bell on the console table by the front door. When each kid has finished all their morning chores (dressed, teeth brushed, sunscreen on, socks + shoes on, hair done, breakfast plate cleared, PJs in the hamper), she gets to ring the bell to signal that she’s all done and ready for school. This competition makes mornings feel like a fun race and lights a fire under the kids without me having to yell or nag. It’s also a helpful signal to me and my husband that they’re ready to walk out the door.
Any bell will do, but a fun one always helps. This set has a bunch of different-colored bells, so whoever “wins” the morning gets to choose the colored bell for the next day.
4. Doorway Depot
PROBLEM: A constant morning scramble to find everything kids need to get out the door.
SOLUTION: One central place for all the last-minute items.
This one is an extension of Morning Bell and solves a similar problem: getting out the door on time. That can be for school or literally anywhere you’re trying to go…lunch, a doctor’s appointment, a family outing, a playdate—you get it. Getting kids out the freaking door can be a STRUGGLE.
Hence, the Doorway Depot. This is a system where you keep almost everything you need to get out the front door AT the front door. That way, everyone (including you) can park at the Depot, get everything done and get out.
Here’s how it works in my house:
One basket contains kids’ socks.
One basket contains kids’ sunscreen, a hairbrush, hair ties and leave-in conditioner.
The shoe rack contains shoes.
Hooks hold backpacks, with water bottles and folders stuffed inside the night before.
One place, many things—and no more sprinting back and forth between bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen and the door.
Let me know which kid hacks have been saving your sanity lately! And please share this post if you found the tips helpful.
The rainbow food idea sounds so fun!
these ideas are genius!! adding the rainbow plate into our rotation immediately