To disguise toy storage in your living space, use wicker baskets or trunks.
Make a child's purse by cutting out the two back pockets of a discarded pair of jeans and sewing together. Stitch on a ribbon or rope for use as a strap.
Make plants more fun in a child's room by placing some rubber worms or bugs on top of the soil.
WD-40 removes crayon marks from a variety of surfaces including walls and appliances. Be sure to wash off oily residue after using.
Instead of dying them, decorate Easter eggs with crayons.
Remove crayon stains from clothes by adding 1 cup of baking soda and your favorite detergent to the washer and washing on the hottest setting.
To easily remove stickers from a variety of surfaces, warm them with a hair dryer to loosen the glue.
For easy wall decorations in a child's room, cut out pictures from a magazine and decoupage to the walls.
Help encourage children to eat salad by crushing some of their favorite chips and sprinkling on the salad.
Take care of clutter in the family vehicle by once a week having each child carry into the house one item for each year of their age.
The least healthy cereals are at eye-level. Since the healthiest ones are usually on the lowest shelves, picking out a healthy cereal is a great task for a toddler
Give kids a 10 minute warning before it’s time to start getting ready for bed, then set a timer. When it goes off everyone knows it’s time for bed.
Find ways to empower kids with choices as they get ready for bed. For example, you can let them choose which pajamas to wear or whether they’d rather bathe or brush teeth first.
Consider having an older sibling read a bedtime story to the younger ones, this promotes bonding, empowers young readers and allows you to get something else done while you listen in.
When bedtime is near, stagger tasks that need parental help with those that kids can do independently so that one child can do something alone while you help another with a task that needs your attention. Then you can switch off and help the other child.
If your child struggles with anxious thoughts when it is time to go to sleep, consider giving him/her an idea of something pleasant and calming to think about. Ask him/her to think of all the animals you can find at the zoo or all of the things in your house that are yellow.
Playing soothing music at a low volume as kids wait to fall asleep can set a restful mood and discourage talking between siblings who share the same bedroom.
Remove crayon marks from a wall by using a hair dryer to warm and soften the wax so you can wipe it right off.