Parent Hacks

Best of Parent Hacks: Summertime edition

Asha Dornfest — 2013-07-29T05:04:00-07:00

Here you go! A nice collection of hacks that will take you all the way through summer.

I'll be here and there throughout the summer as vacations, projects and my garden come and go. Consider this my gone fishin' sign -- it will pop up when my attention leads me away from the computer. Hopefully it will give you tacit encouragement to take an Internet break yourself.

Happy summer!

Photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Summer activities

Hacks about swimming, camping, and going to the beach.

Tips for simplifying swimming with kids (at The Accidental Expert)

Summer project: homemade merit badges

Fill baby's high chair tray with water for warm weather splashing

Washing the water table is almost as fun as playing with it

Bath toys gain new life as pool toys

Old-fashioned ice crusher makes a perfect hot weather distraction

Turn the Pack n' Play into a shady hangout for baby

Mesh food covers become play tents for action figures

DIY summer bracelets

Cool Summer fun: Draw on the driveway with ice

For YOU: A summer of self-care in 6 simple steps (at The Accidental Expert)

Summer learning

8 fun and useful "chores" to coax your kids outside (at The Accidental Expert)

Summer camp fairs help kids AND parents make smart choices

How to combat summertime "brain drain?"

6 life skills your kids can learn this summer (at The Accidental Expert)

You can do it: grow a vegetable garden

Check your local library for summer reading activites

Summer organization and quick cleanup tips

Summer vacation: the big picture

One mom's DIY approach to summer: "structure, not scheduling"

How do you effectively work from home during the summer?

Tape combination to padlock so it won't be forgotten over the summer

Clean summer toenails with a toothbrush

Baby food stains come clean in a sunbath

Summer meals, snacks and treats

Instant s'mores

Coffee sleeve makes frozen drinks easier to handle

Frozen yogurt tubes stand in for ice cream treats

Cool summer snack: Frozen corn

Give 'em Popsicles that match their shirts

Juice box "wings" prevent spills

Summer health

Hot day? Store your sunscreen in a cooler bag

Put toddler girls into boys' swim trunks for extra sun and knee protection

Apply sunscreen to kids' faces with a makeup brush

Sunscreen as face paint

Nightlight on a timer tells early risers when it's morning wakeup time

Low-effort summer "fashion"

Boxer shorts and cotton undershirts make cheaper summer PJs

Cornrows make for a low-maintenance summer hairdo

See also: the piles of family travel tips in the Travel/Getting Out archive.

Changing when you're resistant to change

Asha Dornfest — 2013-07-18T10:11:08-07:00

I was talking to my mom the other day about little complications in our lives; the bad habits and sticky thoughts that periodically slow us down.

"The problem," she said, "is that I'm resistant to change."

Huh, me, too, I thought. But then I thought, Wait a minute. Aren't we all resistant to change?

"It's easy for them."

I suddenly realized my mom's internal reasoning for getting stuck (and often mine as well) was the perception that the people solving their problems were doing it without resistance. "Those people" didn't have doubts or roadblocks -- they just embraced the decision to change their lives and strode forth into the future.

But we all know that's not how it works.

Everyone who decides to change something -- no matter what it is -- must contend with the inclination to fall back on habit and to do what's already familiar. After all, safety is one of our most basic needs.

Image credit: LunchBreath.com via Creative Commons license

The fear: change = danger

Somewhere along the line, some of us equated change, even healthy change, with lack of safety. Change = danger. And Rule #1 when you're a mortal being (after you've found food, shelter, and a bathroom) is to avoid danger.

I know this is old news. There are thousands of words devoted to the value of "stepping outside your comfort zone," "thinking outside the box," and "reinventing yourself." But hearing my mom say those words, hearing how sure she was that her resistance to change was a personal failing, not a natural part of being human...well, it just hit home in the most personal way.

It made me think about my own approach to change and, perhaps more importantly, what I'm modeling for my kids.

A different way to embrace change

Whenever the talk turns to parental modeling, there's always this moment of panic: Oh, crap. I've already messed up. But I don't think we can ever be fully aware or in control of what we model to our kids. How can we monitor ourselves every moment and, frankly, why would we want to?

(Besides, modeling I-came-this-way perfection has its own problems.)

I like to think about it this way: I'm modeling my humanity -- the fact that I'm a human-in-progress. I want to show my kids that every day is a new opportunity to learn something, fix something, or appreciate where we are right now. Which means there's lots of room for error. Which means that change isn't so dangerous after all.

I may not embrace change with a big bear hug, but I don't have to fear it. I can tap it on the shoulder and say hi. When I'm feeling brave, I might even shake its hand. Who knows, I may make a new friend.

This is how I try to operate. I don't always succeed. But the not succeeding and trying again might be the most important part of the modeling.

What do you think? How do you approach change when change feels scary?

DIY window clings with fabric paint

Asha Dornfest — 2013-07-16T08:12:52-07:00

I love a craft that's really a hack for using up supplies purchased for another project.

I bought a super-cheap-on-clearance set of fabric paints for a couple bucks. We used the paint for a birthday party craft but had some left over.

(The project was "paint your own hats." It was fun AND served as a parting take-away for the guests. Just say no to goodie bags.)

One of the party guests suggested we could use up the paint by making window clings. Turns out, if you paint designs on wax paper using fabric paint, once dry you can peel them off and stick them to the window!

A couple days later, my daughter tested this theory and the results are pictured above.

Hers are simple freehand designs on wax paper, but you can also slide a line drawing into a plastic sheet protector and paint over it. You can also create marbled or stained glass effects by swirling the paint colors together with a toothpick.

Fun, quick diversion for summer and for Christmas or Halloween window decor.