![\"surprising](\"https:\/\/cupofjo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Baby-yawning.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\nWhenever I meet a fellow mom, I feel like I\u2019ve struck gold, since I know that during 20 minutes of chatting, they\u2019ll probably end up dropping a legit helpful parenting hack. On that note, I asked a few parents their tried-and-true tips, and here\u2019s what they said\u2026<\/p>\n Something I\u2019ve learned myself:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Always keep small trash bags on hand \u2014 in your car, in the stroller, in your bag. Diaper blow-outs happen when you least expect it, and having a having a bag to throw it in when there are no trash cans available lowers stress levels by 1000%.<\/p>\n From Angela<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. When our children are within earshot, my husband and I will let them overhear us talking about them in a good way. I\u2019ll call out something like \u2018Did you notice how Alo tried hard to put on his shoes this morning?\u2019 or \u2018Did you notice that Talula created an art piece today?\u2019 Kids love hearing you brag about them!<\/p>\n From Miranda<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. Bibliotherapy is great for young children, of course \u2014 like prepping a preschooler for moving houses with picture books<\/a> \u2014\u00a0but there are wonderful chapter books out there, too. If your nine-year-old is struggling with a dyslexia diagnosis (Fish In a Tree<\/a>), or your 10-year-old has a chronic illness (Not Quite a Ghost<\/a>), or your 12-year-old is grieving a family member (Show Me A Sign<\/a>), books can open up conversations about hard things and help your kid feel less alone. <\/p>\n 4. My partner and I say \u2018thank you\u2019 to each other for making dinner, and now our children do, too. It goes a long way towards making me feel warm and fuzzy, and also helps them to understand the care and labor that goes into putting food on the table every night.<\/p>\n From Destini<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n 5. As parents, we try to stay calm, but you don\u2019t need to be perfectly regulated when parenting. Narrating your emotions out loud \u2014 like saying, \u2018I\u2019m feeling frustrated, so I\u2019m taking a deep breath before I speak\u2019 \u2014 helps your child learn what to do with big feelings. Kids can see how regulation works in real life and realize that emotions aren\u2019t scary or something to suppress; they\u2019re just signals to slow down and make a choice. <\/p>\n From Mo<\/a>: <\/strong><\/p>\n 6. Give your child a responsibility that helps the whole family. If they\u2019re older, that could be running to the corner store to get a pint of ice cream for dessert. For younger ones, that could be watering the garden. Every time I do this with my kids, they crush it and remind me how capable they are. It\u2019s also important for kids to feel like they\u2019re contributing to the success of the whole family. <\/p>\n 7. If you have a larger family, keep things as simple as possible. Our four kids have assigned seats at the table so there\u2019s no squabbling over who sits where, and the tooth fairy leaves $1 for every tooth (even though she really wanted to add sparkles and a note!).<\/p>\n From Laurel<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n 8. My kids (four and six) and I discovered the Magic Woods podcast<\/a> last year, and it\u2019s beautiful, funny and weird. There are a zillion episodes, all with the same characters, telling one super long story. The creator\u2019s voice is soothing, and he does different voices for all the animals.<\/p>\n From Youngna<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n 9. I recently took my nine-year-old to a store to find an outfit for a recital. Between hand-me-downs and COVID, she\u2019d never been clothes shopping in person, so trying on clothes in a dressing room felt thrilling. It reminded me that everything can be novel to a kid; it doesn\u2019t have to be some big adventure. <\/p>\n From Ruth<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n 10. When I feel like I\u2019ve been spending an eternity with my kid and I\u2019m counting the minutes until her nap time so I can go do the laundry\/finish the email\/go pee, I physically get down to her level and watch her. I look at her eyelashes as she\u2019s searching for a banana car on the page of a book. I watch her mouth make funny shapes as she figures out how to get a sticker off a table. I see her toes curl and uncurl as she reaches for something. Or I\u2019ll realize how much her nose looks just like mine. Being in those moments helps me remember that \u2014 sure, there\u2019s a lot to do, and this is just another day out of thousands \u2014 but seeing my kid engaging with the world (and me!) in all these little ways is a pretty incredible thing.<\/p>\n Thank you so much, parents. What would you add? <\/strong><\/p>\n P.S. More surprising parenting tips<\/a> and trying out slow parenting<\/a>.<\/p>\n (Top photo by Diane Durongpisitkul\/Stocksy. Bottom photo by Jannelle Sanchez<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"surprising](\"https:\/\/cupofjo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jannelle-Ella-scaled-1.jpeg\")
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