These Dads Have Figured Out How To Hack Parenting
There's a difference between working hard and working smart, and dads have got the latter down to a science. Sometimes the best parenting techniques are invented when you're just too tired or burnt out to think of anything else. Are these parenting techniques unconventional? Absolutely. Do they work? We'll let you be the judge of that.
Keep reading to see some dads who have figured out some hacks for this whole parenting thing. Maybe you'll even get some ideas that you can use with your own kids.
Color Your Own Crib
Parents know that you can spend all the money in the world on fancy toys for your kids, but in the end, they're happy just to play with a cardboard box. It's just one of the rules of the universe. If you have a cat, the cat will sit in the box. If you have a kid, the kid will play in the box. It's as simple as that.
You can make a regular old box even more fun by giving your kids some washable markers to use while he's in the box. Now that box can really be a spaceship, or a submarine, or. secret cave.
Hack A Remote For Children
Nowadays kids are pretty good with remotes. Sometimes they're even better with them than their parents. Kids get to grow up with technology. Pushing buttons is second nature to them.
Still, while they're still learning, it's helpful to tape off all of the parts of the remote that they don't actually need to use. Then they won't mess with your TV settings by accident. This hack also works for technologically-challenged grandparents. Actually, this hack might even work better for technologically-challenged grandparents.
How This Dad Got To Sleep Through His Baby's First Photoshoot
If you don't take pictures of your baby during that first week of life, you're going to regret it. Your baby is only going to be that tiny once. However, in that first week of your baby's life, you're just struggling to keep your eyes open during the day. How are you supposed to arrange a whole photoshoot? This is how.
This dad is acting as a prop, and he's catching some Zs. This is how you multitask.
How Dads Push Their Kids On A Swing
Going to the park with your kids can be a lot of fun, but it can also be super tiring. They always want you to chase after them and push them on the swings, but you can only push for so long before your back starts to ache and you want to sit down.
That's where this hack comes into play. You can just use a long rope to push your kid from afar. It's brilliant. This dad is even enjoying a cold beverage while he's pushing, or should we say pulling, his kid on the swing.
A Nap And A Back Massage
This dad found a creative way to keep his kids entertained, take a nap, and get a back massage all at the same time. It's genius I tell you, genius! All he did was draw a track on the back of a white t-shirt. Then he lay on the ground and had his kids drive their toy cars all over his back.
These kids look like they're having a good time, and dad is lying on the floor while parenting, so we're going to call that a win.
No Peeking
First, I'm really impressed this dad bought a van that can fit three car seats side-by-side. Any parent traveling with young children understands the bickering that can occur even on the shortest of rides. This dad used cardboard to separate his children from each other's line of view. We call this the out of sight, out of mind hack, and he claims it works out perfectly. I can't vouch for the safety of this trick but the engineering behind it is so perfect that I had to share.
How To Play Video Games With Your Kids
Here's a great way to bond with your kids, keep them occupied, and play video games all at the same time. This dad gave his kids controllers that weren't plugged into anything. They feel like they're playing a game with their dad, they sit still because they think they're actually playing, and dad gets to play video games. It's a win-win.
This hack can only work for so long, though. Soon these kids are going to get older and wiser.
Fishing For Fly Balls
Are you lazy? Perhaps you can't walk around because of an injury? This dad has come up with a rather ingenious solution for teaching your kid to play baseball with very little effort. He attached a ball to some high-strength fishing line. When your kids swing at the ball simply release and allow the ball to go flying. Real in your fishing line and repeat the process until their little arms are too tired to swing a bat any longer. It might not be the most active time spent with your kid but at least their getting some exercise.
No Reckless Driving
This dad understands that he can't always be there with his daughter when she's on the open road. A simple solution? He clearly wrote the word "No!" over the RPM and speed gauges on the car. If the little orange notification hardware disappears, his daughter knows she is breaking the rules. If she gets pulled over for speeding I doubt this dad would hesitate in taking away the car. Dads can become pretty overprotective of their children but this guy found a way to strike a comfortable balance between safety and a pretty loud reminder of his rules.
A Makeshift Hair Tie
I seriously don't understand how my young daughter so quickly learned to use hair ties, bows, and other accessories in her hair because I can't even brush it properly. This dad wasn't going to waste his time on hair ties and instead came up with this silly but effective dad hack. Simply grab your daughter's hair and place it inside of a zip tie. Pull the tie to secure her hair and you're ready to go. Bring along a pair of scissors or a pocket knife and you can even remove the excess zip tie portion for a cleaner, more professional looking hairstyle.
A Crib That Does Double Duty
A kid only needs a crib for so long. They grow up so fast, don't they? Pretty soon they're out of that crib and into a big kid bed. So what are you supposed to do with the crib that they don't need anymore? Well, you could pass it along to a friend or a cousin, or you could turn int into a learning station.
Paint a piece of plywood with chalkboard paint and cut it so it fits the dimensions of the crib. Slide it into place and you've got a desk that your kids can write on!
When Your Baby Becomes A Table
I'm not sure what to be more impressed with, this dad's ability to balance his baby while eating a piece of cake or the child's unwillingness to wake up when being used as a human table. Raising kids can be crazy at times because they demand so much of your attention. This dad has figured out how to balance child raising and the need to eat in order to stay alive. If he can still pull off this trick when his kid is five-years-old I would be happy to proclaim this to be truly the best dad hack in terms of necessity.
The Ultimate Motivational Tool
Kids love technology. They love Tv and the internet and their handheld devices. They have to know that access to that kind of technology is a privilege, though. This dad told his kids that they would only get the key to this padlock if they completed all of their chores.
This trick totally works! There's nothing like a padlock on a plug to kick you into high gear. These kids had their room cleaned in time to watch their favorite show on television.
Get There Quicker
This dad must be some kind of engineer because he rigged his aby's car seat to be able to transform into a scooter. This is perfect because now he doesn't have to wake his baby to transfer him into a stroller, plus he gets to scoot around everywhere. It's the perfect solution to all of your transport needs.
We'll just hope that this dad doesn't wipe out, but the scooter does look pretty sturdy. We think it looks safe enough...
When Barbie Loses Her Head
Sick and tired of trying to re-attach your kids Barbie doll heads? This dad decided there was a better solution. Okay, it's really just a creepy solution that looks like something out of a horror flick but it gets the job done. This dad hack can work for expensive dolls, Bratz, Barbie, and any other toy that keeps losing its head and driving you out of your mind. I don't know if his child continued to play with the doll but it makes for a fun viral photo.
A Hair Carrier
You think your baby carrier is made from "all natural" materials? Think again! This dad wins my award for most awesome dad hair and the use of that hair. I'm not sure if this is comfortable at all but his little girl seems to like the ride and dad has a smile on his face. How he managed to secure his kid to his head is beyond my comprehension. The best dad hacks are the ones that are so outrageous but actually seem to work just as intended.
That Seems Safe...
Is the weather outside dreadful? I'm totally onboard with this dad's decision to build a slide using nothing but some cardboard, tape, and the staircase to the second floor of his home. Don't try this if your stairs are overly steep or they end too close to the wall though. When it comes to finding amusing ways to keep kids entertained we can always count on dad hacks like these. His kids seem to be enjoying the slide and we don't see any noticeable injuries, although this might have been their first "test flight" down the stair slide.
Turn Cleaning Into A Game
We like to call this game "sweep the dirt onto the target." It's kind of like curling for kids except it's not curling and it's actually cleaning. This hack will keep your kid occupied and it will also keep your floors clean. You will need to get you kid a kid-sized broom because they probably won't be able to manage with an adult-sized one.
Turning cleaning into a game is a great way to get your kid to help out with chores.
The Ultimate Blanket Fort
I envy this dad for coming up with perhaps the easiest kid fort making solution I have ever seen. My kids have a hard time waiting patiently while I scrounge up enough blankets to make them a small fort that they destroy every five minutes. For this trick, all you need is a box fan and a large sheet. Tuck in all of the edges of the sheet, turn on the fan, and the perfect indoor play fort is ready for your children to explore. I've pretty much given up on forts but this is just the lazy thinking I need to build more in the near future.
An Inside Out Shirt
Nate from Oregon shared a picture of his sleeping baby and it was immediately clear that his t-shirt was inside out. This wasn't a mistake! Nate says he turns his t-shirts inside out when at home in case spit up and other bodily fluids decide to attack! If you are raising any kids it becomes immediately clear that they leak from everywhere. I literally can't go more than an hour or two without some type of bodily fluid, usually spit up, hitting my clothing. Some smelly mistakes, of course, still require Nate to make a wardrobe change.
Turning To Social Media
This dad doesn't use Facebook to spy on his daughter but rather to make her realize certain chores were left undone. When some comments about how Taylor Swift writes songs that mimic the fans life, her dad chimes in. "Yep. I just heard 'Empty the Dishwasher & The Cat Box Every Night Without Bitching About It.'" This dad wins bonus points for hacking social media to get his daughter's attention and for coming up with a pretty clever status reply.
A Mop Outfit
For full disclosure, I don't know if a dad created this baby duster outfit but it has been shared by a lot of guys who seem to think this is a suitable way to clean up hardwood floors in their home. To be fair, the baby in this photo seems really happy to be crawling around on a dirty floor while wearing the fluffy outfit. If someone can make one of these for somehow dusting in hard to reach ceiling areas and corners, I'll buy into the hype and pick one up for each of my children. This is lazy but in a really adorable way that I can't stop smiling about.
The Get Along Shirt
I'm probably not the best person for conflict resolution. My daughter hits my son, he complains, I tell him not to stand for her bullying. He hits her back and the cycle repeats itself until one or both of them are crying. This dad came up with a much better solution as the "get along shirt" requires both kids to share one shirt until they work out their differences. There may be no better reason to kiss and make up than having to share a very close confinement with your sibling. The little girl in this photo seems to have gotten the message loud and clear.
A Clear Warning
You've been warned young men. You can try and date this dad's daughter, but if you break her heart, he'll break you. He looks pretty excited about laying the smack down on you, too.
As for his daughter, she looks "thrilled" to have such an overprotective and over-muscled dad. If she could have it her way, she would have a normal dad with the classic "dad bod" that was no real threat to her future happiness.
A Solution For The Bathroom
Once you become a father, toilet paper becomes that much more important. Clogged toilets are no jokes, so setting limits on how much your kids can take from the roll is vital.
This dad solved the problem the easy way. When you pull past the line, you rip the toilet paper off the roll. You go any further than that and you're dealing with a clogged toilet, a trip to the store, and one angry dad.
Jump Safely
If you're crazy enough to buy your kids a trampoline, we highly recommend this brilliant dad hack to keep it as safe as possible. We'll never understand why trampolines don't arrive pre-pool noodled to begin with.
With this hack you simply cut the noodle down the right size, cut a slit along one side, and push it over the dangerous trampoline wires. It's not a full proof hack, but it is one way to keep your kids safer while they let out out their energy jumping.
Make Potty Training More Fun
Fun fact: young boys hate potty training. Diapers are so convenient, why would anyone want to not use them? Here's one way to convince your son he's wrong; turn going to the bathroom into a game.
Buying stickers like this is cost effective, and gives young boys something to aim at. Here's another fun fact, this is the exact same idea as putting bees in urinals; they give adult males in public bathrooms something to aim for!
Walk Away Slowly
Does you baby need to take a nap while you do the dishes or watch the game? Here's one way to keep your child happy while being able to do whatever it is you want to do in peace.
Fill a mitten with beans to create a weighted glove, then place it on your babies back. You'll be amazed how quickly it comforts your child. Just remember, don't yell at the game during naptime! A weighted glove is not a magic wand.
A Useful Temporary Tattoo
When taking your child out for a day at the park or a trip to the mall, there is every possibility they will get away from you. If you brand them with a temporary tattoo, then you're winning at parenting.
Just make sure the tattoo has a phone number to call. That's the point of this hack. Some kids are runners, and some parents just don't have the energy to keep up. There's nothing wrong with that.
Warm Toilet Seats
One of the worst feelings in the world is sitting down on a cold toilet on a cold day. No one wants to gets shivers going up their spines while one a business call.
This brilliant hack solves the problem. Take a pair of old tube socks and cover the bowl. Of course, this only works a lid like this. If your have a fully circular lid than we're sorry to say it, but your... out of luck.
Make Bath Time Easier
Bath time is trickier than parents think they're going to be. For your kid, it's playtime, and they want to run all around the tub getting into trouble. By putting them in a basket with all their toys you can avoid this.
And do you know what the best part is? After the bath is over and your kid is dry, you just take the basket out of the tub with the toys in it. Clean-up could not be any easier!
Organize Their Meals
Road trip can be a hassle for parents. Kids hate being strapped into cars for hours at a time, and when it's lunch, the car can become a mess. If you are forced to eat on the run, try this hack to keep things more organized.
This tray separated the food between your children, and keep the mess that can create relegated to one small area. Just make sure to clean the basket regularly or could begin to smell...
DIY Toys
Has your child run out of things to do with all of their toys? The last thing you want to do at this point is to spend money on more toys that will barely keep them entertained.
Instead, pull out a bag of pipe cleaners and a strainer. You'll be amazed at the hours of fun this provides your kids! You'll then spend hours watching them, baffled at how entertained they are by the simplest things.
How To Get Your Kids To Take Their Medicine
Having to take medicine isn't fun for adults, and it definitely isn't fun for kids. The big difference is that you know as an adult you need to force yourself to take it.
Kids need to be tricked into taking their medicine, and here's a clever hack for that. Make the medicine dropped a part of their pacifier. Kids love pacifiers, and now they'll love their medicine too! This is a dad hack at its best.
An Easy Baby-Proofing Solution
Let's go back to school for a second. One of the first things you will learn as a new dad, or mom is that kids will try and get into everything. Luckily, you can use a yardstick to keep them out of your unmentionables.
Why a yardstick? As you can see from the picture, it's a one plug device to keep little hands out of your drawers. Now you get to keep your clean, and that's a parenting win.
A Creative Pencil Case
Got a lot of DVD boxes you have no idea what to do with? If you have kids who love to draw, take those boxes and turn them into personalized colored pencil cases!
The more cases, the more variety your kid can have. Maybe one box is reserved for pastels and bright colors, while another houses their "goth" phase pencils. You can even make a pencil case for yourself and join in on all the fun.
A Cleaner Popsicle
When you give your kid a Popsicle, a mess is going to be created. They take forever to eat it and it melts everywhere. Not only do you have to wipe their face, but you have to clean their clothes immediately.
With this clever hack, you'll still have to clean your kids face, but their clothes will remain mess free. Just flip a coffee lid upside down and put the frozen pop's stick through it. Pretty incredible, right?
The Perfect Slice
For some reason, kids always want their food cut into tiny bite size pieces. You can do this with a knife, possibly cutting yourself in the process, or you can use a pizza cutter like a parenting boss.
This hack is one we can't believe we had never thought of. Take the waffle, slice one way, slice the other way, and BOOM, your child has perfect bite sized waffle pieces and you have perfectly uncut hands!
A Pool Noodle Bumper
We might have saved the best for last with this one. Once your kid has outgrown their crib, you need to make sure they won't fall out of their bed. Accidents happen, but this is one pain that can be avoided.
Like the picture shows, take a pool noodle and place it under the bed sheets. Now when your kid rolls over, it's impossible for them to roll to far and everyone gets a good nights sleep instead of a trip to the emergency room!