All moms and nannies know that one thing is for sure: kids can be difficult. But, the littlest tricks (okay, call them manipulation tactics) can get our favorite wee ones to do just about anything. Here are some of our favorite strategies for getting through the day with the least amount of whining. Just click on the links to see the words of wisdom!
Please use Pinterest to “pin” your favorites! And, if you have your own tricks, share them in the comments below. Our list of pins is growing and we’d love to hear your most successful solutions to the curve balls kids throw at us.
- Get dressed
- Eat a healthy breakfast
- Learn good manners
- Stop fighting with their sibling
- No hitting
- No biting
- Share with friends
- Clean up toys
- Clean their room
- Stop watching so much TV
- Be patient and sit still
- Stop whining
- Use an indoor voice.
- Give you peace and quiet
- Covering their mouth when sneezing or coughing
- Blow their nose
- Use the potty
- Stop wiping their hands on their clothes
- Wash hands – with soap
- Sit still during a hair cut
- Play less video games
- Do their homework
- End the “I want a dog” begging
- Talk through their feelings
- Calm down from a tantrum
- Leave the house
- Make friends on the playground
- Pump their legs on the swing
- Leave the playground without a tantrum
- Stop whining in the car
- Eat their dinner
- Eat their vegetables
- Bring dishes to the sink
- Cut out too many sweets
- Brush teeth
- Floss
- Get in PJs
- Wash their hair
- Get out of the bath
- Take a bath
- Ease their fear of bedtime monsters
- Go to bed
Katie Bugbee is our global parenting expert and senior managing editor here at Care.com. She has written for Babble, Huffington Post, Newsday and Parenting. A busy working mother, she offers families advice on many parenting dilemmas, from appeasing picky eaters to finding the perfect babysitter.
