Best Tip You Learned.....

[SandeeAR]

I was at a craft show one time and this lady came in the booth with 4 kids, 3 to 12. First noticed....They all came in with their hands held together behind their backs. One child started to reach out to touch something on the table, Mom quietly said "look with your eyes and not your hands please". That hand quickly went behind the back. Not a voice raised, not a fit thrown! Thought that was a wonderful tip. However, mine were teenagers by then LOL.

What's your best tip?

[SilverSabre25]

I have two:

"You get what you get and you don't get upset."
--I got this phrase from the book Pinkalicious, actually, but I love it--I say it to DD when she's asking for a certain cup/plate/piece of food/whatever and it just diffuses the situation so quickly. I love it.

"Catch a bubble and make a ducktail!!"
--Learned this from a kindergarten teacher I was working with one quarter in college. She would say this before the class left the room to walk through the halls--ducktail is tuck your hands behind your back like a duck tail, and catch a bubble is basically pretend to hold a bubble in your mouth. Kept them quiet (mostly) and hands in their own space while walking. I use this with my DD sometimes and she gets a kick out of the duck tail thing...walks around quacking.

[SandeeAR]

I have two:

"You get what you get and you don't get upset."
--I got this phrase from the book Pinkalicious, actually, but I love it--I say it to DD when she's asking for a certain cup/plate/piece of food/whatever and it just diffuses the situation so quickly. I love it.

"Catch a bubble and make a ducktail!!"
--Learned this from a kindergarten teacher I was working with one quarter in college. She would say this before the class left the room to walk through the halls--ducktail is tuck your hands behind your back like a duck tail, and catch a bubble is basically pretend to hold a bubble in your mouth. Kept them quiet (mostly) and hands in their own space while walking. I use this with my DD sometimes and she gets a kick out of the duck tail thing...walks around quacking.

LOVE the bubble and Duck tail. Will recommend that one at church Wednesday night for the kids!

[kidkair]

My mom always had us put our hands in our pockets to keep us from touching in stores and to this day when I walk into a store especially around breakables my hands go into my pockets.
One thing that works really well for me is a 30 second timeout or 30 seconds of quiet. My husband came up with this on a day the kids were being increadibly loud (ages 1.5 to 4). Basically everyone sits down (me too) and no one makes a noise for 30 seconds. I only use it when everyone is being too loud. At the end of 30 seconds I remind everyone that we need to use quiet voices and we return to playing.

[Paisley]

I tried the "ducktail" with my kids yesterday at the doctor's office. They immediately knew what I meant. I guess daycare used it with them before I started staying home. They loved it and were "quacking" everywhere we went It made my trip a lil bit easier! Now if only I can each them the bubble trick......::

[MarinaVanessa]

As odd as it looks my favorite "trick" that I use is for when we go out on outings and I need to use a car. Loading and unloading the kids into their carseats/boosters can be a real pain sometimes and nervewracking especially if you have a lot of younger ones. When we are in a parking lot or parked by a curb and I want to keep all of my DC kiddos together I have them put their hands on the car (both of them) while I unload/load them one by one. It seems very funny and I get a lot of strange looks but it works and now I don't have to remind even the 15mo, they all do it automatically. I just feel better knowing that they are all close by and not moving around and heading towards traffic etc.

Also I have a rule "If I can't see you, you're too far" this works at the playground etc. if they are behind something and I can't see them they know that they need to move somewhere where I can see them.

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

my biggest tip is have the three's learn to put shoes on the twos. lifesaver!!!!!

[DancingQueen]

zip tying my toy buckets to the shelf (got that idea here - LIFE SAVER)
limiting the toys that I have out
You get what you get and you don't get upset
chew chew chew before you chat chat chat so you don't choke choke choke (to stop them from talking with their mouthes full of food)
Assigned seats and assigned cups, plates and bowls etc. I never ever have bickering because everyone has the same items and spots.

[kidkair]

my biggest tip is have the three's learn to put shoes on the twos. lifesaver!!!!!

I've been trying to get a 2 to ask for help with his stuff rather than just sitting and whining when he can't do it. So the other day he very sweetly asked the 3 for help instead of me And the 3 gets a kick out of helping the 2

[kidkair]

Oh another thing I do is rotate who's first for handwashing before and after meals as well as the order served. I have all their names on cards with magnets and I just switch whoever was last the day before to the front and follow the new order. It has saved me from the 'me first' everytime we were doing things one at a time.

[MarinaVanessa]

Ok so I tried the "ducktail" thing today too and it's off to a good start. Only my 3yo has trouble with it. She has a hard time of standing behind someone and following the line . She somehow always ends up next to someone or trying to pass someone . I even tried getting her to be the "engine" instead of a "cargo car" or the "caboose" but all of a sudden she's trying to pass me . We're working on it. They all seemed really excited and into it. We need a little more work on the "bubble" thing. NONE of them can keep the bubble in their mouths for long ::.