I’ve been a mum for 15 years now. Over those years I’ve mastered the fine arts of speed mopping, breastfeeding gymnastics, hiding Christmas presents and making three very different school lunches in 7 minutes.
During these 15 years, I’ve been given my fair share of mum tips and advice along the way. I’m sure every mum reading this has. “Sleep when they sleep”. “It takes a village”. “It’s just a phase”. I’ve heard them all as I’m sure you have too.
But here are some expert-level mum tips I’ve learned on my journey that you probably haven’t heard before. These are the non-cliched mum tips that you won’t find in a Hallmark card but will hopefully come in handy during your parenting journey.
Here we go:
21 Mum Tips to Keep in the Back of your Mind
1. Water is life. If ever in doubt, just add water. Running a tap is a tried and trusted way to help babies doze off to sleep and water continues to win at life whenever your child is overwhelmed. A warm bath, a paddling pool, a hose – anything with water can redirect their emotions.
2. Carry a pack of balloons in your purse. Balloons can entertain a child for minutes if not hours, great if you’re stuck waiting for a flight/appointment/sports event for older kids/ any delay in life.
3. If your child has a favourite something – blanket, toy, comforter, teddy bear- buy another one. This goes triple for T-shirts. I can’t even describe the tantrums that took place because my daughter’s favourite shirt was in the wash (after she wore it five days straight). Not to mention the mad rush to the toy store when her “owl” flew off a boat and we told her it would “fly back home” the next day.
4. Bum shorts are their best friend. You know those little ‘bummies’ kiddies often wear for netball or running? These are fantastic for toddlers too – great for holding in explosive poops but keeping them cool without the need for pants.
5. Buy socks by the dozen. Actually, buy them by the hundreds. They disappear quicker than a teen whose been asked to unload the dishwasher. Same with hair ties.
6. Walk like a toddler. Aim for a 20-minute toddler-time walk a day where there’s no rush and you just let your child lead. You may not get far but stopping to smell the roses, and count every bug, is a beautiful way to teach your toddler about the world.
7. Try not to swear in front of them. They pick up swear words quicker than any other word you’ll ever say.
8. TV isn’t the devil. Screens get such a bad rep and yes, I get it – you don’t want your kid to turn into a YouTube Zombie. But there’s no harm in using TV as an outlet for learning (and a break for you). There are so many educational shows to assist with teaching counting, colours, language, etc. My kids know how to count in Spanish thanks to TV – it certainly wasn’t something they learned from me!
9. Try a banana before bed for sleep. Apparently, there’s something about magnesium and potassium that helps to relax the mind and muscles.
10. Give them a hall pass. This is one Get Out of Bed Free pass they can use ONCE a night – a great way to teach kids to sleep – and stay – in their own beds.
11. 10 minutes a day. Some days you may feel like you spend 24/7 with your kids. Other days you may barely see them. Try to aim for 10 minutes of one-on-one time every day with every child, even if this just involves sitting with them and chatting, ticking their feet or playing a board game before dinner. Honestly, 5 minutes is fine too, cause sometimes 10 just doesn’t happen.
12. Don’t delete the 18,000 photos (just yet). Keep them. Then use AI photo recognition software to distribute the pictures of your kids into various albums. That way you can easily have a collection of each child over the years. At their 18th bday give them a hardcover book of their childhood.
13. Show up. You can’t show up to every single thing but be there as much as you can. Show up for their award ceremonies, their Mother’s Day Morning Teas and their Christmas concerts. When they spot you in the crowd and beam at you, that hour of missed work won’t even matter.
14. Never underestimate the struggle of a bad hair day. When your kid’s hair isn’t ‘hairing’, it’s the end of the world. While it seems ridiculous to us, to them, it’s really important and something that can cause a lot of stress.
15. Stock up on your favourite makeup/perfume/hair products. Tween girls have an uncanny ability to steal your stash and claim it as their own.
16. Drive slowly at sport pickup. Use this time to talk to your child. Car rides often lead to kids opening up cause there are no distractions. Just you and him and several stop signs.
17. The Post-It Note Jar: This is probably the greatest mum hack I’ve come up with. Buy a stack of Post-it notes and a pen to keep handy. Anytime your child does something extra amazing or something that makes you proud or happy, write it down on the Post-it note. Then put all notes into a jar to look through when they are older. Just a quick one with this – make sure you keep the post-it notes equal for all kids.
18. Buy them pets. Cuddly pets that they beg you for over and over again. Yes, you’ll end up taking care of them but they bring an immense amount of joy and memories. Growing up with a pet will teach them to love all things great and small.
19. Keep a stash of “bad day” treats. Little treats like squishes, playdough, colouring sets, lollies, lip glosses, figurines, small LEGO sets. Things like you can quickly pull out and surprise them with on those non-special occasions but on those days when they could really use a pick-me-up. I keep mine in a suitcase in the top of the closet and the kids have yet to uncover it.
20. Teach them life skills. Teachers do so much but it’s up to us to teach our kids basic life skills – how to set a table, how to listen and ask questions, how to clean a bathroom, how to order a meal, how to ask for help, how to be kind, how to be grateful and how to handle difficult situations, how to work hard for something. This is up to us.
21. Never stop saying I Love You. Even if you think they don’t care, they don’t want to hear it or they roll their eyes when you say it, keep saying it. Every night. Even if you’re mad or they’re mad, tell them you love them.
And that’s it: 15 years of parenting in 21 bite-sized mum tips. I hope these help you along the way, no matter what age and stage you’re at.
What to read next
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