People Are Sharing 'Unhinged' Parenting Hacks That Shouldn't Work, But Do

What’s something you’ve done as a parent that is a little unhinged but has worked like a dream? “When my kid refuses fluids because of sickness I run her a bath and she will inevitably drink bath water,” wrote one parent on Reddit.“Lately I’ve been putting my toddler to bed in his undies and a t shirt,” added another. “When he gets up in the am all I need to do is throw on some shorts.”It turns out a LOT of parents have some left field hacks squirrelled away up their sleeves, ready for the moment when everything else has simply stopped working.Here are some of them (as shared on r/Parenting):1. Beer bottle swap“My oldest (during his toddler years) was once incredibly ill and would not drink anything – even bath water. Things were getting dire and I was desperate. He was always fascinated by beer bottles so I emptied one, rinse[d] it, filled it with water, and thankfully he chugged away happily.”- sodabubbles12812. T-shirt bumper pack“Child only wants to wear his Spidey shirt? No problem, just buy fifteen different ones so he isn’t wearing the same shirt every day.” - Smee763. Holding ‘The Court of Mom’“One time, when my oldest was like 8 he did some shady shit. I held ‘The Court of Mom.’ I wore black, we held court in the living room. He was charged with vandalism and arson, and was sentenced to community service and house arrest. It was an extreme case of misbehaviour, so we had to have an extreme response ... I seriously had stuff typed up and printed out for our court session.“We took it extremely serious. I used a rolling pin as a gavel, I wore a black cardigan and black jeans, my husband was the bailiff, and our kid wore his ‘Sunday best’ to our home court. “His sentence included writing sentences, writing apology letters, extra chores, grounding from friends and electronics (although the only electronic he had at the time was a TV in his bedroom, this was before the tablet fad) and having to pay restitution in the form of helping to cook meals for the family.”- FlowerFull6564. Shower upgrade“Glow sticks in the shower for a glow shower...”- Superb-Secretary19175. Make maths fun again“Whatever age kids learn to add and subtract we used M&M’s and they got to eat correct answers.”- tripanfal6. Leave it on the counter“If I want my 4 year old to eat something, I leave it on the counter, go to the bathroom and tell her she isn’t allowed to have it. She eats it every time and thinks it’s hilarious that she pulled one over on me.”- muststayawaketonod7. The abrupt argument ending “Out of desperation, because my child was in a mental loop where she argued with me about EVERYTHING - things that didn’t matter, things that did matter, things that happened, things that didn’t happen, straight facts, fantasy stories we were making up, I... mean... everything; and after having multiple discussions about why she’s doing it, when she’s doing it, how much I love her no matter whether she’s right or wrong; and even trying to break the arguments with jokes like running away from her, bonking her on the head with a pillow (not hard), and at one point lying face down on the carpet and making exaggerated moaning sounds, all of which made her laugh but did not fix the issue...“One day, I grabbed her head and licked her face. This began a three-year-long face-licking war. Was it gross? Yeah, probably. But it interrupted her argumentative moods with a ridiculous activity that always ended up with us laughing so hard our stomachs hurt.”- Mamapalooza8. Reverse parenting“When we get tired, my husband and I will pretend to be babies and our 3yr old is our mommy and has to put us down for a nap (she looooves this) she will tell us to lay down, put a blanket over us by herself. And then pat our backs for a few minutes and then tell us “I’m gonna go work. You stay here and go to sleep.” And she will go colour for 5-15 min.”- MamaMia6549. Bedtime pee contests“My 4 year old would always to refuse going pee before bed, even though when he didn’t go he would definitely wet himself overnight.“Until my husband started saying ‘bet i can pee more than you!’ right before laying down for bed – what 4 year old would turn down such a challenge?“Peeing contest ensues. even if my husband doesn’t truly have to pee, he’ll tell my son he can go first and then when he’s finished, he’ll say ‘oh wow, there’s no way I’m beating that! you win! time for bed!’ lol no more wetting the bed!”- StarsHollowCryptid10. Deliberate provocation“When my kid gets into angry/disregulated/‘NO’ mode, I ask him if he wants to argue. He says yes, and then I start to argue with him about some outrageous stuff, like I tell him the sky is green or that dinosaurs aren’t extinct, and he likes it so much he forgets he was angry.”- Aivellyn11. Savouring food right in front of themIf my kids don’t like something or don’t want dinner, then I just make myself a bowl and relish eating it in front of them. Immediate “I WANT SOME!” just because mama has it.- UpdatesReadyDefinitely using that last one. Related...These 4 Reddit Hacks For Getting Toddlers To Comply Are *Chef's Kiss*I Tried Reddit's Fruit Hack To Descale My Kettle — I'm Never Buying Descaler AgainThis Viral Reddit Apple Pie Recipe Is The Best I've Seen

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