Life Hacks for Kids and the Parents Who Run After Them

Life hacks for kids at home: jobs they can do alone

Children love being trusted with real work. These kid-friendly life hacks make small jobs easy enough for small hands.

1. Give them a small steel jug. A big bottle is too heavy for a five year old to pour. Fill a small steel jug and keep it on a low shelf, so kids pour their own water without spills.
2. Draw a picture routine chart. Draw simple pictures for brush, bath, dress, breakfast and bag on a sheet and stick it near the door. Kids who cannot read yet can still follow the steps.
3. Keep a snack drawer at their height. Put a few healthy snacks in a low drawer or box. Children pick their own, and you decide what goes in.
4. Make laundry sorting a colour game. Ask kids to sort clean socks into pairs or put whites and colours in two baskets. It teaches matching and gets a chore done.

Parenting life hacks for school mornings

1. Fill bottles and tiffin boxes at night. Wash the tiffin and fill water bottles the night before and keep them in the fridge. In the morning, only the hot food goes in.
2. Polish all school shoes on Sunday. Polish every pair of school shoes in one go on Sunday evening. Nobody looks for polish at 7 in the morning on a weekday.
3. Keep a spare stationery box at home. A box with extra pencils, erasers, sharpeners and glue sticks saves late-night trips to the shop when the child says 'I need it tomorrow'.
4. Wake them with light, not shouting. Open the curtains ten minutes before the alarm. Natural light helps children wake up gently and in a better mood.

Older kids and teens will find study, exam and bag tips in our life hacks for students. For girls starting their periods, our calm guide to period hacks for school is written for them and their parents.

Kids room organization hacks

1. Rotate toys every two weeks. Keep only a third of the toys out and pack the rest in a box. Swap them every two weeks, and old toys feel new again.
2. Mark boxes with pictures. Stick a drawing or photo of what goes inside on each toy box: blocks, cars, dolls, crayons. Kids put things back in the right box without reading.
3. Stand books with covers facing out. A narrow shelf or a wall ledge where books face forward makes children pick them up far more often than spines in a row.
4. Use an over-door shoe organiser for art things. Clear pockets on the back of a door hold crayons, glue, scissors and paper. Everything is visible and off the floor.

For cupboards and the rest of the house, see our organization hacks.

Baby life hacks for new parents

1. Keep a nappy basket in every room you use. A small basket with nappies, wipes, a change mat and a spare outfit in the bedroom and living room saves running around with a crying baby.
2. Use old cotton saris as burp cloths. Cut a soft, washed cotton sari into squares. They are gentle on baby skin, soak well and you can never have too many.
3. Sort baby clothes by size in shoeboxes. Babies outgrow clothes in weeks. Keep the next size up in a marked shoebox so you are ready when the current ones get tight.
4. Use a dim lamp for night feeds. A soft, low lamp instead of the tube light keeps the baby sleepy during night feeds and nappy changes.

DIY baby proofing hacks

1. Loop rubber bands on cabinet handles. Twist a thick rubber band around two side by side cabinet knobs. Toddlers cannot pull the doors open, and adults can slip it off easily.
2. Pad sharp corners. Fold a small piece of thick cloth over the corner of a glass or wooden table and tape it in place. It softens the bump when a toddler walks into it.
3. Move cords and plastic bags up high. Tie long curtain cords out of reach and store plastic bags in a high cupboard. Both are serious risks for small children.
4. Keep a box for small things. Coins, buttons, hair clips and batteries go in one closed steel box on a high shelf. Anything that fits through a toilet roll tube can choke a baby.

Life hacks for kids on the road

1. Turn a steel plate into a travel tray. A steel plate with a raised rim holds crayons and small toys on a child's lap in the car or train. Nothing rolls away under the seat.
2. Pack a sick bag kit. Keep a zip pouch with a plastic bag, tissues, a wet napkin and a spare T-shirt. If a child feels sick on the ride, you are ready in seconds.
3. Play spot five things. Ask the kids to find five red things, then five round things, then five animals out of the window. It fills time and needs nothing.

More travel ideas, including flights with toddlers, are on our travel hacks page.

Mom hacks to make life easier, for every parent

These hacks are for whoever runs the house, mothers, fathers, grandparents or all of them together.

1. Plan the week's menu on Sunday. Write seven dinners and three tiffin ideas on a sheet on the fridge. You shop once and stop thinking 'what to cook' every evening.
2. Chop vegetables in one batch. Chop onions, beans and carrots for three days at once and store them in steel boxes in the fridge. Weeknight cooking becomes much faster.
3. Do a ten minute reset at night. Before bed, everyone spends ten minutes putting things back. The house never gets far out of hand.