TO SAY parenting isn’t easy is an understatement to say the least, but thankfully one mum has shared her time saving tips – and you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of them sooner.
Founder of Little Sleep Stars, Lauren Peacock, 39, from Skipton, North Yorkshire is mum to three-year-old son Harry is constantly looking for ways of making parenting more efficient – and stress free.
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After discovering she carried the BRCA gene that increases the risk of breast cancer, she opted to have double mastectomy.
With a second child off the table Lauren was keen to make sure she spent as much quality time as possible with Harry and so looked for time-saving hacks when it came to chores.
From using a timer throughout the day to only buying black socks, Lauren shares her top tips exclusively with Fabulous Digital…
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I’d love to be more spontaneous and be the kind of laid-back mum who can change plans on a whim but it’s just not possible.
I was a big believer in flexible parenting when I was pregnant, but Harry thrives on predictability and routine and as a result, I have to be very thoughtful and premeditate everything.
Thinking ahead and trying to save time on the day-to-day parenting grind gives me the breathing space to spend quality time with Harry rather than trying to do three hundred things at once.
GET EVERYTHING READY AHEAD OF TIME
I’m the mum who gets everything ready for breakfast the night before, down to making sure the kettle has water in it and the butter is out.
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It’s really important to me that my three year-old son, Harry, and I eat a proper breakfast together without it feeling rushed so by setting everything up the night before, it creates the time to do that in the morning.
I also get ready before Harry gets up then put my dressing gown back on over the top so I’m not stressed about spillages and don’t have to get changed again if anything does happen.
I’ll even pre-make and freeze sandwiches if I’m going to be away for a few days, using meat, tuna and grated cheese which tend to stand up best to being frozen.
USE TIMERS FOR EVERYTHING
I have a set of sand timers in the house that are one, three and five minutes long and we use the timer on our phone as well.
Lots of children, Harry included, can find transitions tricky so just asking him to do something like leave the park, go upstairs or get out of the bath can create a protracted debate and an exercise in stalling or even tantrums and tears.
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By setting the timer on my phone for two minutes or whatever we’ve agreed, when it goes off he makes the transition with no fuss at all – saving us a lot of time across the day. It’s been a game-changer.
LAYER UP
In case of night-wee incidents I layer a mattress-protector, a sheet then another mattress-protector and another sheet on his bed.
Rather than change everything in the middle of the night, I just whip the top set off and he’s back in bed much quicker.
I also use a swimming noodle tucked under a fitted sheet along the outer-side of his mattress to prevent the drama – and tears – of him rolling out of bed. It’s cheaper than a bed-guard but does exactly the same job.
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Similar to bed layering, I would always layer two (or more!) bibs on Harry when he was a baby. Whenever one got dirty, I’d just take the top one off and have another layer already in place underneath to protect his clothes – it meant I wasn’t constantly doing laundry.
I also stick to buying black socks because it saves so much time pairing them up or hunting for the matching ones.
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GET THEM CHANGED IN A BAG
When we come back from a particularly muddy walk, whether to the car or home, I have Harry stand in a large reusable bag (IKEA ones work particularly well) and take his boots, splash-suit and anything else wet and muddy off then lift him out.
He comes out clean and can go straight into the car or across the carpet and the muddy stuff is contained in the bag saving having to clean up.
In the same vein, I’ll quickly slip shower caps over the pram and pushchair wheels just before coming into the house to save cleaning muddy tyre tracks off the floors. It works brilliantly!
In other parenting news, a mum revealed how she imposed a total tech ban on “screen-dependent” kids and raves about the amazing result.
And a mum revealed how she uses a £2 head scratcher to keep her tot quiet.
Plus this mum-of-six says she only bathes her kids three times a week and lets them eat with their hands.
