This week, I’m looking at fun books that celebrate motherhood in time for “Mother’s Day.” Find my reviews of more serious books at austin360.com/raisingaustin.
“Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids” by Asha Dornfest ($12.95, Workman) is the book we all need to be given the moment we see two blue lines, a plus or whatever positive sign the pregnancy tests of choice indicates.
It really is 134 tips on how to turn everyday items into something that can work for you. For example, what do you do with the baby bathtub when the babies are ready for the real tub? Well, you turn it into a swimming pool for dolls, an ice bucket for drinks, a gardening tote, and outdoor pet washtub, a soaking pail for stained laundry, a mini sandbox, an outdoor water table and a bucket for bubbles.
Some tips you think, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Sprinkle feet with baby powder to get the sand off when you’re at the beach and use Play-Doh to clean up glitter from an art project. There’s also these great tips: use a bottle nipple upside down to give kids medicine, reuse the old training potty by a child’s bedside when they have a stomach bug and use a panty liner to turn any underwear into training pants or as nursing pads in a bra.
We’re sure you have your own parenting hacks. Feel free to share them in the comment section.
