• use only simple things like lemon juice as a preservative
• are available in endless healthy varieties – fruit and yogurt smoothies, vegetable blends, ‘meals’ that contain protein, fruit and grains
• don’t require refrigeration
• are packaged in convenient packets that don’t break, don’t take up a lot of space, are easy to open

Making use of these food packets is a great feeding hack. Use them to:

• Feed your kid a healthy meal on the go (older babies and toddlers can suck the contents right out of the packet, no utensils required).
• Increase the variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy your child is getting without having to figure out how to cook and puree things like butternut squash perfectly or find perfectly ripe blueberries, mangoes and other fruits at all times of the year
• Get your baby and toddler some of the DHA they need without the hassles of cooking and serving fish

Happy Baby, Earth’s Best, and Ella’s Kitchen are 3 brands that feature organic ingredients and natural preservatives.

You’ll also notice that all of your locks had better work well because your child will do his or her best to get into every cabinet you own and use handles or drawer pulls to pull up to a standing position.

If this seems like a never-ending battle to wrest control of cabinets from one another, give yourself the upper hand by ceding some territory. Designating one cabinet a ‘kid cabinet’ and filling it with things that are safe and fun for your child will help with one or more of the following:

• decreasing the frustration that some kids experience when they can’t get into cabinets
• reducing the number of ever more clever attempts your child makes to open ‘kid-proof’ locks, latches or closures
• creating another fun, safe activity for your child to do in close proximity to you when you’re in the kitchen

Here’s a look at the (relatively tame for our house) scene after our daughter played in her kid cabinet:

Fortunately, cleanup is fast and easy – just stick everything back into the cabinet in whatever order you pick it up in.

Turns out there is such a bag: the On/Off Bag. The concept of the On/Off (or In/Out) Bag is simple: babies and toddlers love to take caps or lids off and put them back on. Repeatedly. Repeatedly. Same goes for putting something in a bottle and taking it out. I was truly amazed at how long our daughter spent playing with this.

NOTE: PLEASE ENSURE THE BAG YOU USE IS KID-SAFE AND ALL ELEMENTS OF THE BAG ARE LARGE ENOUGH NOT TO BE CHOKING HAZARDS.

To create an On/Off Bag, simply find a kid-safe bag and fill it with empty (and washed) bottles and their corresponding (large enough to not be choking hazards) lids, pumps, or caps. Really anything that fits those criteria will do – soap dispensers, a mustard bottle, empty toiletry containers, you name it.

A simple, no-cost way to provide entertainment and learning pretty much anywhere. We’ve used this bag at airports, on airplanes, at restaurants, friends’ houses and many more.

Sure, you (or your significant other) wants cute curtains for your kid’s room. But humans are supposed to sleep in the dark. Kids are not an exception to this rule. Your child will sleep better – at night and during naps – if you add blackout curtains to whatever window-dressing setup you currently have in place.

Find them at most home products retailers like Target, or for those of you in the cute curtains category, Pottery Barn.

ALSO, KIDS WHO CAN STAND UP MAY TIP OVER THE LAUNDRY BASKET.

Bonus points if you get the reference in the title. Let us know in the comments.

Sometime in the second half of your kid’s first year, you’ll find a transition from sink baths to bathtub baths is necessary. Bathtubs, you will notice, are bigger than sinks. A lot bigger. Plus, they’re slippery. The tasks of keeping your child upright in the head-above-water position (key!), keeping bath toys where your child can reach them, and actually bathing your baby typically requires at least 3 sets of hands, something not usually at the disposal of most parental units.

Fortunately, there is a very simple solution to this issue, requiring something you very likely already have in your home: the humble laundry basket.

Why does it work so well, exactly?

1) Your kid will love it. When we so much as mention the word ‘bath’ our daughter will go find our laundry basket and drag it to the bathroom.

2) Your laundry basket is (likely) significantly smaller than your bathtub. As a result, it keeps all bath toys in a grab-able area for your baby or toddler, thus preventing squeaking, squawking and all-out dives across the tub for favorite toys. It also keeps your baby in a fixed position for you to wash  prevent from tipping over.

3) It has built-in backrests for your baby to lean back against and rails for your toddler to hold on to.

4) The basket can be moved to different positions – I like the close-to-the-side-for-washing position, and the near-the-spout-for-playing-with-incoming-water positions, personally.

5) Drying it out after the bath is as simple as flipping it over.

Please do note that you should always be watching your kid full-time during baths, and that while this hack works for kids who can stand up, you should have a hand on the rail of the basket when they’re standing as tipping can occur.

Enjoy!

Extra credit: your basket will likely float with your kid inside it. Hold on to the basket, fill the tub with a few inches of water while piloting the basket-boat around the tub for your kid, and then push the basket down for an awesome water flooding in through the holes of the basket effect.