As a parent, you’re never short of entertainment, joy, or fun. The one thing you are almost always short on is time. Time is probably worth its weight in gold. The first time you awaken four or five times a night to feed your baby and change her diaper will probably push you to the limits. So, it’s rather important to make the most of the time you do have. Luckily for you, we've got seven parenting hacks that will save you time, and make your life easier as well.
1. Organize as much as possible
You'll be surprised at how much time is wasted simply in deciding rather than doing. Whether it's getting your kids to place all their toys in one place, or last-minute supplies shopping, you will end up wasting more time than you realize. To make sure this doesn't happen, try to plan everything as much as possible. This will ensure you are well prepared and will save you last-minute problems.
2. Plan meals in advance
The trick to having plenty of spare time is to plan well in advance. If you're waking up in the morning wondering what to cook for breakfast, it's already too late. Set a meal plan for the week, buy your groceries according to the plan and keep a few snacks ready as a backup in case your plans fail. A quick tip is to make sure you know a few crockpot recipes. A crockpot is a one-pot dish where you leave all the ingredients on the stove and requires little preparation and even less supervision.
3. Shop online
With most people having moved on to online shopping, there are many who still prefer going to malls. Nothing wastes more time than having to get your kids ready, drive down to the mall and pick up something that you could have ordered online in five minutes. You will have more free time on your hands and will be a better and more attentive parent than earlier.
4. Make chores interesting
We all hate chores. But, the kids don't know this. If you make chores seem like fun, you will help them develop good habits as well as getting an extra hand to help around the house. Wouldn't it be so much easier if you didn't have to clean constantly up after your children? This tip will save you more than time than you realize.
5. Set the wardrobe in advance
When a woman is pregnant, people are quite considerate and full of advice. And, once she finally becomes a mom, people forget that she still has a job on her hands. Setting your children's wardrobe in advance will help them get ready.
The first few times you do this, it will take a while. Once you get the hang of it though, you will wonder why you wasted time with the daily struggle of picking and then getting your kids to wear the outfit you chose. Simply choose the week's outfits on the weekend and set them all aside. For the rest of the week, they know what to wear and where to find it.
6. Set a time table
Getting your kids to finish their homework, stop playing video games or eat dinner can eat up quite a bit of time. From a young age, get the kids to follow a time table. It will help them get used to times for certain activities, and your life will become much smoother. For example, if one child has a weekly Yoga class while the other has a sporting event, a timetable will ensure you don't forget either one.
7. Prioritize
Last, but not the least, simply giving time to the right tasks will make sure you have free time when it counts. Often people will spend too much time on a task which can be finished sooner rather than setting the important task as their priority.
As a parent, any free time you get is valuable. It's important to try and maximize these opportunities. Hopefully, these seven tips will allow you to save some time and let you enjoy yourself a little more. Happy Parenting!