Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids

by Asha Dornfest, Craighton Berman (Illustrator)

Life with kids just got easier with these 134 ingenious hacks developed by parents just like you.

Put the ketchup under the hot dog, minimizing the mess. Strap baby into a forward-facing carrier when you need to trim her fingernails—it frees your hands while controlling the squirming. Or stash a wallet in a disposable diaper at the beach—who would ever poke through what looks like a used Pamper?

All these hacks are easy to do, are boldly illustrated, and use everyday items in unexpected ways. And the range—from pregnancy and postpartum, through sleep, eating, bath time, travel, and more—covers all the most critical years when parents really need a little extra help.
​ “Just . . . genius.”— Buzzfeed
 

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Adult, Self Help, Humor, Family, Relationships

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2016

Reviews

[Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of nifty ideas in this book. It ready very much like a buzzfeed list with one great idea after another. Of the 100+ ideas in here, I'll probably use a good dozen or so of them (in addition to the ones I had already been doing). Overall a great resource for parents wanting to get organized on a budget. The only thing I'll add is that it is definitely geared more towards moms than dads (with several sections on pregnancy, breastfeeding, etc) but there are still great tips in here for everyone.

My favorite: stuffing two standard sized pillows into a body pillow to make you're own pregnancy pillow. I WISH I'd read this when I was pregnant because my poor beat up body needed the support to get any sleep and I just couldn't bring myself to justify paying $60+ for a pillow (those things are outrageously expensive). This would've been perfect lol.

Another gem: using a cupcake tray for dying Easter eggs. I don't know about you, but every time I've tried dying eggs even WITHOUT children helping, a dye cup always gets tipped over lol. Brilliant.

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have five kids. My youngest two are three year old twin boys.

You can probably imagine my life.

I have followed the Parent Hacks blog for a while now, even searching specific problems to see if other parents out there have good solutions (they almost always do!). When I saw that the blog author was publishing a book, I knew I wanted to read it.

As soon as I opened the first page, I knew this book was a winner, and not just for the content. The format is genius - fun illustrations, actual highlighting to give you the gist of the idea, perfect for a parent with little brain space. The hacks are organized by topic (sleeping, feeding, traveling etc) to help if you are just thinking about a specific issue you're dealing with.

I found myself dog-earring pages with things that can help me even now with my boys. Of course, they wouldn't ALL work for me now and they don't all apply to my life now either but still, even at age 3.5, there are lots of helpful tips.

You know what I wish?

That someone had given me this book at my first baby shower, fifteen years ago. Several of the hacks in this book I already used because someone along the way gave me the tip but so many would've been helpful if only I'd KNOWN! I think this is my new favorite shower gift for a first time Mom, even just to help remind you that creativity counts with parenting - we're all winging it!

Great idea for a book and great presentation.

I'm a fan.

[Caitlin (thebookshire) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intersting tips and tidbits. Doesn't take long at all to read. I bookmarked quite a lot!

[Elizabeth Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is short and sweet, but gosh darn it, it's a five star book! It meets its purpose handily. The hacks are clever, creative, and fresh, not just rehashed tips I've heard a million times before just by virtue of being a mom with parents/in-laws/friends around.

Of course, anyone who reads it will see a few tips that don't seem helpful to them, but that's the very nature of this type of thing. Not all tips will work for all people. Still, I found myself over and over saying "now why didn't I think of that?"

I love the layout. I love that it's not crammed with tiny-print lists that just overwhelm you. This format is way more usable to new parents.

I'm pretty sure this is going to be my go-to baby shower gift. (along with cute shoes because cute shoes always get an "Awww ." Oh look at that! I made my own hack! "Always give cute shoes at a baby shower if you want hearts to melt." lol)

[Madison LibraryBookFamily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good parent is always on the hunt for hacks to improve their life. While I've read of at least half of these hacks, some of them were new and worth trying. I liked the illustrations and that the hacks were divided into sections.

Favorite hack is putting a fitted sheet over the kiddie pool. Closely followed by putting catchup under the hot dog instead of on top to contain mess.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid gold. Some great tips even if you don't have kids.

[Moniek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geinig boekje, leuk om cadeau te geven/krijgen

[Lauren Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, illustrative read, if not altogether useful for me. The tips don't generally fit my simplistic lifestyle, but relating to common parenting struggles was enjoyable.

[Mary Torpey · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than any individual hack, the best part of Parent Hacks is the overall assumption that you, the reader, are a competent, loving person who could use a little help figuring out the trickier parts of child-rearing. My kiddo is older now, but I remember the moments of heart-pounding panic during my days with an infant--the (blessedly intermittent) feeling that I had no. idea. what. to. do. That overblown feeling is cultivated by many parenting authors and so-called experts: they want you to feel the panic, then pay for their advice! Asha Dornfest is different: she wants readers to feel cool, calm, and armed with as many hacks as they may need to get through the day. And bonus: not one of these hacks is advice that applies only to kids with a certain temperament, or only to adults with a great deal of time and/or money to waste.

Readers with a little one on the way will get the biggest impact from reading Parent Hacks pre-arrival, so that they can take advantage of all the tips in the pregnancy/postpartum, potty and sleep chapters. (Hack #38 would have saved me many a heart-pounding bedtime moment, in particular.) But there is plenty here for families with older kids, or even those who spend a decent chunk of time with kiddos (extended family, anyone who provides childcare). Some highlights: hack #89 made me regret donating the training potty, hack #97 made me rejoice to have (at long last!) an effective way to clean up glitter, and #122 gave me hope that we can master the toys-towels-and-umbrella schlep the next time we hit the beach. I also loved the lists sprinkled throughout the book: some are numbered meditations on a theme (e.g., 8 answers to the question "how can I help?") and others give multiple uses for one item (pool noodles, sandwich bags). Craighton Berman's illustrations are lighthearted and clear, and where they are meant to truly illustrate a hack (e.g. #57: get nonsnap pants onto a baby), they do just that, quite well.

full disclosure: I received a free pre-release copy of Parent Hacks as part of the Parent Hacks book launch kickoff team.

[Sarah Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a funny book and great for first time parents. I would buy this for people who were expecting children in the future. It would be good if you were currently a parent of children that were babies and toddlers. I docked a star because it is life with kids, which to me is all age ranges but this really only focuses on the baby and toddler years. Mine are older so there are only a couple of pages that were even useful to me. If your kids are older than 5 skip this book! For parents with babies or expecting this is a great little book giving all kinds of tricks and tips to saving time and sanity when you have babies and toddlers around! Some I already knew, some I wish I knew when my kids were babies!

[Dominique *Paperbacks & Frybread* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is cute and hilarious! There are some absolute gems in here and MANY things I wish I would have known BEFORE having baby #4! I love the idea of putting the laundry basket in the bath to coral the little as well as putting a maxi-pad in undies for potty training! That is just GENIUS! (Especially for a little dude who still has accidents on long trips).

If you've got kids: check this out! The illustrations will make you smile and the info here is just great.

*I received this in exchange for my review*

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting ideas for parenting shortcuts. Most are good (recycle kid artwork by laminating it and using it as a placemat!), some are genius (use those silicone bracelets you still have lying around--livestrong, etc--to loop around two cabinet doors to child-proof them)and a few are duds (sorry, I'm not going to repurpose a spatula to scrape out a diaper). Good gift idea for new parents!

[Eguerrieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the PERFECT baby shower gift. Chock full of actually helpful tips real parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles need to know, it's way more useful than a wipe warmer! Plus, it's in a list format and has awesome illustrations so those of us with kids don't have to commit to reading a novel to figure out a tip or two. Love this book.

[Terry Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy and f this book in a giveaway on goodreads.

Filled with many good time saving ideas I've never thought of, I wish I had this book when my children were little. I never would have thought of tying the straps of a tank top back !

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any collection of hacks or tips, this book includes some no-brainers and some things that probably don't really work, but there are a lot of ideas in this one that I will actually use and will make my life easier in little ways. I also liked the fun illustrations!

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't remember until I started reading this that I had heard the author interviewed on NPR sometime in the last year. I thought this was fabulous, and definitely learned some ideas that wouldn't have otherwise occurred to me, even though we already have 4 kids. My favorite from the interview is the trick about stopping the automatic flushing toilets (which struck fear into all of my older 3 until just recently) with a Post-It or painter's tape. From reading it, I loved all the organizing tips, and the many uses of unexpected objects, like painter's tape and pool noodles. I also appreciated that Dornfest explicitly said these might not work for everyone, but were tricks she (and her blog readers--and she did give credit, good job!) found useful. There were hacks I could clearly see not working for me, but just as many that I thought were brilliant. The fun narrative style also made this an extremely quick read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick one day read that has great money saving ideas and quick fixes when you get into those "parenting situations" that suck to be in in the first place lol. Not too bad. Here's some of the ideas that I thought were cool:

Tip #18: Organize coloring supplies in a dish drainer, books in the slots, crayons/markers/pencils in the cutlery drainer.

Tip #30: Puppy training pads protect your car seat for diaper blow outs. This would be good for high chairs as well!

Tip #47: Turn cotton socks into Bath Tub Scrub Gloves!

Anyways, it's a fun read with practical ideas and some that make you scratch your head. One of the things that I didn't agree with was that there's no need for a wipes warmer and that it's a waste of money... As someone who lives in Canada where winter exists half of the year, for the sake of your child's private parts, y'all need the wipe warmer! It's more of a courtesy thing! lol

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make an excellent baby shower gift! The best time to get this is before you have baby since there are several tips and tricks that are awesome for pregnancy, showing the necessities vs. the things that aren't necessary for baby's care and room, breastfeeding tips, and much more. Thankfully, many tips are still good even if you receive the book after your child is a bit older. This book is definitely worth checking out. It is a super fast and easy read (which is important when you have a baby!). Some of the tips are more helpful than others. Some I tried didn't really work for me personally, but most others worked great. There are far more helpful tips than ones that don't work. It even has helpful organizational tips that are still good many years later. Overall, this book is pretty good.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius! Every idea has promise to help with all the work that goes with becoming a new parent. These are real bona fide shortcuts and helpful ideas, not fetishistic "make it yourself" items such as the 'living' publications with which an exhausted new parent might be seduced and abandoned. Bonus that some ideas are not limited to child issues -- never thought of using a shoe holder for small items, but that sure enough would work for those itsy bitsy things that need a home.

Only omission is finding that 25th hour in the day, but with some much that is of use, the oversight can be forgiven.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nifty book providing parents with ways to make the practical matters of caring for a baby more fun, interesting, organized, easier, etc... In addition to the named 134 hacks, it also has a variety of other tips scattered throughout the book. This is a good book to keep around as a reference manual.

The reason I rate it at four stars is because I wasn't a fan of the organization of the book. It is organized thematically rather than chronologically. I'd rather have a book that helped you with 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, etc... There is also no over-arching theme to the book.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these ideas are GENIUS! Yes, some can be considered common sense, while others can easily be seen on the internet. But the 10 different uses for a laundry basket, painter's tape, ziplock bags, and vinyl tablecloths are impressive. And other ideas (such as using a pillowcase for a basinet sheet) I wish I had know before. I will definitely be passing this along to my friends with toddlers.

[Karen Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super easy to read (great for parents), fun format, plenty of good tips. Like another reviewer said, it would have been great to get this at the baby shower for my first child, as several sections don’t apply to my kids who are much older. But I still learned a few great hacks, and mostly happy that I am now aware of the blog from which this content was pulled from. I will definitely consult it in the future.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly cartoons, based on a blog, but some clever ideas here, like ironing small clothes with a hair straightener or using panty liners, snipped in half, as nursing pads. Some of the hacks seem advanced-thought-taking or over the top, like cutting a kid's birthday cake with floss (can you really not trust them to be around a knife for the 1.2 minutes it takes to cut a cake? While the knife is literally in your hand?), but over all charming.

[Nourhan Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not exactly a book, more like a list with drawings, but it's fun to read. I think not everything will be applicable to you - at least that was the case for me since there were a lot of hacks with wine and beer casings, which i dont drink or use. Also, the holidays section is not very helpful, but you will definitely find many recommendations that are going to be used. Having kids is tough, and you so any solution for any kind of problem will make your life a little easier.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing quality: 0
Engagement: 1
Informative: 1
Personal Impact: 1
Personal Longevity: 0

Note: Kind of like reading through one of those Buzzfeed lists or something. Fun, quick read with some good ideas. Some of the hacks definitely seemed like more work than they would be worth, but I'll probably use a couple...if I can remember them (Mom brain!).

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"use empty tissue boxes to hold your dirty tissues!"

"use empty wipes containers to hold toys!"

"use bandaids to hold your kids diaper together!"

These are considered hacks. My rating would be lower, but it is so quick to read that, it's kinda no harm no foul. It had some useful tidbits, a lot of it was as above: how to use your recycling and trash for other uses.

[Ngo Linh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Áp dụng được khoảng 10-20% tips trong này. Đa phần các tips dành cho trẻ tầm 2-3 tuổi đổ lên, mình muốn xem tips cho trẻ sơ sinh hơn. Với phù hợp các gia đình phương tây hơn, hoặc gia đình có điều kiện ở VN, ví dụ nhiều tips cho trẻ hoạt động trên ô tô, du lịch bằng ô tô gia đình, tắm với con trong bồn tắm,…

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly basic list of parenting tips, mostly focused around reusing objects, either household or baby items, to extend their use or make your life easier. Pretty much a blog baked into a book, with some cute illustrations. Saw it at a consignment store, borrowed it from the library. Would not recommend buying this.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok, but not great. A useful book to have around if you have a specific problem you would like solved (topically arranged chapters), but not all of the ideas are that great or earth shattering.

[May-Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

maybe 3.5. i'm not sure i'd call this a book exactly; it's a collection of quick and easy tips to make your life easier. i rounded up since its form factor considers parents exactly - it's digestible, practical and quick to sift through for what might help you hack your parenting.