5 parenting hacks that will save you time (and your sanity).

Ways to get better at being a parent, without hardly trying.

I’m no super mum, and when someone tells me I’m a great mother, my instinct is usually to explain all the ways in which I am deficient.

I know, I know. I really should give myself a break. We should all give ourselves a break when it comes to this whole parenting game.

Because every day, and every child, is different. Some days we know what to do. Other days we just don’t.

For those days that you don’t know what to do? I’ve put together a list of my top six Mummy Hacks to help you out.

Mummy Hack 1: How to fool fussy eaters. Every time.

Hiding veggies in dishes has become second nature to me.

The book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld will get you started on the whole hiding veggies lark, and some of my mum friends also have some great advice:

“Take your child fruit and vegetable shopping with you. Let them choose anything they like and then they are more likely to try them later.” – Donna

“My daughter never ate vegetables at all but instead of giving in, I kept putting them on her plate. I’d encourage her to try them but not pressure her. One day she started eating them. I was so happy with the progress.” – Michele

Mummy Hack 2: How to beat your kids’ technology addiction.

These days, kids all seem to be addicted to technology. But there are ways to limit that addiction:

“I used to not let my kids use any technology during the week and then they’d binge on it all over the weekend. Now we concentrate on integrating it into our lives each day, but not too much.” Mel

“Kids don’t need every device on the market. My kids have iPods and a computer only and that’s plenty. We discuss developing a healthy relationship with them but it’s not a big deal. The more I fight it the more the love it.” Sam

Mummy Hack 3: How to stop the constant bickering.

Kids bicker and argue and tussle and fight. It’s only natural. It’s still incredibly unpleasant to listen to:

“Don’t get involved every time your kids fight. They need to learn to sort out their own problems themselves so they develop proper life-skills.” – Fiona

Related: 33 ridiculous things you had no idea you had to teach your kid.

“I only get involved when it escalates. I just get them all to spend a little time apart, to take a break from the game and then everything is fine.” – Sal

Mummy Hack 4: How to get your kids off the couch.

Buying a puppy has changed our lives completely at home, so for the moment, I’m sorted. But if you don’t have a puppy, these ideas might help:

“When my kids have been on the couch too long, I fake a blackout. I turn off all the electricity and blame the faulty wiring again and you’d be surprised how quickly they find things to do.” – Cat

Related: “There’s one really good reason why my kids are always dirty.”

“Making everything a race is the fastest way to get kids off the couch. All you do is go, ‘Who’s going to be the first person to the dinner table’ and they come running. It works every time.” – Mish

Mummy Hack 5: Yes, you can stop your next family shopping trip from turning into a nightmare.

My top tips? Give the kids jobs – get them to find items and choose their favourite flavours etc. You can also try these tips:

“Food shopping is a weekly event for us now. We go to lunch and by the time we go shopping we are full and happy and relaxed. They take turns reading off the items from the shopping list and they don’t always behave but they look forward to food shopping now because they get to go to their favourite cafe.” Anna

“Shop online. It has saved my life and my sanity. If we do go to the shops it’s just for quick trips. It saves a lot of pain.” Renee

Have you got some genius Mummy Hacks to help you deal with everything kids throw our way? Please share! We’ll be adding them all to our DAIRYLEA Hackademy.