What are some funny parent tricks (details inside ?

I kept candy hidden from the kids by putting it in the vegetable bin in the fridge for yyears.

When the kids were little I’d turn the clock back an hour from time to time so I could get them to bed earlier and give myself a break. It worked until they started wearing watches.

Sounds as if your Grandpa was following in the footsteps of Mark Twain. Have you ever read the story about Tom Sawyer and whitewashing the fence? Same idea. Take an odious chore and transform it into forbidden fun. Clever.

Forbidden fruit is always sweeter.

During my teaching years I never lacked for volunteers for chores like taking out the garbage or dusting the erasers because I only awarded these chores to kids who had no behavior infractions or missing homeworks for at least a month priorc

Because these chores were considered a prize to be earned, I always had a bunch of hands raised eager to volunteer to do them :)

It’s all about perspective.

For their 13th birthday I grandly showed them how to use the washing machine, and told them they could wash their own clothes now.

They were thrilled. For about 3 weeks.

Not a parent, but when my nephew was teething I fed him vanilla ice cream and gave him really cold wash clothes. It calmed him right down.

^^^ Everything works once, for a while. It was frustrating. You think, “Aha! I haff found zee solution!” .... but the next time you try it you might as well have put a brick in his mouth.

When a kid starts an endless circle of “Why?”, surprise them by replying, “What do you think?”
Questions are great, of course, but the endless circles are often just attention-seeking. By getting the child to tell you about his own ideas, you’re turning an “interview” into a real conversation. Also, the answers children come up with are often very smart and/or interesting.

When you’re dealing with a kid who’s constantly getting out of bed, be proactive. Tell him that you will come visit at set intervals, then do so. I’ve learned that kids fall asleep lightning-fast when all they have to do is wait.

I used to get frustrated with my ex, because he’d tell them that then not go back in. I felt that was wrong, wrong, wrong.

^ It is. I guess he’s your ex for a reason!

One of many reasons!

When hubby would feed the baby, he’d often play target practice. Her mouth was the target, and he’d try to fling the food in her mouth with a spoon. Another time the baby fell asleep at the dinner table with his head in his food. So Daddy “decorated” the baby with the rest of his supper. Daddy cleaned up the baby each time, but I wanted to hose them both down, especially the one who knew better!

Oh, fun! My ex used to use crackers to teach the toddlers dog tricks! “Sit! Bark! Beg!” They loved it.
He used to put them in a pillow case and sling them over his shoulder and say he was Santa Clause.

LOL! As long as the kids liked it, that’s awesome!

I Taught the kids their mulitplication tables by taking them for a ride, rolling down all the windows and having them recite them them at the top of their lungs! I told them if the neighbors couldn’t hear it, it didn’t count. They LOVED it! And they learned ‘em quick too!

My kids learned to count to 10 from watching the microwave. Of course, they learned to count backward before they learned to count forward.

We used to play “Name that state capitol” game in the car. :D They knew more than I did.

At bed time I would tell the kids I had to pat their eyes shut so they’d sleep. If that didn’t work, I’d tell them I’d kiss them shut. Then I’d start “lathering up” (smacking my lips and running my tongue around the outside of my mouth). The “Ew, gross!” factor was right up there, but for some reason, I never had to actually kiss them shut, and they didn’t open their eyes again for the rest of the night.

It was a nightly routine, and they seemed to love it.

Oh funny! Nice.