IT’S a phrase dreaded by both parents and kids alike – “10 minutes and then we’re leaving”.
Kids hate the thought of their fun coming to an end, while dread the inevitable argument with their offspring about why it’s time to go home.
Mum Laura has found a parenting hack that works every time, and it’s so easy
It means she doesn’t have to worry about her daughter kicking off when it’s time to go home
All she has to do is set an alarm, and tell her daughter that when it goes off, she has to do what she’s been asked to do
But there’s a new hack doing the rounds that if the “10 minute warning” isn’t doing anything for your little ones.
Laura took to TikTok to reveal the clever trick, which she happened upon by accident when her mum made an off the cuff suggestion.
“My daughter is two and she never wants to leave my mum and dad’s house when she’s been there for the day,” Laura said.
“I go to pick her up and she doesn’t want to leave because she’s having too much fun.”
Laura had been telling her little girl that they were “going in one minute”, but the tot was still getting upset and kicking off before she could actually get her out.
“My mum said one day, ‘I love how you say we’re going in a minute as if she knows what a minute is’,” Laura explained.
“And I was like, ‘Doesn’t matter does it? The point is that I’m giving her a warning. I’m not just going right we’re going.'”
At that point, Laura’s mum suggested she could “set up an alarm” on her phone, and then “when the alarm goes off it’s time to go”.
“So I tested it,” she said.
“I said, ‘Right when Mummy’s phone rings, it’s time to go!'”
She set the alarm for a minute, and wasn’t sure what her toddler’s reaction would be.
But, much to her surprise, as soon as the alarm went off, the little girl got up and headed to the door – without any complaining.
While she initially wondered if it might be a “fluke”, she’s used it on numerous occasions since then, and it’s “worked like a dream every time”.
Now Laura is trying out the hack with potty training.
As her daughter doesn’t want to interrupt her playing to go and try on the potty, Laura uses her alarm, and tells her little girl that when it goes off, it’s time to go and try to do a wee.
“The phone goes off and she goes, ‘Oh my gosh, that means it’s time for wee wee’, and she runs to her potty and does a wee,” Laura added.
Time-saving mum hacks
Morning Routine
Nighttime Preparation: Set out clothes for yourself and the kids, pack lunches, and organise backpacks before bed.
Effortless Breakfasts: Keep simple, healthy breakfast options on hand, such as overnight oats, smoothie packs, or pre-made breakfast burritos.
Meal Planning
Weekly Meal Prep: Dedicate time each week to plan your meals to eliminate daily decision-making.
Bulk Cooking: Prepare larger quantities and freeze portions for future use.
Hands-Off Cooking: Make use of slow cookers or Instant Pots for easy, unattended meal prep.
Ready-to-Use Veggies: Purchase pre-chopped vegetables or chop them all at once to save time during the week.
Household Chores
Daily Laundry: Do a load of laundry every day to prevent a buildup of dirty clothes.
Continuous Cleaning: Encourage kids to clean up after themselves and perform small cleaning tasks throughout the day.
Efficient Multitasking: Fold laundry while watching TV or listen to audiobooks/podcasts while cleaning.
Organisation
Family Command Centre: Set up a central hub with a calendar, to-do lists, and important documents.
Daily Decluttering: Spend a few minutes each day decluttering to maintain an organised home.
Organised Storage: Use bins and baskets to keep items neat and easy to locate.
Kid Management
Prepared Activity Bags: Have bags packed with essentials for various activities (e.g., swimming, sports).
Routine Visuals: Implement visual charts to help kids follow their routines independently.
Task Delegation: Assign age-appropriate chores to children to foster responsibility and reduce your workload.
“No complaints – like, excited to do it.”
“It’s like something in that alarm tone makes her brain immediately excited to do the thing that one minute ago she absolutely did not want to do,” she concluded.
And in the comments section, other parents revealed they’d had similar success with the hack on their own kids.
“Works for everything , tidying up works a treat,” one wrote.
“Yea we do it all the time, put a timer on and it works every time,” another added.
As a third said: “I use this all the time with my grandchildren, and when my kids were little.
“Worked every time without arguing.”
