Mother Knows Best!

Submitted by Toronto4Kids Moms

Last year, we invited our Toronto4Kids Moms to submit their best "tried and tested" tips. Here is a compilation of some of the best tips we received. From getting organized to keeping things tidy, keeping kids safe, having fun and more ... you're bound to find a tip or two to make life easier!

Kids' Personal Drawers
To help keep things organized in our house, we have a shelf and drawers at the front door for our 3 and 5 year old. This helps them put away their shoes, boots as well as hats, mitts and scarves. They really like having their very own place to put their items away and it's a spot where they can still reach for their things quite easily. It keep things tidy! From Tawne - City Of Kawartha Lakes

Seasonal Shoe Organizer
I wanted to comment on the shoe organizer tip. I did the same thing although I have a very small closet at the front door not nearly big enough for mom and dad and two kids so I put a shoe organizer inside the closet door and it holds all the hats, mitts and scarfs in the winter and sandals in the summer. It’s a great invention. From Michelle - Ajax

Reuse Kleenex Boxes
Kleenex boxes are too useful to simply recycle! We use them to store all kinds of things: drinking straw holder, hot wheel car storage, hold used plastic bags to send for my neighbour's two dogs. I have even used them trimmed in a drawer to help keep the sock population easy to find for my 5 year old. Next time you're about to throw one away, take a minute to think about what other uses these versatile little boxes can do for you!  From Kristen - Toronto

Clear shoeboxes for crafts
I use clear inexpensive plastic shoeboxes with colourful lids to organize our craft supplies. No need to label as your kids can see exactly what's in the box: Stickers, Paint, Beads, Crayons, Paper Cut-outs, etc. And, clean up is a breeze! Stack the boxes for easy access. From Elizabeth - Toronto

Match the Sock Game
Hate to match up socks when it's time to fold the laundry? I play the "Match the Sock" game with my young daughter. I gather all the socks that need pairing and throw them on the floor. We race to see who can correctly match the most pairs. It's a fun game and it gets an annoying chore out of the way! From Isabelle - Oshawa

Toddler Safety
For the Toddler that gets into everything... Store your straight pins and sewing needles and other potentially harmful small objects in a clear child-resistant prescription bottle. Remove the label. That way, you can always see what's in the bottle, and items are out of Toddler's reach. From Nancy - Toronto

Difference between Hot & Cold
To teach my 6 year old daughter the difference between the hot and cold water faucets, I attached a red hair tie on the hot water handle and a blue hair tie on the cold water handle. That way, I know that she'll be able to tell the 2 apart and won't scald herself. From Franka - Pickering

No more missing Puzzle pieces
My 2 children love puzzles so we have quite a collection of them in our house! When we find a missing piece, we often have trouble figuring out which puzzle it belongs to. Now, when we get a new puzzle, we immediately put a code on the back of each piece. When we find a piece that has strayed, we know right away which puzzle it belongs to! From Sam - Toronto

Cool Lunches
To keep my kids' lunch boxes fresh, I put our Juice Tetras in the freezer. That way, they act as a freezer pack when I pack them in lunch boxes. They keep sandwiches and salads cool. This is very practical especially during the hotter months. Do the same thing when you go on a picnic! From Sue - Toronto

Survivor Cooler
Our family keeps a cooler in each car. In the coolers, we keep all the necessities to survive with the kids! When the kids were babies, we kept wipes, clothes, diapers and a changing pad. Now that they are older I keep an extra set of clothes for all of us, a blanket, tissues, water bottles, juice boxes, non-perishable snacks for all, a flashlight, a first aid kit, a few toys and books. You never know when these things might just come in handy! From Jan - Aurora

Keeping Toys Tidy
I have 2 children (girl age 5 and boy age 3) and cleanup is always a problem! I bought a couple of storage bins and used a Sharpie marker to draw their names on their "toybox". I then let them color in their name and draw on them however they wanted to make this their special "toybox". Now they know which is theirs and it makes cleanup easier and fun knowing that they made their "toybox". Toys are now being put away! From Cynthia - Georgetown

Learning the Alphabet
My 2 and 3 year old children are working hard at recognizing their letters of the alphabet and their numbers. Since no one ever likes to sit still for a meal, I found a creative way to incorporate fun into learning and eating. By using a large syringe to pour the batter, I can create the perfect penny size pancakes in the shapes of letters and numbers. The kids just gobble them up. It's a lot more fun to eat as you learn! From Tina - Toronto

More tips for Tidy Toys
These days, children seem to have a lot of toys. Some never get played with and are buried at the bottom of the toy box. To keep your kids interested in their toys and to get the most use out of them, get 2 or 3 large rubbermaid totes and divide a different variety of toys among them. Rotate the tubs every 2 to 3 weeks, or when you hear the dreaded words: "I'm bored". It has served us well so far, and you would be surprised at how clean their rooms become with a tub or two full of toys kept somewhere else! From Kimberly - Oshawa

School Papers
With 3 kids in school, it becomes difficult trying to keep all the papers, assignments, newsletters, and paperwork organized & easy to find. Buy a cheap filing system with folders and put each child's name on the folders. Use it to keep newsletters, papers and forms that have to be signed. It makes finding their stuff much easier. At the end of each school year, sort through the papers & keep what they want for their school boxes memories. The rest is recycled. This has helped me tremendously. Joyce - Toronto

Helping Kids Read
Last summer, I wanted to make sure the kids weren't glued to the TV or playing video games all day long. To encourage them to read, we made a "reading tree" out of construction paper. Every time the kids read a book, they made a leaf and taped it on the tree. Each leaf had the title of the book and the author. The kids couldn't wait to read a book to add a leaf! It was wonderful watching the tree grow! We will be making our tree again this summer! Elizabeth - Toronto

Pocket Shoe Organizers
I have 3 young girls and their stuff is everywhere. We do not have enough drawers or cupboards to store everything. I bought a shoe organizer that hangs over the back of the door of their bedrooms and bathroom. These store: beaded necklaces, plastic bracelets, clips, barrettes, scrunchies, brushes, combs, ponytail ties...everything for girls! There are about 30 little pockets in the shoe organizer and each one is full. They now know where to find things because the pockets are clear. From Tracy - Vaughan

Waiting Room Bag
Here's a great idea to keep kids occupied during doctor/dentist or other appointments. We keep a "waiting room" bag in the trunk of the car. It contains toys, sticker books, comics, books, small toys and crafts/activity books that the kids don't usually get to play with at home. Every once in awhile, I rotate items or add new ones to the bag. It's just what we need to keep them busy when we are stuck in a waiting room!  From Diane - Thornhill

Cool Treat!
It's Ice Cream season so here's a great tip to help stop messy ice cream leaks on hot summer days! Stick a few miniature marshmallows at the bottom of your cone before scooping in your ice cream. Kids will also be excited about finding a treat at the bottom of their cone!  From Suzie - Toronto