This collection of parenting tips and advice comes straight from the mouths of mums, and will help you overcome everyday parenting struggles.
As parents, we all have weeks where we struggle. Times when we question ourselves and our children, and feel as though everyone else has their act together except us. Spoiler alert: this is certainly not the case! I recently did a call out on social media asking parents to tell me the best parenting advice they ever received.
Not only did the responses make me smile and feel less alone in this parenting gig, they also made me realise we’ve all got our own struggles going on. I hope the following advice helps you as much as it did me.
What’s The Best Parenting Advice I Ever Received?
My mum strangely didn’t give me much advice, my Nan would have but wasn’t around, and I was the first of all my friends to have kids, which left my kids’ paediatrician. The best advice he gave me was to share the burden of raising my babies with my husband. I visited him one day when I was super tired, baby twins in arms and I remember telling him that I was getting up every night for feeds and didn’t want to bother my hubby by asking him to get up and help too. This paediatrician explained that my job of raising two little babies was just as important as my husband’s day job, and that I needed as much sleep as him for the next day.
What Parenting Advice Would I Give?
My younger brother has young kids and my advice to him is that kids are clever, they know how to push buttons and they know how to manipulate. You need to let them know from a very young age that when you say “NO” you mean no. When you say ‘don’t slam the door or I’ll remove it’, you will! I actually did this one day and my daughter learnt quickly that I follow through with what I say.
My kids are now all young adults. Trust me when I say that they grow up so quickly! Enjoy these moments whilst they’re young, because the time really does fly by.
Parenting Advice From The Organised Housewife Community
RELAX – you don’t have to figure it all out today (or even tomorrow).
Go with the flow – it usually comes naturally and your baby adapts to your ‘method’. – Leanna
Do what works for you. – Leah
Just shut their door. – Tracey
Choose your battles. – Asta
Not to stress out over visitors if you home is messy especially with a newborn. True friends will get in & do the washing up or put a load of washing on. – Brennan
Do whatever works for you and your child. – Ness
Pick your arguments. – Marie
Time wasted is not wasted time. – Lisa
Slow down…babies and children are only small for a short while, the housework will always be housework. Enjoy them while you can. – Anneka
DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF – kindness will be your saviour.
A little dirt won’t kill them. – Heather
They will not die from crying. – Susie
My son had severe reflux, so no sleep and a lot of crying and screaming 24/7. I remember bursting into tears at the health centre visit and saying all I want is a shower before my husband gets home. She told me while he’s crying he’s breathing so it’s ok to have a shower while he’s crying. But the best words were: don’t feel guilty. – Andrea
Your baby is a lot tougher thank you think. – Beth
Pick your battles and don’t sweat the little stuff. – Michelle
Remember you love them. – Elle
It’s ok to cry. – Cheyenne
My midwife told me if I had changed out of my pyjamas by the time my husband came home from work, it was a good day! – Allison
Don’t compare yourself to other mothers. – Helene
Trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to say you need help. – Sally
READ MORE: Know Your Limits And Be Kind To Yourself
DON’T BE TOO SOFT ON THEM – they’re tougher than you think.
Sometimes tough love is the only way. Don’t reward bad behaviour. – Andrea
They’ll eat eventually. – Bek
Tough love……gotta be cruel to be kind. So proud of my kids…. everyone always mentions how well behaved they are. – Vanessa
Don’t forget you are the adult here! – Eloise
Never let them in your bed because you will never get them out! – Shelley
Give them a choice when things aren’t negotiable: “Which step do you want to sit on to put on your shoes?” Is better than “put your shoes on”. – Sarah
You do not have to buy them something every time you visit a store. My mother taught me that lesson when I was very young and I rarely asked for anything when we went out. I love that my kiddos aren’t the ones throwing a fit in the checkout lane because they didn’t get a toy or candy. – Carisa
Never cave on dinner. If you served it, they eat it or go to bed hungry. – Hayles
GET SOME PERSPECTIVE – it’s as good as a holiday.
Today is only one day, try again tomorrow (i think of this after a big 3.5yr old tantrum day). – Louise
When they’re a newborn, they’ve likely never been this hungry, cold, tired etc, so it’s nothing you’ve done. They’re just learning things too. – Jaimee
This too will pass. – Marie
They won’t be in your bed when they are 21. – Amanda
Kids have no instructions, we are all winging it. There is no right or wrong way to raise your kids. Just remember that respect, love, and honesty are the most important things they need to learn in life. You’re doing a great job. – Mal
Regarding teens, if in a disagreement let them have the last word. It’s protective for their self esteem and mental health. – Karen
Remember with your teenagers, it’s worse for them then it is for you. – Elizabeth
“Your kids will not die from having toast for tea”. I love my mum. – Teresa
You don’t always have to be the teacher, allow them to teach you and you will both succeed. – Rebecca
If you still care enough to worry how much you’re stuffing it up, then they’re doing fine because you still care. – Bronwyn
HAVE SOME FUN – because life is too short not to.
Your kids will be kids only once, the rest can wait. – Liliam
Children are ruthless. This is real life ‘Survivor’… One day the mess will be gone. And the arguments too. Enjoy them while they are little. – Beauty
Buy more wine… – Sally
My dad would say, there is nothing wrong with your child unless they are sitting like a flower pot and not playing or getting into things, let them be kids. – Grant
READ MORE: Favourite Board Games To Play With The Kids
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF – because if you don’t, nobody will.
Trust your gut and don’t second guess it. Us mums have a built in intuition. – Bek
Do what works for you. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re doing it wrong because your way is different to theirs. If your kids are happy, healthy and safe then you’re doing it right. – Ange
Do it your way, believe in yourself and be a parent (i.e. say no and have rules) then you end up being friends …sooo rewarding. – Amanda
Whatever works for you. – Vick
From my doctor when my twins were only months old: trust your instinct, it’s not faulted me yet. – Vanessa
Always trust your instincts, nobody knows your child better than you do. – Elizabeth
Listen to people but at the end of the day trust your own judgement – some things will work some things won’t – try & then chose your own way. You are doing amazing. – Jayne
PRACTICAL TIPS – it’s the little hacks that help a lot.
Don’t spend too much money on your prams because you’ll go through several and boy did we!!!! Especially having a second child so quick and then a third. 3 under 4! I reckon we had total of 6 prams. – Mel
If it takes less then a minute do it straight away. It is a lifesaver with keeping on top of things when the husband is away. – Sophie
Never be late for any appointment. – Jackie
A bedtime routine is vital! – Sarah
Keep extra diapers in the car and extra beer in the refrigerator. – Samantha
Feed your toddler first. The baby doesn’t know anything different. – Leesa
I got told: Raise the adult you want from birth. Was very good advice for us! – Stacy
Never tiptoe around a sleeping baby. I used to play music and vacuum while mine slept. By 6 months old they would’ve slept through a bomb going off. – Melissa
Teach the kids that when they wake up to call out to daddy. You can then roll over and say hey the kids are calling for you. My husband is usually halfway to their bedrooms before he realises that he’s fallen for it again. – Samone
Don’t throw them a birthday party until they are old enough to ask for one! My kids have no memory of any of the under 5 birthday parties we threw them. – Rhianne
READ MORE: How To Beat Groundhog Day With Kids
LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED – love for your kids, other parents, and yourself!
Prioritise giving them your time above all else. – Giz
Don’t judge other parents. You don’t know what they are going through. – Caroline
All they really need is your love. – Michelle
Whether you had it or not, be for your children what you needed at their age and stage of life. – Anna
Never feel guilty for lacking the best house, street, bedding, furniture, clothes etc. I had the poorest upbringing but we survived, as did the posh kids I envied down the road. Life is about creating happy memories because this is what we remember when we grow up! – Jeannie
AND REMEMBER… take all this with a grain of salt, because as one mum called Jessica reminded us: “Everyone is going to have an opinion. You just do you.”
