5 parenting hacks from Kate Murnane
All parents will know that any small parenting hacks you can get your hands on can make a big difference in day-to-day life. Luckily, mum blogger and YouTuber Kate Murnane has recently published her new book, The Little Book of Mum Hacks, perfect for adding some new tips and tricks to your arsenal.
Talking about the book, popular blogger and author Louise Pentland say it’s “Perfect for new parents. These hacks are genius!!” and best-selling author Giovanna Fletcher describes the book as “Total genius!”.
Explaining the inspiration behind the book in an interview with The Independent, Murnane explains: “My main reason for writing the book was to share my passion for making life as a parent that little bit easier,” continuing “All we can do is try our best and, thankfully, there’s often a way to do something quicker, or more simply and efficiently, that enables us to free up that one thing we can’t get more of – time.”
With over 150 small and easy-to-implement tips and hacks, every parent will be able to find something in this book to help them out. In this article, we share a few of the best hacks.
The Vest Hack
In her interview with The Independent, Kate explains that she “couldn’t have got through the first night of being a new mum without this hack, and I’m so shocked at how many people have told me they didn’t know this simple trick.”
For the vest hack, Kate reveals that, instead of bringing your baby’s vest top off over their head, you should be able to pull it down over their shoulders instead. Why might this be so valuable, you ask? Kate explains: “This was an especially useful hack for us, as my first son was very ‘mucus-y’ when he was born and was sick about five times that first night in the hospital (so don’t let anyone tell you you’re taking in too many outfits, we got through them all and needed more).”
Crinkle-Cut Veg
For little fingers, vegetables and fruits can be hard to hold and slippery. As a parent, you’ll want to do everything you can to try and entice your children towards healthier food options, but for babies who are weaning, not being able to self-feed vegetables especially can add a whole new challenge.
A simple solution for this that Kate advises is crinkle cutting your veg. This will give more slippery foods like carrots, melons and sweet potato some texture, making it easier to hold and allowing your child the independence to self-feed.
Bath Toys
Anyone who has kids or has been around kids will know that bath toys can be some of the most fun and most loved you buy. However, they are also quick to get mouldy and unclean. This can be especially true of the inside of bath toys, where small air holes allow them to fill with water but never dry out properly leading to mould build-up.
The solution for this is another simple one, Kate explains that when you first buy the toys take some time to fill this hole using a hot glue gun to stop any water from getting in and therefore prevent any mould from building up.
Sun Bleaching
With babies always come something else, stains. Whether it’s a nappy leak on a crisp, white onesie or a chuck up on your favourite white t-shirt, there will be no limit to the number of garments your baby can stain in their early days.
Although you can try washing and washing again to get these out, you are sometimes left with an off-white mark that doesn’t seem to vanish. One thing you can try, that Kate suggests in her book, is using the power of the sun to fix this. Explaining this to The Independent, she says: “The day I discovered the sun is nature’s way of bleaching stains, I have to say, I felt like a genius. Place the washed item of clothing in the sun and watch the poo stains disappear. OK, maybe give it a few hours. But it’ll happen!”
Ask for Help
It’s not just parenting hacks that Kate shares, but pregnancy hacks as well, and one of the key things she instils is that you should ask for help (and take it when it’s offered.) Having children is hard and there is no shame in getting a little help to get you by, from accepting a few freeze meals from a friend so you can cut down on cooking in the early days to talking to a household staff agency to get some help with chores around the home. If people around you are offering help, take it when you can as not only will it make your life easier but it gives your loved ones a tangible way to feel as though they are helping you.
These are only a small selection of the tips and hacks you can find in Kate’s book, The Little Book of Mum Hacks. Having children is a journey and one best made when equipped with small and easy to implement time savings tips like these.
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