Post

I've gotta call foul on this "sticking notes on your toddler's face to calm them down" thing I've seen floating around. Sounds ridiculous, right? But I used to work with this single mom who swore by it – she'd place these tiny sticky notes with soothing messages on her kid's face, and the kid would instantly calm down.

someone finally said it *(edited)*

this comment > the whole thread

OP should pin this

screenshotting this

this comment > the whole thread

more people need to see this

not all screens are equal — context matters

saving this comment

couldn't agree more

this needs more upvotes

Another vote to artificially inflate the post's credibility, how original

this right here 👆

saving this comment

this right here 👆 *(edited)*

OP should pin this

I have been saying this for years and nobody listened lmao

yeah, screens as a last resort are still screens, but the "educational" label is just the world we live in now.

more people need to see this

this right here 👆

screenshotting this

Oh come on, that’s not a hack—it’s just a distraction technique that works because toddlers are weirdly fascinated by stickers on their faces. The real dumb-but-effective hack is putting a sock on their hand to stop them from scratching their face when they’re sick.

came here to say this

this ain't it

the way I nodded reading every word of this

so brave for sharing this completely obvious thing

Ugh, I tried the "hide veggies in smoothies" hack with my kid and it worked *too* well—he started asking for "green monster juice" like it was candy. Then one day he caught me sneaking spinach into his banana smoothie and now he *only* drinks it if it's bright green, which means I have to use twice as much

Oh sure, the ‘carrot in the sock’ trick to get your toddler to eat vegetables. Because nothing says ‘nutritious meal’ like a kid fishing out a cold, slimy carrot from their shoe at lunch. But hey, if it works, it works—until they start hiding their socks in the fridge

But what about the long-term effects of tricking kids into eating veggies with ice cream bribes lowkey

Oh sure, just stick the kid in front of a screen and call it "educational." Brilliant. 😤 *(edited)*

Huh, sounds like you're just describing basic bribery with extra steps. What happens when the kid figures out the system and starts holding out for something better 💀

not you thinking anyone cares

sure, but what about the mess?

Oh sure, the "distract with a screen" hack works—until your kid starts demanding it like crack. What about the long-term effects on their attention span lowkey 💯

Nah i'd push back on that a little, I've used it to teach my kid about delayed gratification and setting boundaries, it can actually be a pretty effective long-term strategy. 😤

Lmao my kid refused to eat anything but chicken nuggets for like 6 months straight and I just gave up and bought a 50 pack from Costco every time I went. One day she randomly asked for broccoli and I was like "???" but now she eats it sometimes so I guess the hack was just "wait until they get bored of nuggets."

dad dresses up AS spiderman every morning.

Oh, so now we’re doing superhero cosplay before coffee? Bold strategy. Does this come with a side of web-slinging breakfast refusal?

Putting socks on a baby’s hands to stop them from scratching their face. Genius—until they start drooling into them like tiny, defeated burritos.

no thoughts detected

But what about the long-term effects of sleep training methods like Cry It Out? Studies show mixed results on cortisol levels and attachment security, so I'm not convinced it's a one-size-fits-all "hack." Have you looked into gentler alternatives like the chair method?

Wait, but have you seen the 2016 study in *Pediatrics* that FOUND no long-term behavioral o...

Nah you're actually right about this one

Kids ain't dumb. Just creative lowkey

hard agree

Tape the sippy cup to their hand. 🔥

that's crazy

Wait—does this hack involve screen time, or is it more about like… emotional manipulation? (Genuinely curious how that line gets drawn.)

the bar was on the floor and you still managed to trip

Ugh, the "distraction with a screen" hack—it’s just surrender, but it works so *well* that it feels like a betrayal of everything parenting is supposed to be. 💯

wait actually

Wait actually that’s the only hack that works tbh

I've done the whole "peel a raw carrot to make it look more appealing" thing and its a total game changer my toddler, at least, is all about presentation lmao

oof *(edited)*

same

flagging this for misinformation

Not an actual hack, conditioning

Distraction is a valid tactic—proven even!

Sure, until they figure out how to scratch *w/* the sock. *(edited)*

why is this so accurate 😭

The comments are more interesting than the post tbh 😩

First time posting but putting a sock on your toddler’s hand to stop them from scratching their face works way better than you’d think. 😭

First time posting but… cereal for dinner honestly

wait actually

why is this so accurate 😭

Duct tape: a parenting miracle

hard agree

But what if the kid just *wants* to scream into the void instead of eating the apple sauce?

Yeah, and what if the void *wants* the carrot more than the kid does?

Oh god, I once put a single gummy bear in my kid’s lunchbox just to see if they’d eat the rest of the meal—turns out they *only* ate the gummy and left the sandwich untouched, but hey, at least they ate *something*