upworthy

My Father-In-Law Says We Should Not Bail Out Detroit. I Think I'll Send Him This.

We all need to really be paying attention to what's happening in Detroit, because if they can pull this kind of thing there, every city in the nation is in jeopardy.

True
Workonomics

The Story Of Detroit's Bankruptcy And Why It Matters

So it all began in July when Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and his politically appointed emergency financial manager decided to push the City of Detroit into municipal bankruptcy.

It's the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in the history of the United States, which makes this a BFD.

But let's rewind.

Between 2011-2012, Snyder took away about $66 million that Detroit should have received as its share of state revenues. And over the past decade, the state has taken away $700 million in funding from Detroit.

Then Gov. Snyder signed a local dictator law that allows for "emergency financial managers." They can tear up cities' contracts with workers and sell off city assets. Citizens have no say in this.

Let’s keep in mind that these public employees have already worked in good faith and agreed to make huge sacrifices to keep Detroit running. This includes $160 million in annual savings from a 10-percent pay cut, health benefit reductions and a 40-percent cut in future pension benefits. The sacrifices were all one-sided.

Now, Michiganders didn't like the local dictator law that Snyder and his cronies passed. So they repealed it in a statewide referendum.

But then Snyder and his cronies pushed the local dictator law through a lame-duck session. And they used a loophole that prevents citizens from repealing the legislation for a second time.

This whole situation is kind of déjà vu. Like that time Snyder campaigned for governor assuring voters that “right-to-work” was too divisive for Michigan. But then he rammed it through during a lame-duck legislative session.

The decline of Detroit industry during the past 40 years was not the fault of modestly paid public-service workers. When Wall St. bankers and corporations helped saddle Detroit with crippling debt, public workers stayed and kept the city running.

But instead of addressing the actual causes of the city’s financial problems Snyder made it harder for the city to pay its bills. Then he declared that Detroit was in a state of financial emergency and appointed a “emergency financial manager” for the city.

Metaphorically, it looked something like this.

He claims that he didn't want to push the city into bankruptcy. But oddly enough his appointed emergency financial manager is a bankruptcy lawyer.

Fast forward a little bit and, SURPRISE, the financial manager/bankruptcy lawyer declares bankruptcy.

Now this means retired public service workers' retirement funds could get wiped out. They could get paid cents on the dollar, forcing them to choose between paying for their electricity, their house, food, or medicine.

It also means that taxpayers now have to pay about $1.4 million a month to lawyers and consultants in order to go through the bankruptcy. That is money which could be used to fund starved city services such as public safety, transportation, or firefighters.

Even the Republican attorney general says this is unconstitutional. The state constitution says clearly that cutting pension payments is illegal. Gov. Synder should be beating up on Wall Street instead of retirees and workers.

But instead of defending his actions, Snyder tried to get the bankruptcy judge to prevent him from being deposed in bankruptcy court about HIS decision to push Detroit into bankruptcy.

To put all this into perspective, these retirees don't have bling pensions. The average is only $19,000 a year. These pensions account for only 4 percent of Detroit’s budget expenditures.

I know, right?

And many of them don't receive Social Security. These public service employees worked their entire lives and made sacrifices. The pension is all they have. That means there isn’t a safety net if it gets wiped out.

Gov. Snyder, meanwhile, doled out more than a billion dollars in tax cuts to multinational corporations, many of which shipped American jobs overseas. Snyder found the money for these sweetheart deals by reducing aid to school districts, towns and cities across the state.

(Except it ain't his money)

He also announced, just days after authorizing Detroit’s bankruptcy, that some $250 million in taxpayer money would be spent to help a billionaire build a new for-profit hockey arena in the city.

Eminem couldn't believe it either.

So maybe this is a crazy thought: shouldn't we be securing retirees' pensions before paying off Wall Street banks? You know, the people who served their city for decades, took pay cuts, and have no other source of retirement income?

That $#!+ cray.

Because at the end of the day Wall St. investors and their bond insurers are going to come out of this okay. It’s workers and retirees who will suffer the most.

If you agree that retirees and working people should come before Wall St. profits then join us and show that you

Stand With Detroit.

Education

One teacher's simple, disgusting experiment drives home the importance of hand washing

"Hand sanitizer is not an alternative to washing hands!"

Facebook/Jaralee Metcalf

Simple. Disgusting. Informative.

One of the biggest breakthroughs in preventing the spread of illnesses and infections in hospitals was embarrassingly simple: hand washing. In 1846, Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis discovered that hand washing played a vital role in the spread of germs, and the practice soon became mandatory in hospitals. The simple act of scrubbing hands with soap and water literally saved lives.

Getting a kid to wash their hands, however, can be an uphill battle. While it's a common thing kids (don't) do, global perspective on the importance and effectiveness of hand washing has risen since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in 2023, before the emergence of COVID-19, a survey found that only about 36% of people always washed their hands with soap, 48% sometimes used soap, and an unsettling 16% of respondents said they wash without soap. After COVID-19 emerged, however, more than 72% of respondents reported using soap every time they washed their hands. There's nothing like a pandemic (and perhaps the reality of FAFO) to strike fear into the hearts of those chronic under washers, but in 2019, one teacher did a simple experiment to show her students just how important hand washing is.

"We did a science project in class this last month as flu season was starting," teacher Dayna Robertson and classroom behavioral specialist Jaralee Metcalf wrote on Facebook. "We took fresh bread and touched it. We did one slice untouched. One with unwashed hands. One with hand sanitizer. One with washed hands with warm water and soap. Then we decided to rub a piece on all our classroom Chromebooks." Robertson later noted that they normally do make a point to sanitize the classroom Chromebooks, but didn't that day in the name of science.

science, experiment, dexter's lab, cartoon, kids, hygiene Dexters Laboratory What A Fine Day For Science GIFGiphy

The bread was put into plastic bags and the germs were left to fester. The bread that had been touched by unwashed hands and the bread that had touched the Chromebook had the most mold. The bread that had been touched by hands washed with soap and water remained (relatively) good enough to eat.

This experiment has been done before, but Robertson expanded on it by testing the effectiveness of hand sanitizer. The bread that had been touched by hands cleaned with sanitizer also had a fair amount of mold on it, although not as much as the bread touched by unwashed hands.

bread, mold, experiment, education, hand washing, cleanlinessThe bread doesn't lie. Facebook/Jaralee Metcalf

"As somebody who is sick and tired of being sick and tired of being sick and tired," Robertson wrote, "wash your hands! Remind your kids to wash their hands! And hand sanitizer is not an alternative to washing hands!! At all!" It's kind of making us retroactively gag over seeing port-a-potties with hand sanitizer set up in lieu of sinks.

The experiment was prompted by a different science lesson. "We had just finished a science lesson on how leaves break down during winter. The kids were kind of grossed out by the mold, so we decided to run our own version using germs and mold from our own environment," Robertson told Scary Mommy.

Weirdly, the classroom experiment received some criticism. "Lots of people actually DEFENDED not washing their hands!" Robertson told Scary Mommy. "That was shocking! It really was just a simple classroom experiment to teach about mold but we have all learned more about how easily we can spread the germs we can't see."

In the 2019 lens, this lesson being about mold seems simple enough. All of us here in 2025, though, blessed (or cursed) with the experience of the pandemic, know that washing your hands really is as life-saving as Semmelweis proved nearly two centuries ago. Research done in 2020 and published in PubMed showed that individuals who washed their hands consistently were more likely to have lower rates of COVID-19 infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2024, hand washing also reduces respiratory illness like colds and flu in the general population by 16-21%, and reduces the number of people with diarrheal illnesses by 23-40%.

And to be sure, how we wash our hands is incredibly important. A quick rinse without scrubbing won't do the trick. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the proper technique for handwashing is to wet your hands, apply soap, and then run your soapy hands under the stream while rotating, rubbing, and scrubbing every inch of your hands for at least 20 seconds. Usually you can hit that mark by singing "Happy Birthday" twice. Then, rinse. When you're done, dry your hands with a clean towel. Check out this demonstration from the CDC:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The moral of the story is, please, please remember to always wash your hands. It really makes a difference.

This article originally appeared six years ago. It has been updated.

From Your Site Articles
hand washing experiment
Parenting

Mom reveals what most parents fail to realize when teaching their kids about bullies

It's a hard truth to face, but an important one.

Photo credit: Canva

Kids don't always know how their actions affect others.

There are a lot of resources and conversations out there focused on teaching kids how to deal with bullies. But what about when it’s your own kid who’s doing the bullying?

Or course, that can be a hard reality to face. Virtually no one raises their kiddo to be a bully. But children, as innocent as they aren’t, aren’t born fully knowing boundaries and consequences. And without being taught these things, lines get crossed.

And this is the very valuable point that Rachel (@rachel.the.editor) made in a clip posted to her TikTok, where she challenged the common language used in most anti-bullying tactics.

@rachel.the.editor Just a thought
♬ original sound - Rachel The Editor 👩💻

“Have we ever considered the fact that anti-bullying messaging for kids is often centered around the victim and some anonymous evil bully and never teaching kids to recognize when they are being the bully?” she asked.

Gong further, she added that while she doesn't think kids are “inherently evil,” they don’t necessarily “have the emotional maturity to know the effect that they’re having on other kids.”

Therefore, she argued that it’s just as, if not more important, that we teach kids how to recognize bully patterns within themselves, and not just “learning how to deal with this anonymous, shapeless, evil bully figure.”

Rachel certainly has a point. We’ve all seen the usual victim/villain dynamic, both in anti-bullying education…and pretty much every movie centered around an adolescent. Some Biff-type shoves the outcast kid into a locker. Or a Regina George-esque mean girl spreads nasty rumors. Either way, they get their rightful comeuppance by the time the credits roll.

bullying, teaching kids about bullying, anti-bullying, anti-bullying resources, how to deal with bullies, is my kid a bully, parentingGif from 'Mean Girls'media0.giphy.com

But of course, real life doesn't work that way at all. In real life, kids aren’t going to see their teasing or antagonizing as “bullying,” because they don’t want to see themselves as the “bad people” bullies must surely be, given the examples they've been given.

Judging by the comments, folks have also noticed how the current way of doing things falls a little flat.

“The amount of times I've talked to kids being ‘bullied’ only for it to turn out they are the ones antagonizing the other students,” one person wrote. “No one wants to play with you because when you lose you hit them!”

Another added, “YES cuz usually the ‘bully' =; in these existing stories is so cartoonishly evil that real life bullies probably go ‘Obviously that’s not me, I’m just messing around and having fun. They’ve no clue.”

Yet another said, “Kids aren’t going to come home from school like 'mom I’m bullying someone.' They’re going to say 'there’s this weird kid at school.’ Parents never think their kid is the problem…”

bullying, teaching kids about bullying, anti-bullying, anti-bullying resources, how to deal with bullies, is my kid a bully, parentingGIF from 'The Wonder Years.'media1.giphy.com

While it can be hard for parents to come to label their sweet kiddo as bullies, it can serve as an impactful opportunity for growth. After all, they're still learning how to navigate this thing called life, and are bound to make mistakes along the way. But if we can use those mistakes to teach things like empathy and emotional regulation, rather than simply instilling punishment for "bad behavior,” they can take those lessons with them into adulthood.

It’s also worth noting that seeing bully-type behavior doesn’t make you a bad parent. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), it can’t always be 100% prevented. However, they say that “you can help him build coping skills to deal with difficult situations. Spend time with your child, show him love and encouragement, and model good behavior toward others. Talk through difficult situations with your child so he knows he can trust you with his problems.”

Bottom line: while it’s important to teach kids how to stand up to the potential bullies in their life, it’s equally vital to teach them accountability. Luckily, kids are pretty darn receptive.

From Your Site Articles
kids
Animals & Wildlife

Diver convinces a tiny octopus to trade a plastic cup for a shell in Pixar-worthy video

The cup wasn't a safe choice, but the little cephalopod was stubborn.

Pall Sigurdsson/YouTube

Plastic is a problem for ocean wildlife.

Sometimes taking care of our beautiful home planet looks like big, broad policies tackling issues like plastic pollution and habitat destruction. And sometimes it looks like taking the time to help one tiny creature stuck in an environmental bind.

In a YouTube video that's been viewed a whopping 20 million times, we see an example of the latter in action as some kind and compassionate divers attempt to convince an octopus to abandon the plastic cup it's using for protection and trade it for a sturdy shell. Pall Sigurdsson has shared dozens of underwater videos on YouTube, but watching this particular video from his dive off the coast of Lembeh, Indonesia, in 2018 almost feels like watching a Pixar short film.

luxo jr lamp GIF by Disney PixarGiphy

"We spent a whole dive and most of our air saving this octopus from what was bound to be a cruel fate," Sigurdsson wrote in the description of the video.

"The coconut octopus, also known as veined octopus, is born with the instinct to protect itself by creating a mobile home out of coconut or clam shells. This particular individual however has been trapped by their instincts and have made a home out of a plastic cup they found underwater."

It's not just that the flimsy plastic cup didn't provide the octopus adequate protection. Sigurdsson explained that a predator like an eel or a flounder would probably end up swallowing the cup with the octopus in it, likely killing both of them. Plus, even if the octopus abandoned the cup on its own, plastic simply doesn't belong in the ocean.

plastic in the ocean, plastic pollution, ocean wildlifePlastic doesn't belong in the ocean.Photo credit: Canva

"We tried for a long time to give it shells hoping that it would trade the shell," he wrote. "Coconut octopus are famous for being very picky about which shells they keep so we had to try with many different shells before it found one to be acceptable."

If you think an octopus in a cup making a decision about shells doesn't sound riveting, just watch:

- YouTubeyoutu.be

The tentacles reaching out to test the weight of each shell, the divers searching for more options to offer it, the suspense of wondering whether the octopus really would abandon its pathetic plastic pollution protection...it's just too much.

Sigurdsson's other underwater videos are also fun to watch. He shared one of another veined octopus who seemed to have no interest in him but became intrigued with his diver friend, Gary. The way it reaches out to touch just the tip of his finger and then shyly retreats feels like such a clear communication with no words being said.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Octopuses are far more intelligent than anyone would have guessed before we started studying their behavior in earnest. They are known to solve puzzles, escape complicated mazes and traps, and take apart just about anything. It does make you wonder what these little guys were thinking when these divers were interacting with them. Was it curiosity? Judgment? An attempt at connection between species?

It's funny how one small interaction in one tiny portion of the vast ocean can say so much about us, for better and for worse. Human pollution is an enormous problem and saving one little octopus won't save the world, but it sure gives us hope and motivation to keep trying for the sake of the vast number of creatures that live in the ocean as well as our own.

You can find more underwater videos of ocean wildlife from Pall Sigurdsson on YouTube.

This article originally appeared four years ago.

From Your Site Articles
wildlife
Animals & Wildlife

Why have we domesticated some animals but not others? It comes down to four F's.

An entertaining video explains why we can't ride zebras or breed "war bears."

Photo credit: Canva

Horses were domesticated over 5,000 years ago. Zebras, never.

Humans have domesticated several kinds of animals over the millennia, from trusty horses and mules to livestock for milk and meat to our favorite furry companions. But why those specific animals and not others? What is it that led us to those particular choices? Why can we ride horses but not zebras? Why don't we purposefully breed "war bears" to fight for us?

That last question comes straight from the always-interesting and often-hilarious CGP Grey, whose YouTube videos explore all kinds of things we wonder about but don't necessarily take the time to research. In the video "Why Some Animals Can't Be Domesticated," Grey explains the four main elements that make an animal a good candidate for domestication, which excludes bears (and many others) from the list.

Grey alliterated the four elements to make them easier to remember: Friendly, Feedable, Fecund, and Family-Friendly. Let's dig into what those mean.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Domestication requirement #1: Friendly

This one is fairly self-explanatory, but basically an animal has to not post an inherent, immediate threat. We have to be able to catch them if we're going to domesticate them, so that eliminates all of the "carnivores whose day job is murder" as Grey puts it, as well as the large, nervous prey animals that are too afraid of us to let us get anywhere near them.

wild animals, domesticated animals, gazelleGood luck trying to catch a gazelle.Photo credit: Canva

Domestication requirement #2: Feedable

Every animals is feedable, of course, but that doesn't mean it's easy or cheap to feed them, especially in large numbers. This category pretty much eliminates pure carnivores and some omnivores, leaving mostly herbivores (and some unpicky omnivores) that are easy and cheap to feed. And that aren't dangerous (see #1).

wild animals, domesticated animals, chickens, chicken feedChickens will eat just about anything.Photo credit: Canva

Domestication requirement #3: Fecund

This requirement is all about breeding and babies. Some animals are extremely slow to breed, like pandas and elephants, making them undesirable candidates for domestication. Animals that have mate frequently and have relatively short gestation times and/or large litters are more suited to domesticated life. They also need to grow up quickly, which also takes elephants out of the pool.

However, as Grey points out, humans can still tame other animals like elephants. But taming is not the same as domesticating. The basic rule is: If it's on a farm, it's domesticated. If it's in a circus, it's tamed.

Domestication requirement #4: Family-friendly

This is where the horses and zebras question comes in. Horses were domesticated in Eurasia, but if humans started in Africa, why weren't zebras domesticated first? Grey explains that while horses tend to live in hierarchical herds, zebra are more independent with no family structure. Humans can capture the lead male horse and get the rest of the herd to fall in line. Zebra herds are more of a free-for-all and they're kind of jerks to even one another.

horses, zebras, domesticated animals, wild animalsThere's actually a big difference between horses and zebras besides just the stripes.Photo credit: Canva

Barnyard animals have inherent family structures that humans have figured out how to fit into. These animals learn to see the humans who own them as a lead cow or top chicken or whatever.

Way back in the hunter-gatherer age, when humans were just figuring out animal domestication, animals had to have all four of these requirements. Today, we have the ability and technology to domesticate more animals if we want to, but we also have less of a need to. Some breeds of foxes have recently been domesticated, bred to be friendly with humans. How fun would it be to have a pet fox?

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Technically, a lot more animals could be domesticated if people really wanted to put in multiple human lifetimes of time and effort, but why?

You can follow CGP Grey on YouTube for more fun and informative videos.

From Your Site Articles
animals
Modern Families

Mom asked other parents to share their most 'unhinged' parenting hacks, and they delivered

These are indeed the "craziest hacks of the 21st century."

Photo credit: Canva

Kids watching television

You can read all the books, listen to all the advice, join all the FB groups, and still, you won’t be fully prepared for every parenting curve ball that comes your way. During these times of, let’s face it, desperation, parents might get a little creative. Perhaps a little white lie here, and gamification of something there, whatever does the trick.

Recently a mom named Michaela Estrada, who had two boys under the age of four and hoped to have more kids in the future, asked fellow moms to share their “most unhinged” hacks.

She further clarified her request, writing, “I’m not talking about letting them run around naked and unashamed in the backyard. I need the craziest hacks of the 21st century.”

parenting, parenting hacks, motherhood, mom hacks, mommy fb group, mommy blogger, kids, parenting humorTikTok · Michaela Estradawww.tiktok.com

Millions of views later, folks delivered. Big time. And boy are they a fun read, whether you’re a parent or not. As one viewer said, “do I have a kid? No. did I read all of these comments? Yes.”

Here are some of our faves:

"We did Cinderella Sundays. We cleaned all morning, then they wore their princess dresses to our fancy candle-lit dinner, followed by a dance party 'ball.'"

@sari.rous.c mi hermanita🤣 #cenicienta #limpiando #jajajaj🤣 ♬ sonido original - Jhos y luz 3

"I use a kabuki brush to put sunscreen on my son while saying 'tickle tickle' over and over again. It's the only way he'll stay still for a minute for me to make sure he's covered."

"Whenever it's bed time and they are still stuck to Netflix or similar, I change the language to Greek or polish and tell them they don't understand cause they are too tired and it's bed time!"

"My mom hid all my dolls and stuffed animals and said they ran away 'cause my room was dirty. They sent a 'postcard' from another kid's clean room. When I cleaned [my room] they returned."

parenting, parenting hacks, motherhood, mom hacks, mommy fb group, mommy blogger, kids, parenting humorStuffed animalsPhoto credit: Canva

"My mom used to tell us she was allergic to loud noises, so when she was overstimulated, she would say she was having an allergic reaction. [It] worked until a doctor asked me if any allergies ran in the family."

"Our parents told us that whining was illegal in Cape Cod (where we vacationed in the early 2000s), and when we'd hear sirens [it meant] 'someone must have been whining.' We believed them for YEARSSS!"

"Potty room for potty words! My 3-year-old will excuse himself to the bathroom to 'curse' and we’ll hear him going 'dang it,' 'what the heck,' 'Imma beat up all the strangers,' and it has us DYING!"

@dntuncontained #badwords #badkids #parenting #Moms #Dads #cursewords #bathroom #slick #talk #whatyousay #pottymouth #littlegurl #caughtyou #what #sayit #dntuncontained #fytシ #fytiktok #govirl #funnyvideo ♬ original sound - DNT UncontaineD


"Told the kids that Santa/Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy had to follow OSHA standards for workplace safety. They wouldn’t come if their room was a mess with tripping hazards."

"Gave my daughter a bag and told her to 'go shopping' for toys at our house. Five minutes later, she had picked up everything off the floor and put it in her bag."

"My mom told me and my brothers if we hid from her in the clothing racks at stores the employees would take us and turn us into mannequins."

parenting, parenting hacks, motherhood, mom hacks, mommy fb group, mommy blogger, kids, parenting humorA child mannequinPhoto credit: Canva

"We have pet fish, and I told my kids they are Santa’s secret spies all year long to make sure they are behaving. When they get crazy, I whisper, 'The fish are watching.' They love and fear the spy fish."

"Who wants to guess what mommy is going to get you for your birthday?! Then I go buy that. Same with Santa."

"My daughter fights sleep like a Roman gladiator because she has chronic FOMO (fear of missing out), so we brainstorm something fun to do in our dreams together so she ends up in a hurry to meet dinosaurs together or something."

@crazy.kids74 When your kid uses any excuses not to sleep #kids #baby #funny #funnykids #crazykids #reel #fyp #viral #pov #hungry #excusess #sleeptime ♬ original sound - Crazy Kids

"When my daughter was little, she wanted to say swear words. We told her swear words are for adults but she could make up her own for kids. She chose 'Stewart.' 'This traffic is a real Stewart.'"

"I told my kids that the ice cream man plays music to let everyone know he's sorry, but he’s out of ice cream and hopes we enjoy the music and to try again tomorrow."

"When my mom folded laundry she dumped all the socks on the floor and sat us down around them. Whoever got the most pairs won. We had so much fun and she didn't have to sort them."

parenting, parenting hacks, motherhood, mom hacks, mommy fb group, mommy blogger, kids, parenting humorcolorful socksPhoto credit: Canva

"I tell them their tongue is constantly growing new taste buds so they should keep trying new food even if they didn’t like them last time. Is this true? Idk, my dad told me the same thing."

"Make your child a Gmail account with their name before it gets taken. Then send them photos, videos, messages, etc. throughout their life so they have a digital journal of their childhood."

"We told my son broccoli, zucchini and Brussels sprouts grows muscles, and we do an arm muscle check after he eats. He gets so excited that he eats it all. We 'oooh and ahhh,' and he just giggles."

@laceygregory1 Broccoli: 1, Baby: 0 🥦 #NotAFan #broccoli #drama ♬ original sound - Lacey Gregory

"My kid HATES teethbrushing but likes blowing out candles, so we brush teeth by candlelight then let her blow them out."

"When my friend's teens acted up, instead of grounding them, she would ground herself. For example, 'I'm sorry, I would love to drive you to the mall, but unfortunately I'm grounded.'"

"Ever since my daughter was little I’d give her an imaginary chill pill to eat when she was acting crazy. She’s eight and still 'takes them' to calm down."

parenting, parenting hacks, motherhood, mom hacks, mommy fb group, mommy blogger, kids, parenting humorA fiction bottle of "chill pills"Photo credit: Canva

"My kid's preferred method of washing the soap from his hair is if we pretend to waterboard him while screaming, 'Where's the muffin man?' He used to freak before my husband started doing this."

"If they want to tattle I tell them I can’t hear another tattle and that our dog Archie will listen to the tattle and report it back to me. So they go lay it all out to the dog."

"When my daughter gets her burst of energy late at night, I turn on kids' exercise videos on YouTube, and since she does them, it tires her out enough that she knocks out right after."

@sprinkleinlearning Core and Cones 💪 This challenge always gets my competitive kiddos off the couch. They don’t even realize they are working on core, stability, reactive agility and more! #sprinkleinlearning #coreworkout #coreworkouts #corework #corechallenge #stability #react #reactiontime #situps #kidsactivity #kidsactivityideas #kidactivities #kidactivity #grossmotor #grossmotorskills #grossmotordevelopment #muscletone #lowmuscletone #physicaltherapy #keepkidsactive #activekids #activekidsarehappykids #healthykids #workoutforbeginners #playideas #playideasforkids #playidea #momlife #momof3 #parenthood ♬ Let's Workout - Vin Music


"Speed bumps and oil spots in parking lots are kids that got ran over, because they didn't hold their parents' hand."

"Not unhinged, but literally the best thing I ever did was make myself understand that it's their first time here. They are still learning how to do the things I find easy."

"My mom pulled us out of school individually on different days without telling us when and would surprise us with lunch at Olive Garden. She'd then ask us really personal questions to gauge how we were doing."

parenting, parenting hacks, motherhood, mom hacks, mommy fb group, mommy blogger, kids, parenting humorA family at an Italian restaurantPhoto credit: Canva

"Making a 'kids charcuterie board' by putting mostly healthy options on it — you’d be surprised how much they eat and test out new and healthy foods."

"I used to buy scary masks and put them in the cupboards that I didn’t want them to get into when they inevitably broke the child lock. They don’t even open them now, lol."

"Let them help cook! My twins are autistic and were such picky eaters because of the textures. Once I started letting them cook with me, they started eating a lot more and wanting to try new foods!"

@cookingwithcarter Todaaay we are making a cheese and @Heinz UK bean toastie with our @TheCrimpit 😁 #food #toddler #toddlersoftiktok #cooking #fyp #gordonramsay #cookingwithcarter #cookinghacks #kids #chef #cheflife #masterchef #jamieoliver #toastie ♬ Christmas Is Coming - DM Production

"Every time my kids cried, I told them to drink water because their tears would run out. They drink the water, and then they stop crying, also, when they don't listen to you, they start to whisper."

"My kids don’t get in trouble if they’re honest. No punishment if you fess up to doing the wrong thing. We’ll talk about it, but no punishment. They make the right choices 99% of the time. When they make mistakes, they call me when they’re uncomfortable with situations their friends are trying to get them in, etc. It’s been life-changing. No sneaky kids."

"I taught my kids that the TV needs to charge so when they’re done screen time. I just say, 'Okay guys, the TV needs to charge now,' and it goes off. They fully believe the TV charges."

parenting, parenting hacks, motherhood, mom hacks, mommy fb group, mommy blogger, kids, parenting humorKids watching televisionPhoto credit: Canva

"As toddlers, when you put them to bed, give them three tickets. They can use the tickets for water, the bathroom, or a question. After the tickets are gone, that's it."

"Every Oct/Nov/Dec I change their dad's name in my phone to Santa Clause that way, they see it on my screen or in the car (they read the screen in the car a lot) they think it’s Santa checking in."

And lastly:

"Bedtime hack: ask your kids what they want to have as a bedtime story about, and have ChatGPT make it. Bonus, add their names to include them in the story!"

@megan.bennett.freeman AI customized bedtime stories for the win! #parenting #ai #chatgpt #bedtimeroutine #toddler #mom #greenscreen ♬ original sound - Megan
From Your Site Articles
parenting
Trending Stories