Are you struggling to get your child to pee in the potty? It can be tough, but one West Bloomfield mom has a hack that can help: Crayola Color Bath Dropz for toilet training.
Learn how she uses this bath time activity to her advantage – plus find out how you can avoid a dinner disaster with a little detective work, cover bleach stains and keep Michigan’s weather out of your car.
Technicolor Toilet Training
This is a trick we have used in our potty-training ways. We decided to use my son’s favorite bath activity, Crayola’s Color Bath Dropz.
It’s a color tab that you drop in bathwater. As it dissolves, it makes the water turn a different color. We decided to drop one of these tabs into my son’s toilet before he sat down.
Almost like magic, my son started not only sitting on his toilet, but he actually started going to the bathroom. Mostly for the sheer joy of seeing his pee turn a different color (it’s the little things in life!).
These work great with a training toilet because it is easier to see the color tab and how it changes color as you go to the bathroom. However, you can still drop the color tab in the adult toilet; the color change will just be instant.
The best part is these are nontoxic and don’t leave any residue.
– Kasia Nelson, mom of two (ages 1 and 2 1/2), West Bloomfield
Dinner Detective
Missing an ingredient? Don’t despair. Enlist your kids as detectives.
When I lacked honey to make a mustard sauce for dinner, I prepared it without. During the meal, I showed my sons the recipe and asked what item they thought was missing.
They loved the mystery of tasting and guessing. Dinner disaster averted!
– Nika Bunkley, mom of two (ages 9 and 6), South Lyon
A Classic Tactic
If my kids or I get a bleach stain on our clothing or scuffs on our shoes, I just get the closest color Sharpie and color in the spot. I’ve used black, blue and red Sharpies on T-shirts, sweaters, jeans, boots, dress shoes and gym shoes.
They work on cotton, synthetic and leather goods. The black Sharpie is my favorite. It really blends in well. When I suggest this to friends they always thank me because they were planning to just get rid of the ruined item.
– Christina Oliver, mom of three (ages 11, 22 and 25), Ypsilanti
Throwing in the Towel(s)
I always bring a plastic shopping bag and old towels to the park with us during the fall (and spring).
With Michigan’s unpredictable weather, it is handy to have something to throw dirty shoes, socks and clothes into and towels to dry off wet slides – and wet kids – if needed.
– Carol DeLadurantey-Troy, mom of three (4, 2 and 4 months), Clawson
Do you have a life hack that you love? Head to our Tips & Tricks page and tell us about it. If we feature it, we’ll give you $25.
