An Ignoble Experiment: [Parent Hacks] 2 new posts in Parent Hacks

2011/12/07

[Parent Hacks] 2 new posts in Parent Hacks

Hello, ignoble.experiment@arconati.us, and thank you for making room in your inbox for Parent Hacks.

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Amazon deal (3 days only): One year of Real Simple magazine for $12

I think of Real Simple as Parent Hacks's glamorous, well-groomed older cousin. Compulsively readable, with fantasy-worthy photos and a decent number of practical tips, recipes, and ideas.

Amazon's got a one-year subscription to Real Simple on sale for $12. Choose a single year, or auto-renew.

At Amazon: One year of Real Simple for $12

Discount good through 12/10/11

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Little kids, public restrooms, and handwashing? Talk amongst yourselves.

Why do the outfitters of public restrooms forget about the existence of children? Diaper-wearers do fine, but potty-trainers and preschoolers (and height-challenged older kids) contend with unreachable sinks, among other things.

Abigail asks:

I need advice regarding hand-washing and the tiny toilet-learner.

My 20 month-old son is TINY for his age (like the size of an average 12 month-old) but is potty training like a champ. I'd love to hear any solutions other parents have come up with for hand-washing while in public restrooms.

At home, he has a little stepladder, as standard kiddie stools are not high enough. (And I like the hack of the tub handwash.)

The problem is when we're out and about. I'd prefer he not lean his whole front up against the germy public restroom sink while perched on my thigh. I'm experimenting with holding/propping positions, but haven't found any I like for keeping us both off the wet/nasty sink/counter. Also, holding/propping is becoming complicated by my belly which is rapidly expanding with another pregnancy.

Anyone have a great public restroom handwashing hack?

Great question. Potty training is a distant memory for me, but my 8 year-old daughter is also small for her age, so I still have to lift her to reach the soap in a few public bathrooms.

A few restrooms (I've only seen one or two) have these AWESOME fold-down steps under the sink that kids can use to stand taller. My hope is that this becomes a mainstream feature in a year or two. I mean, look how quickly those newfangled Dyson hand dryers have caught on! One can hope.

Till then, I don't have a decent hack for this problem. I'm not sure there's much you can do beyond wiping down the restroom counter with paper towels (and a baby wipe or antibacterial wipe if you're concerned about germs) before propping your kid against the sink to wash his hands.

I guess one could skip the handwashing and go straight for the hand sanitizer, but I think that creates more problems than it solves. The handwashing habit is as important as the actual cleaning.

Also, alcohol-based hand sanitizer + toddlers is iffy as they still put their hands in their mouths and eyes. I like CleanWell's all-natural hand sanitizer; smells good, nice and gentle. (I reviewed CleanWell products years ago.)

What do you think, Parenthackers? Got a tip that could help Abigail?

More: Hacks for public restrooms and hand sanitizer

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