#spoonie life hacks

Low spoon day? Still have to be a functional parent? Here’s some ways to entertain your little one when you feel like shit and have to save your energy for diaper changes. My kid is only 9 months old so these are mostly aimed her age and younger but lots of them can be adapted to older kids as well.

1. Sing. When I was recovering from childbirth and couldn’t do much physically I bonded with baby by singing. She’s older now and still loves it when I sing to her. She even dances. Sometimes I do little hand motions for the “itsy-bitsy spider” or “I’m a little teapot” folk songs from my couch perch.

2. Peek-a-boo. This is good for child development via object permanence. Hide under a blanket and then pop out.

3. Talk and snuggle.

4. Read books together. The more new words a baby hears, the better for their budding language skills. Books introduce not just stories, but bonding time, pictures, and object interaction. I use board books because my child is very grabby and destructive.

5. Watch cartoons and cuddle. When you hear you should keep kids away from screen time, the most important reason for that is that it is non-interactive. I believe there is nothing wrong with screen time (in moderation) if it is interactive. Tell the kid what they are seeing, explain the show. Ask them what they like about the characters, even if they can’t answer you yet.

6. Lay on the floor and let the kid interact with you. You don’t have to move around a whole lot to stack blocks or play with plushies or roll a ball around.

7. Bath time. Sometimes I need to soak my sore muscles, so kill two birds with one stone and wash the kid at the same time. Make this into a fun activity with bath toys and playful splashing. (This is best for kids old enough to sit up independently; I bathed her in her infant bath by herself before she was old enough for joint bath time).

8. Just show the kid all the things you are doing and narrate yourself. Babies are fascinated by you.

Because anything that saves you time and energy is worth its weight in gold.

1. Lots of meals can be roasted together in the same pan in the oven at the same temp, for the same amount of time. For example: salmon, green beans, and asparagus can all go in at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. (They can even be seasoned the same way with garlic, butter, and lemon juice.) You can scoot a food’s ideal cooking temperature 25 degrees up or down to make this happen. Make sure you double check that meats are fully cooked if you are experimenting with cook times/temperatures. If the cook times are different, but the temp is the same, just slide in a second pan partway through cooking.

2. Most of the time you are either in your bed, in your shoes, or in your chair. Invest in quality for these three objects.

3. Lean in to who you are. Adapt your career to your lifestyle, not the other way around.

4. If you are intimidated by that stack of paperwork you have to go through, remember that 90% of it can go in trash. Every time. That stack isn’t as tall as it looks.

5. If you get rid of that thing, you don’t have to clean it or organize it ever again.

6. No matter the weather, you can open a window for 5 minutes. Let fresh air into your living space in all seasons. This is good for both health and mood,

7. Your bank, your insurance company, and your ISP are probably all fucking you over. Always be on the lookout for better options/plans.

8. Adding a houseplant to your space can lift your mood, improve air quality, and help fight seasonal depression.

9. If it works, it’s not stupid. Your self-soothing quirks and your personal work arounds are valid.

10. Simplify the things that aren’t important to you to make more room in your life for the things that are. Take stock of this concept often.