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Bribing kids, hiding vegetables and baby wipe ‘washes’ – the top twenty mum time-savers revealed

From plying the kids with biscuits to using baby wipes to wash children’s faces, time-strapped mums have developed an arsenal of time-savers to make life easier and cope with hectic schedules.

A study of 2,000 mums revealed the top twenty time-savers used by parents every day to try and cope with such busy schedules, with freezing meals to use later in the week and opting for convenience food topping the list.

If you’ve ever just given in to your child’s demands, you’re not alone – as tricks like putting medicine in milkshakes, hiding vegetables and adding tomato sauce to less-liked foods are all common meal-time rituals.

And – whisper it – most of us admit to using sweet treats to try and bribe kids to co-operate, with many giving in and offering children their favourite foods to avoid arguments, even if it’s not healthy.

Away from food, domestic tricks include spraying deodorant into old shoes to spruce them up, buying school play outfits rather than slaving over a sewing machine and the life-saving hanging clothes up trick to avoid getting the iron out.

Whilst we’ve had a giggle looking at the list, the study did reveal that a third of mums are fed up, feeling that they don’t get any support in the home, with one in ten feeling as if they do absolutely everything in the house.

It’s no surprise then that a further quarter of unsupported mums do worry that their lack of time is starting to compromise the health and wellbeing of their children, showing that more does need to be done to help time-stricken mums.

We have to say – we’re guilty of pretty much all of these! Have a look at the top 20 below and tell us – how many do you use per day? Plus do you have any other time-savers up your sleeve?

TOP TWENTY MUM TIME-SAVERS
1.            Freeze food to use later in week
2.            Use jarred sauces instead of home making everything
3.            Buying convenience food
4.            Laying out clothes and school uniform the night before
5.            Delegating household tasks to other family members
6.            Bribing children with treats to get them to cooperate
7.            Hanging up clothes up instead of ironing them
8.            Use a pen to write their names on clothing and shoes rather than sew labels
9.            Using baby wipes to clean their children’s faces instead of washing them
10.          Giving children food they like so they don’t complain, even if it’s not healthy
11.          Using the ‘three second rule’ when dropping food on the kitchen floor
12.          Grating vegetables into food to ensure the children are eating their ‘five-a-day’
13.          Buying outfits for school plays instead of making them
14.          Paying for school dinners instead of making them
15.          Using drive-through fast food restaurants
16.          Using a bit of ketchup on foods they don’t really like
17.          Offering sweet treats to get them to finish their plate
18.          Putting dry shampoo/ a bit of talc on greasy hair to save washing it
19.          Plying your children with biscuits to keep them quiet
20.          Spray deodorant in smelly shoes instead of buying new ones