How to lecture without saying a word

There are so many things that we want to tell our kids, but when they become teenagers, or precocious 9-year-olds, they no longer want to be told what to do. My efficient way to lecture is to let other adults do the talking. When we flew when the kids were young, if I wanted them to stop kicking the seat in front of mine, I'd ask the airline hostess, or the passenger to look sternly at my kids and tell them to knock it off. It terrified them, and they stopped. Now that one of my daughters is a teen, rather than explain to her about the dangers of bullying or sexting, I just find articles in newspapers, magazines, and leave them on the breakfast table, and I don't say a word. She usually picks them up, reads them through, and then she initiates the conversation on the topic. Voila! I don't preach, but the message gets through anyway.

Sunday helpers

With two working parents, and kids who are active in school and sports, we used to spend mornings scrambling to figure out where our basketball shoes were, where the swim gear was last left etc. Now our lives our way simpler. Solution: On Sunday evening we make sure all the sports clothes are clean, and we pack them in individual shoulder bags---one for each sport. On the morning when I ask, "where's your soccer stuff?" we just grab the bag and go. Fast and easy. Just the way a Plan B mom would like it.

Keeping up on the news--gym time savers

Because I am in PR, I try to keep up with what's on all the morning shows, going to work armed with the news of the day. Nutty as it may sound, I'm able to survey what each of the stations is airing by not only looking at my treadmill's computer screen, but glancing over at what other people are watching. If I see something of interest, I swap out my channel for theirs. It's the best solution if you don't have a screen within a screen display, or work at a TV station with multiple monitors.

Forgetting who's in charge

I don't know where we stumbled along the way giving power over to my kids. Whenever I tell them they must do something, like not turn on the computer, but pick up a book instead, I'm shocked how little resistance I get. I tried this on my soon-to-be nine year old, and after a couple of "I'm so bored", she picked up a book in a huff, and then continued to read it for the next several hours. I finally told her it was lights out and she had to put it down. Wow, we have so little power over them, and it's so easy to forget.

Homework Helper

1) We spend a lot of time driving around in our car.

2) My kids think some kids are smarter than they are because they know their multiplication tables.

I believe there's one secret to memorization, and that's much like the rule behind real estate: repetition, repetition, repetition. So why not use all those dead moments with your kids to do something constructive, and help them learn. When we drive around town, or are doing the dishes, we use the time to review the alphabet, multiplication tables, vocabulary words or whatever they are currently working on. When you do this two to three times a day, the facts start to stick, and I find myself refreshing my skills at the same time.

There's Always a Plan B

Since life never seems to turn out as you plan it, I live in the world of Plan B. Here I'll share what works for me at home to make my life easier and more efficient. I'll try to share a couple of quick tips a week, because God knows, it's hard to find time to read when you're a mom.

Tip #1: Toothbrushes. You can never have too many of them. I go to the dollar store and stack up on cheap toothbrushes for guests and my friends' impromptu sleepovers. We get 10 for $1.25, so we don't mind tossing them out after someone has used them once.

On the topic of toothbrushes, if you're a rush to get out the door and to school on time, try keeping an extra supply at the kitchen sink or the bathroom closest to the front door so your kids can eat breakfast, brush and head out the door without adding any extra steps along the way.