The Desperation of Sleep-Deprived Parents
If there’s one thing that unites parents with babies who refuse to sleep, it’s an overwhelming sense of desperation. This shared plight explains the extreme measures some parents take—from driving for hours in the hope that the rhythm of the car will lull their little one to sleep, to hiring sleep trainers or even allowing their child to cry it out (a guilty admission, I know). It’s no wonder, then, that exhausted parents are turning to TikTok in search of sleep solutions. However, the trend of using butter as a remedy feels like a bizarre new chapter in this saga.
The so-called butter-before-bed “hack” gained traction on TikTok as influencers shared videos of themselves giving chunks of butter to their children right before bedtime. The trend has racked up millions of views, promising that butter helps infants sleep through the night by filling their tiny tummies with fat and, oddly enough, stabilizing their blood sugar levels.
Yet, baby experts and nutritionists have warned against this butter hack, deeming it nothing more than a myth. Some experts argue it could be dangerous, as large quantities of butter contain excessive fat and salt for young infants, not to mention the choking hazard posed by slippery chunks. Read Next
Exploring Parenting Hacks on TikTok
What’s more, a simple search reveals just as many parents claiming the butter trick didn’t work as those who swear by it. But this isn’t the only unconventional parenting advice circulating on TikTok. As a mother of an eight-year-old girl named Percy, I decided to delve into some of the most popular parenting hacks on the platform to see if any hold any genuine value.
Homemade Baby Wipes: A Misguided Hack
One TikTok user, Lisa Flom, shares her insights under the handle @ljflommom, in an ongoing series titled “Things I Wish I’d Known as a First-Time Mom.” I would suggest a different title for her series: “Things I Wish First-Time Moms Knew to Avoid.” Many of her ideas seem more whimsical than practical, often being time-consuming or costly. For instance, her hack for attaching her baby to the sofa using strips of Velcro on their clothes is amusing but ultimately ruins both the clothing and the furniture.
Her homemade baby wipes exemplify a “hack” that is utterly unhelpful. Typically, homemade alternatives are promoted for being cheaper or more environmentally friendly, aiming to reduce harmful chemical exposure for babies. But Lisa’s baby wipe recipe is anything but practical. She boils coconut oil, baby oil, and baby lotion, then saws a kitchen roll in half and submerges it in the oily concoction. After basting the kitchen roll with this mixture, she stores it in a freezer bag for use as baby wipes. I can’t help but feel relieved that she has all those other products and kitchen rolls to clean her baby, rather than relying on these ineffective DIY wipes. If you’ve ever used an entire pack of wet wipes to manage a particularly messy diaper situation, you’ll wonder how previous generations coped with washable diapers and mere buckets and cloths. (Hint: they spent more time at home than in coffee shops or baby sensory classes.) Unfortunately, it seems the real hack here is simply being prepared to embrace the mess.
Responding to Boredom
When my daughter frequently says, “I’m bored,” it doesn’t just frustrate me; it makes me want to scream. I often wonder if she even grasps the meaning of the word, as she uses it to describe her impatience during a brief wait for her next dessert.
Can TikTok’s “best-selling author and motivational speaker,” Ty Allan Jackson, offer any assistance? His advice for parents dealing with a bored child is to respond with: “Wow… that is awesome! What a wonderful opportunity for you to do something creative.” While I appreciate the sentiment, this approach feels a bit simplistic. Any seasoned parent likely has a repertoire of suggestions ready for when a child declares boredom—creative activities such as drawing or crafting usually top the list. Often, the issue is that we’ve already said no to their first choice, which leads to the endless cycle of complaints.
Ty further recommends asking your child: “What is something you wish you knew how to do?” This question aims to prompt creative thinking and guide you on how to entertain them. When I tried this on Percy, she indeed had something in mind—she expressed a desire to open a capybara sanctuary, proposing a rescue and rehoming center for a large rodent that is, by the way, illegal to keep as a pet in the UK.
Making Cleanup More Engaging
Next on my list of parenting challenges was convincing my daughter to take responsibility for her messes. TikTok user theconsideratemomma, known as Rachael, offers a straightforward hack for getting children to comply with cleanup without resorting to yelling or threats. I appreciate Rachael’s gentle parenting approach, but I believe it’s a style best suited for those who can fully dedicate themselves to it.
For cleanup time, Rachael suggests that parents pose questions about the task at hand, encouraging children to think critically. She believes that all children crave some level of power or control, so allowing them to make decisions—or at least perceive that they have—can be beneficial. For instance, she advises pointing out that if toys are left on the floor, the dog might chew them up. The logic is that children won’t want damaged toys, so they’ll eagerly tidy up their mess.
However, my daughter is already onto my tricks; whenever I present a choice, she laughs and insists that because I’ve offered options, she’ll choose to decline. I give it another shot with her magazines, telling her that if she leaves her beloved Beano and Phoenix comics scattered across the kitchen table, they might end up covered in food. “That’s OK,” she responds, walking away without a care.
Ultimately, while I find TikTok parenting hacks entertaining, they often lack practical value. It seems that the so-called experts are focused more on selling us the idea of parenting more efficiently—better, faster, stronger—so we can rush through these tasks and move on to creating the next viral meme. In the end, I discovered the most effective parenting tip on LADbible, where a mother casually relaxes in bed, telling her child, “Don’t come in, I’m wrapping presents,” securing herself some well-deserved alone time without a single cry of “I’m bored.”
