Who's ready for 2017? I'm bringing the new year in with a bang -- two sick kids and throw up bowls all over the house. Yippee! We really know how to party around here! Sick kids aside, start the new year right with some amazing parenting ideas for the new year. Check out my top 5 parenting tips posts for 2016.
#1: Entertain Screen Free with Busy Bags
Parents must be really interested in keeping their kids busy and screen free because the top parenting tip of 2016 is 35+ Best Busy Bags for Toddlers and Preschool. You're sure to find lots of great busy bags to entertain your kids in the car, at home, at church, and at the doctor's office.
#2: Increase Family Happiness by Getting Rid of Toys!
Back in 2014, we got rid of most of the kids' toys, and it made a huge difference! Find our how getting rid of toys will make your family happier, too. Now that Christmas is over, it's probably time for another purge.
#3: Travel Smart with Clever and Simple Road Trip Hacks
If the fun has gone out of family travel, check out these road trip hacks for families. You'll find nine helpful hacks that are sure make travel easier. Now, if only there were a trick to shave hours off of travel time! (Besides a plane ticket.)
#4: Teach Kids How to Clean their Rooms without Help
Still nagging your kids to clean their rooms? Stop begging, and teach them what to do instead. Teach children to clean their rooms with step-by-step instructions and free printables. (This is effective for all ages. We're never too old or too young to learn a system for cleaning!)
#5: Bust Boredom this Summer!
Got bored teens and tweens? These boredom busters are sure to keep them busy this summer! Warning: These are all positive activities that are sure to build friendships and encourage service.
Are you looking for even more amazing parenting tips? Keep scrolling down for more tips from me. But wait! There's more! I've joined with 9 of the coolest parenting bloggers, and we're all sharing our top tips of 2016. Head over to The Jenny Evolution (linked below image) for links to all the roundups.
The Best Parenting Tips of 2016 from 9 Top Bloggers
Before you go, check out my most recent parenting ideas!
If you're tired of being ignored, you'll love this trick to get your family's attention -- instantly! It's time to reopen the lines of family communication!
If you're ready to teach your kids to appreciate their blessings, then it's time for a different kind of scavenger hunt -- a service scavenger hunt!
Too much technology has created teens that have no idea how to talk to each other minus a phone or computer screen. Get them talking face to face again with this clever speed friendshipping game for teens!
Finally, do you have a shy or book-loving kid that you can't get to leave the house? Check out these great ideas to get your introverted child outside this summer!
Thanks for stopping by today. Check out popular parenting tips posts from past years, too!
10+ Fun Ways to Motivate Your Kids
The Ultimate Parents' Guide for Back to School
Heather Johnson
My kids have a whole room of toys. However, the rule is taht they can have one box or basket out at a time. The playroom stays neat, and my kids actually play when they have a small selection to choose from.
Heidi
That's a great way to go. We started that way, too. It worked fairly well until friends came over to play. They inevitably could not follow the rules and tended to dump out everything! Guess I didn't manage it very well!
Marysa
These are all great things to do in the New Year! Thanks for all the tips.. we definitely need to clean out, declutter, get rid of toys, etc. We love traveling too, and road trip tips are always helpful!
Heidi
Thanks, Marysa. I hope to try lots of new ideas in the new year to get my family time running more smoothly.
Scott
We just went through the kids' toys and donated FOUR vans full! So much better with a tidy play room!
Heidi
You're kidding! Four vans! Now that's a lot of toys. I'm glad you've gotten in under control. I hope everyone is happier with less stuff.
Rosey
I can see how donating a bunch of toys could make the kids happier. Too many is stessful for everyone. We could use a good purging here.
Heidi
You should try it, Rosey. Even the adults could use a good purge of too much stuff every once in a while. I know I have way too much stuff.
Audrey McClelland
This is a great collection of ideas for the new year. Thanks for sharing them. Bookmarking!
Heidi
Thanks, Audrey. I'm glad you found these ideas helpful. Happy new year!
Angela
Such a great collection of parenting tips! Thanks for sharing.
Heidi
Thanks, Angela. This is the best kind of advice. The kind shared by experience.
Chloe
I have actually been considering putting some of my kids toys away as the lounge room is getting awfully cluttered! I also love the scavenger hunt idea, takes me back to my childhood.
Heidi
You should try putting some of the toys away, Chloe. We started by putting them in boxes to switch out later. By the time we remembered them, the kids didn't care about most of them, and it was easy to give them away.
Meeta
Thank you for putting this list together - what a great reference. We often take old toys and books and donate them either at the school book fair or the community help center.
Heidi
Thanks, Meeta. Donating items to the school and the community help center is such a good idea!
Amber Myers
These are all awesome. I need to get rid of toys, big time. My daughter has so many.
Heidi
Thanks, Amber. You should definitely try getting rid of (or even just putting away) some of the toys. You'll be surprised the difference it will make.
Tess Chupinsky
I'm with you on the toys! My baby is young but we're trying to implement "less is more". We'll see how it goes!
Heidi
Stick with it, Tess! It's so tempting to buy more and more stuff for your kids!
Julie
Looks like a great list of posts! I love your busy bag ideas! And have been thinking about trying out less toys as well.
Heidi
Thanks, Julie. My kids are all too big for the busy bags now, but we enjoyed them a lot when they were younger.
Shearly
Yes. Yes. Yes! Entertaining without screens is sooooo important and I think cleaning the room without help REALLY helps teach the kids a sense of responsibility!
Heidi
Thanks, Shearly. I still find myself reminding the kids of the steps to clean their rooms -- even now that they are older!
AnnMarie Brown
What amazing things to do in 2017. I truly beleive that by getting rid of toys and stuff in general you find the true purpose of what you have kept. I think we need more no screens time in our house.
Heidi
Thanks, AnnMarie. We spent way too much time with the TV on over Christmas break. It's time to go back to the basics for me!
Aish Das-Padihari
Really a great post. I needed it since I'm raising two boys and they sure do cleaning tips.
Heidi
Thanks, Aish. I love to see boys learning how to clean and take care of their home.
Brittany Putman
These are great tips! Thank you for sharing.
Kelly
So many great ideas here! Cant wait to come back and read again when I feel like we have nothing to do!
Heidi
Thanks, Kelly. Come back any time! That's what pinterest is for, right? I love that bookmarking tool!
Julie Porter
You had so many great parenting tips in 2016. I really love your busy bags for entertaining kids without screens, and I'm going to make a few of these to have handy for when my grandkids are at my house.
Heidi
Thanks, Julie. My favorite busy bags are always the puzzles. They're tricky to find, but my kids always loved the simple puzzles when they were little. As a challenge, they would put them together upside down!
Fatima Torres
I have to show my husband the one about getting rid of toys. There's really no need for a playroom when it's become more of a storage area for your toys. I'll start small so he doesn't notice.
Heidi
Good idea, Fatima! That's exactly what had happened to our playroom. It had become a storage room that was always too full to find anything!
Ana De- Jesus
I love the sound of the ice breaker friendship game for teens. I think that is a real neat and original idea!
Heidi
Thanks, Ana. We played it with the youth during a church activity, and it was really fun.
Jenni Petrey
This is a great collection, thanks for sharing them all.
hey sharonoox
I agree with you that less is more. We donated our son's toys to charity last Christmas and replaced with new toys but it's less now. Trying to live a minimalist lifestyle. I'm excited to check on the travel hacks you mentioned for family travel. Great post!
Heidi
Thanks. I'm definitely discovering that less is more. It's been great for the kids, and I'm trying to let it spread to my life as well. I hope you enjoy the travel tips!
Chrissy
These are great tips and ideas for the Family. I love the toys, I'll be looking into getting some!
Heidi
Thanks, Chrissy. Those busy bags are a lot of fun for the little ones. It's nice to step away from the electronics for a while!
Chrystal | Nevermore Lane
These are all great topics. I love that you made them in to one round-up post making it easier for parents to find. I know plenty of parents who would love to read this information.
Heidi
Thanks, Chrystal. I hope lots of parents find it helpful, as well.
Krysten
These are all fantastic parenting tips! I have used a few through out last year! I can't wait to use more this year and to see a happy little man!
Heidi
Thanks, Krysten. Good luck implementing your new ideas, and have a great 2017!
AMANDA
This was a fantastic list! I will have to check out your busy bag post!!
Heidi
Thanks, Amanda. I hope you find some busy bags that work well for your family. The puzzles were always a favorite at my house.
Robin Rue
So many amazing tips and tricks in one place! I am so diving into this as soon as I can to help me in the new year!
Heidi
Thanks, Robin! I hope you find lots of great ideas and have a fantastic 2017!
Debra Schroeder
Such a great list of tips. I especially liked the one about having less toys. Less toys means less clutter and less stress all around.
Heidi
Thanks, Debra. We found the kids spent more time cleaning up toys than taking care of them. Fewer toys was definitely better for us.
Kelly
What a great list of AMAZING tips!!! Thanks for sharing!
Heidi
You're welcome, Kelly. I hope you found some ideas that work for you.
Laura
I don't have kids but they sound like good tips. I hope the kids are better soon.
Heidi
Thanks, Laura. The kids are all better.
Elizabeth O.
That's a lot of parenting tips! I'm sure your going to post a lot more this coming year. It's awesome to be able to share your knowledge especially for people who are just expecting their first child.
Heidi
Thanks, Elizabeth. I really like to share ideas, and a blog is a great way to do it.
Anne
These are some great tips for parents! I can see there were a lot of toys , but less is always more.
Thanks for sharing.
Heidi
Thanks, Anne. We definitely had too many toys. Life is much better with fewer things.
Carol Cassara
I love how most of the tips that were popular is how to keep your family closer together! That means a lot of parents are working on togetherness! That's so lovely!
Heidi
That's so true, Carol. I hadn't noticed that. That is really lovely.
Sapana V
These are really awesome tips. Thanks for sharing.
Heidi
You're welcome, Sapana. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Come back soon!
Lee Orlian
Thank you for sharing! In 2016 we started our new habit of cleaning the room. Both of my daughters picked up this skill and it has become now a habit to eliminate at all times the clutter in their room. I'm proud of them and looking forward to the many things they will learn and the fun experiences they will have in 2017. I believe it is important to have this in your skill set just to clear way for what really needs your attention.
Heidi
Wow, Lee! Congratulations to you and your daughters. That's amazing. I wish my girls would keep that habit going. We do well for a few days, but we are having a really tough time making it a habit.
Ashley
So many great posts you shared! This will definitely be my reading material the next few days.
Heidi
Thanks, Ashley! Happy reading!
Cassie
I love the many ideas you share. I think most parents hoard their kids toys even when they're too big for them. They need to sell them on ebay or give them away.
Heidi
Thanks, Cassie. It's so easy for us as parents to want to buy everything for our kids. We need to exercise a little bit of self control.
valmg @ Mom Knows It All
I taught my kids the same thing I was taught, to clean their rooms at a young age. It isn't a chore, it's just something that needs to be done.
Heidi
Good for you, Val. I wish I could get my kids to want to do it on their own.
valmg @ Mom Knows It All
LOL it isn't a matter of them wanting to or not, it's a matter of them just doing it. We all do things in life that we may not really want to do but are necessary.
Marcie W.
Thanks so much for all of these awesome tips and suggestions! I could especially benefit from those teen summer boredom busters since my oldest turns 13 in June.
Heidi
You're welcome, Marcie. Good luck with your teenager. It's a whole new world!
Kristi
Wow... some great posts filled with things we could all use this year. I've started purging and de-cluttering and we got rid of a ton of stuff already. Road tripping is always part of our summer your suggestions will come in handy for sure.
Heidi
Congratulations on your decluttering, Kristi. It's a never-ending job for me.
Melissa Hagan
These are really great tips for parents. I'm sure I could benefit from a few of these with my teens!
Heidi
Thanks, Melissa. I hope some of the tips work well for you. Have a great day.
Leo Tat
Nice wide range of parenting books, Heidi. I have two kids; one is 6 and the other turning 9. As they grow older, we encounter different challenges.
I do have a tip to help children develop their passion for reading as well as their reading skills. I have always read with my son ever since he was 4 years old in bed. Being busy during the day, his bedtime is the only time we can spend time together. As he gets older, we have encouraged taking turns. So he takes a turn reading sentence and then I’ll read a sentence. This moved on to reading a page in turns too. Definitely helped in his reading skills.
super mario world
Thanks so much for all of these awesome tips and suggestions!
Sarah Clark
Parents can find all the things they need in this article. Thanks for yours sharing. I will share it with my viewers :)
Heidi
Thanks, Sarah. I hope you found some great parenting ideas. Thanks for sharing them with your viewers.
Megan
I love the road trip hacks. Once in awhile, we travel and I need some tips how to get thru it.
healthnskin
Thanks, Sarah. I hope you found some great parenting ideas.
Clark MyIndiagoCard
Really appreciate it. Great way to express the instinctive feelings. Thanks Sarah.