Most "Liked" Quick Type A Mom Tips

Almost every day I post "Type A Mom Tips" on my Instagram Stories - simple things I've discovered that help make parenting work easier - these are some of the tips that people have "liked" the most!

Quick tips! We’re all so busy, and sometimes we just need an idea that will be helpful and that we can quickly implement. After 11+ years of being a mom, and having 3 kids, there are some simple things I’ve learned through trial-and-error and research that help me get through my days more efficiently. Since those ideas are simple and don’t usually require a longer format (like this newsletter) I share them on my Type A Mom Instagram account. The posts there are for larger ideas to help streamline family life, and then on the “stories” I usually show our busy daily life and include a “Type A Mom Tip” that is an idea for whatever we’re doing that helps us make things easier. It’s been fun to use those stories to reflect on what happens daily as a busy mom with 3 kids, and to highlight the different hacks I’ve learned and systems I’ve created that help me get all the “unseen work” of parenting done a bit more efficiently!

For this week’s article I decided to create a list of the most commented on and “liked” Tip A Mom Tips from recent Instagram posts and stories. I’ve never gathered these “tips” together and in doing so I realized there is nothing cohesive about this list other than they will hopefully make your parenting work easier!

TYPE A MOM TIP

Always bring snacks! To the park, to a museum, on the plane, at school pickup, waiting in carpool line, waiting for any appointment, etc. A hangry kid can ruin an outing so it’s best to be prepared!

This is me (in my cozy sweater that supports LA fire aid) on my way to get my older 2 kids from their school - I line up their after-school snack ( here it’s smoothies and popcorn) and call it an “armrest buffet” lol - it’s easy for them to grab their food as they get into the car. A(5) goes to a different school so I get him first and he has his smoothie in his car seat cupholder (btw, his car seat is the best bc it grows from toddler up to big kid - 5 point harness to booster - so it lasts years and years!)

TYPE A MOM TIP

When baking muffins, bake them in different sizes (large and small) so they can fit in various snack box and lunch box compartments.

Regular and mini size spinach muffins that my kids love! Easy to make in a blender, refined sugar free, and they can be nut free (use dairy milk) so if the camp or school is nut free, kids can bring them. Click here for muffin pans set and click here for the recipe by Pamela Salzman.

TYPE A MOM TIP

Use a nail clipper that has a light on it - makes it much easier to see the tiny nails!

Cutting A(5)’s nails is much easier with a light to guide me! I’ve used these clippers since infant days with all 3 kids and can’t live without them. For more essentials I’ve tested, used, and loved for all 3 of my kids when they were babies, click here.

TYPE A MOM TIP

Bring activity books and/or books to read at restaurants in case there is a wait for a table or for food. Sometimes the kids menus don’t have activities and unless you packed something to do, that can lead to restless kids!

This restaurant took forever to bring our food and doesn’t offer kid menus with activities - I was so glad to have N(11)’s book and A(5)’s activity books and a baggie of markers with us! Also, N(11) is wearing a watch that tells time, tracks steps/activities, is swim/waterproof, has 1 year of battery life, and tracks sleep -we love it for motivation and he loves knowing all his stats - it’s Bluetooth not Wi-Fi or cell service - so it’s like a “dumb smart watch” - just basic time and activities.

TYPE A MOM TIP

Take pictures of a kid’s allergic reaction or injury right when it happens/they notice it. Then if they need a doctor the picture will show how it started and it will be clear how it’s progressing.

TYPE A MOM TIP

Keep Post-It notes and a pen in the car to write reminder notes for out of the ordinary tasks and then stick it on the steering wheel so it can’t be missed - nothing worse than getting home and realizing you forgot to do something because you just drove home on autopilot and now you have to go back out again!

I love Post-It notes! There are so many ways to use them to make my days easier - click here for an Instagram post about how I use them!

TYPE A MOM TIP

Buy precut veggies at the market to make setting out fresh veggies for kids to snack on much easier to prep!

I still can’t believe that setting out veggies for kids to snack on works - they actually do eat them! Markets usually have precut veggies that are a bit more expensive, but they save so much mess and time so I find them worth it. Also, the cork-backed placemats on the table are amazing - they’re easy to wipe clean and the kids use them as a smooth surface to do homework on since our kitchen table is bumpy.

TYPE A MOM TIP

When you set an alarm on your iPhone, use the “label” section to write why you set that alarm so you don’t forget why it’s going off!

This system has saved me from missing many appointments or forgetting to bring things places!

TYPE A MOM TIP

When building a Lego set, pour the pieces into a baking sheet with a rim to keep all the pieces together!

A baking sheet with a rim has helped me from having to constantly search for Lego pieces😉 Another Tip - buy 3-in-1 Lego sets so once a kid finishes building 1 version of the set they can take it apart and build another - keeps them busy for hours!

TYPE A MOM TIP

To help with future meal prep, order extra food when ordering in dinner and use the leftovers for lunch boxes/dinner/snacks the next day!

We all love the tacos from HomeState in LA - I order extra and the kids and we love to have them the next day too - major timesaver!

Those “Type A Mom Tips” are the most liked tips of recent. I hope that these quick ideas are easy to implement and can help your days run a bit more easily!

❤️, Amanda, your Type A Mom friend