The Leftover Parenting Tips That Are Still Worth Knowing

Some parenting advice is big-picture. Some is weirdly specific. This is the latter.

Image created by the author with a big assist from AI

After two rounds of parenting lessons, I still had a handful of tips that didn’t quite fit anywhere else. But just because they’re leftovers doesn’t mean they’re not useful. Here are the last five things I wish I’d known before becoming a dad.

Noise is allowed—even encouraged—during nap time.

When they can finally get a baby to sleep, any new parent is likely to try to create the quietest possible environment so they can maximize their oasis away from the demands of a tiny tyrant. But is it necessary to keep your kid in a cone of silence while they sleep?

For most of my childhood, my mom ran a daycare out of our home. She cared for kids from under a year to 12 years old. When school was out in the summers, she'd have a group of kids from across that age spectrum all in a modest three-bedroom house for eight to nine hours per day. The young kids, of course, took naps daily, while the older kids didn't. And though she was tasked with trying to keep the older kids entertained and keeping the house in order in the process, my mom managed to keep the little ones on enough of a routine to make sure they (usually) got a decent nap.

It's been almost 30 years since she closed her daycare, but as far as I can remember, she accomplished this simply by not worrying about waking them up. Of course, you shouldn't play the drum solo from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" during naps, but a normal din of everyday noises can help kids sleep better.

Don't be afraid to use multiple wipes at once.

This past summer, my son and I took a trip back to my hometown in Kansas so the boy could spend some time with my side of the family. While there, my mom got a chance to see me parent one-on-one with my son for the first time. While she was mostly impressed—or at least held her tongue if she wasn't—she dropped a few nuggets of wisdom my way. One of them might seem obvious, but it's been a big help to me since.

While changing my son, my mom noticed I was struggling through a pretty substantial mess by using wipes one at a time. "Take two or three at least," she said. It made a massive difference and the boy was clean and back to playing in no time.

It was a humbling moment to be sure. It's obvious in hindsight, but if, like me, you thought it was against the rules to pull out more than one wipe at a time, free yourself. Your job is to get that kid as clean as possible and prevent diaper rash. So, go nuts. Use two or three or more at a time if needed.

Imogen Heap's "Happy Song" is a lifesaver.

An hour after my wife told me she was pregnant with our son, I found myself in a bit of a panic. The news wasn't exactly a surprise. We'd been trying. She was pregnant on purpose. But I'm sure any first-time father can relate to that moment when they first began to realize that it was for real. You're going to be a dad, and you have no idea what the hell you're gonna do.

So, in the midst of my minor panic, I did what we all do nowadays when we don't know how to do something—I turned to YouTube. While searching through the various Dad creators giving hints and tips and dad hacks, I stumbled on this video. It broke down how Imogen Heap had created a song with science to help calm children down.

Imogen Heap was a favorite artist of mine, and the idea that she had written a song for kids was immediately appealing. One of the few things I dreaded about becoming a dad was having to taint my well-curated music streaming algorithm with a bunch of kids' songs, but an Imogen Heap kids song was something I could get behind. I was skeptical of course, but the science seemed sound enough.

The song is still a kids' song, so it can get old after a while, but it's better than a lot of trash they throw out there for kids (looking at you, Cocomelon), and best of all, it actually does what it's supposed to do—most of the time. Kids are fickle and it's hard to find anything to please them 100 percent of the time, but we've rarely had a tantrum on a long car ride that the Happy Song couldn't quash.

If you can, join the Imagination Library immediately

As a current resident of Dolly Parton's hometown in East Tennessee, I might be biased, but Dolly's Imagination Library is incredible. The Imagination Library is a book gifting program she started in 1995 that mails free, high-quality books once a month to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income.

Children can be registered any time from birth to age five. It generally takes about eight to 12 weeks to receive the first book, then one every month thereafter. Both of my kids have been enrolled since birth, and most of my son's favorite books have come from the program.

It’s not available to everyone though (yet). As of September 2024, 12 states in the US have full participation with nine others partially covered. The program is also available in Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia. Some books are also available in audio and braille for children who need them.

You can check availability here to see if your area is covered.

Final Thoughts

Parenting is a never-ending stream of lessons—some big, some small, some weirdly specific. These were the last of the ones I had written down, but I know more are coming. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a dad, it’s that I’m always still learning.