PARENTING doesn’t come with an instruction manual.
While you can try to follow the advice of top professionals and experts, in the heat of the moment, many mums and dads rely on instinct to decide what’s best for their child.
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Of course, this can spark debates among parents about what’s right or wrong.
Recently, one mum shared her parenting approach on TikTok, acknowledging that her choices might seem “controversial” to others.
Jasmine Marley Roberts titled her video: “Five controversial things I do as a mum.”
And added in the captions: “Don’t come for me mums of TikTok.”
Her first point was allowing her two daughters aged three and one, to have unlimited screen time.
Jasmine says: “Sometimes my kids ask me to play with them so much, I am begging them to watch a screen.”
Her second point is always letting her kids eat chocolate.
“I have chocolate after every meal, why shouldn’t they?,” she explains.
Another “controversial” parenting style she has is putting her three – almost four-year-old – in a push chair.
She explains: “If she’s getting tired I’ll let her squeeze in with my youngest.
“And if I’m shopping, I’ll take the push chair so she can sit in there and I can shop in peace.”
Her fourth is that she doesn’t make her eldest share with her youngest.
She says: “If she wants to play independently, that’s fine. She doesn’t always have to be on big sis duty.”
And her final point is that she always apologises if she shouts at her children.
Five savvy mum hacks to save you a fortune
ANY parent knows just how pricey it can be to feed the kids – especially if they’re a fan of branded, expensive products. But there are a few hacks that can help save you money, as mum-of-two and Fabulous Digital Senior Reporter Sarah Bull explained:
Batch cook
This is a hack that lots of mums, including myself, swear by. One thing I like to do is batch cook a tomato sauce – hiding a load of vegetables inside, including carrots, peppers and onion. Once it’s cooled, pop it into an ice cube tray to freeze. Then you can pop out the portions and bag up – ready to use for anything from a pasta sauce to a pizza base.
Home Happy meal
You’d be hard pushed to find a kid who doesn’t like McDonald’s. But with Happy Meals now priced at £3.89 each, it can be pricey getting them for your children – especially if you’ve got more than two. But why not try making your own home? Keep the packaging from your last trip to McDonald’s and cook up some chicken nuggets and fries in the air fryer. Pop a budget toy in a little bag and serve with a Fruit Shoot for a budget-friendly at home Happy Meal.
Make use of leftovers
If you’re savvy enough to plan things in advance, you can make use of leftovers to keep your kids sustained for another day. If you make something like pizza, for example, why not make enough for lunch the next day too? Lots of kids actually prefer cold pizza, and it’s especially useful if you make packed lunches for yours.
Get the kids involved
Not specifically a budget hack, but one that I’ve found always helps encourage kids to eat things they haven’t tried before. I’ve cooked things like fajitas, and put the ingredients all in different bowls, before getting the kids to make their own. While I’ve put out their favourites – like chicken, cheese and cucumber – I’ve also popped pepper and lettuce in a bowl. And, much to my delight, they both sampled that in their fajitas. What a score!
Ditch the brands
One thing that can make shopping much more expensive than it needs to be is going for branded products. We always used to be a family that swore by Heinz ketchup, refusing to go for anything else, but with the price of that shooting up, we’ve swapped for supermarket own brand ketchup and saved loads – especially considering how much of it we get through. If your kids are less than willing to make that swap, why not put the unbranded product in the branded product’s packaging and see if they notice the difference?
Jasmine says: “If I lose my call, no matter what it’s over, whether she’s done something naughty or I’m overstimulated, I always apologise first because I’m the adult that’s lost control of my emotions.”
Her video gained a lot of attention with many people rushing to the comments section to share their thoughts.
One wrote: “This is me! The apology one confuses so many people.”
A second added: “I think this is actually a lot of mums but because of the loud, judgy mums, no one says it.”
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Whilst a third said: “The apology thing is spot on, so many grown adults who cannot apologise to children like it’s a power move.”
Another commented: “I agree with all, the only thing I’ll say about screen time is personally in my experience we had it on 24/7 for background noise and my son became addicted, ignorant and had loads of tantrums so we.”
And someone else said: “It’s sad these are controversial, I’m with you.”
Time-saving mum hacks
Morning Routine
Nighttime Preparation: Set out clothes for yourself and the kids, pack lunches, and organise backpacks before bed.
Effortless Breakfasts: Keep simple, healthy breakfast options on hand, such as overnight oats, smoothie packs, or pre-made breakfast burritos.
Meal Planning
Weekly Meal Prep: Dedicate time each week to plan your meals to eliminate daily decision-making.
Bulk Cooking: Prepare larger quantities and freeze portions for future use.
Hands-Off Cooking: Make use of slow cookers or Instant Pots for easy, unattended meal prep.
Ready-to-Use Veggies: Purchase pre-chopped vegetables or chop them all at once to save time during the week.
Household Chores
Daily Laundry: Do a load of laundry every day to prevent a buildup of dirty clothes.
Continuous Cleaning: Encourage kids to clean up after themselves and perform small cleaning tasks throughout the day.
Efficient Multitasking: Fold laundry while watching TV or listen to audiobooks/podcasts while cleaning.
Organisation
Family Command Centre: Set up a central hub with a calendar, to-do lists, and important documents.
Daily Decluttering: Spend a few minutes each day decluttering to maintain an organised home.
Organised Storage: Use bins and baskets to keep items neat and easy to locate.
Kid Management
Prepared Activity Bags: Have bags packed with essentials for various activities (e.g., swimming, sports).
Routine Visuals: Implement visual charts to help kids follow their routines independently.
Task Delegation: Assign age-appropriate chores to children to foster responsibility and reduce your workload.