The simple hair tie trick that makes you a better parent

We all have our angry moments. But if you are finding that you are snapping at your kids more than you want to, then this simple hair tie trick may be the parenting solution you’ve been searching for.

That’s right, cheap hair ties that you probably have laying around the house, may hold the key to helping you be a more aware and less angry parent. It’s a hair tie parenting trick that’s so simple, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try it before!

The clever keep-your-cool parenting hack shared straight from the wrist of mamma-of-two Shauna Harvey has taken social media by storm. Here’s how it works.

Better mums, one rubber band at a time

The five rubber hair bands act as a visual reminder of when you lose your cool with your kids. The name of the game is to still have all the hair ties on the starting wrist at the end of the day.

When your kids wake up in the morning, place five hair ties loosely around your wrist. If you catch yourself snapping at your child, remove one hair tie and place it on the other wrist.

You can ‘earn back’ hair ties lost to angry outbursts by doing five simple things to reconnect with your kids. Things like going for a walk together, giving a hug, reading a book, saying “I love you”- these are all positive ways to connect.

From Hulk mummy to happ(ier) mummy

But does it work? After testing it out, we have it admit that, yes, it does. To an extent.

This trick, originally from parenting expert Kelly Holmes, may not instantly transform you into a perfect mum (and your kids into perfect angels who actually listen to you when you tell them to put on their socks). But what it does is make you more aware of those angry moments.

You may still yell. And mutter swear words. And send your kids to their rooms. You may still lose (at least) one hair band pretty much every day. But, what you may also find is that the elastics make you more conscious of when you are losing control and transforming into angry Hulk mummy. And, hopefully, you can (sometimes) stop it from happening.

But you know what the best thing about the hair tie parenting trick is? It can help you see that you are actually doing better than you think. The silly songs, the goofy dancing, the park plays, the bike rides, the couch cuddles … these moments often go unrecognised or masked behind the angry mummy moments.

Turns out, these positive actions far outweigh the angry moments every single day. Even with the yelling, we are still doing a pretty darn good job of raising our kids. Sometimes all it takes a visual cue, like five rubber bands, to remind ourselves of this.

If there’s anything that pushes a parent’s buttons – and gets those elastic bands off your wrist faster than kids at a candy bar – it’s toddler tantrums. Read our article about what to do when tantrums strike.