Parenting is a dynamic and challenging endeavor often learned through a lot of trial and error. OK, mostly error. But luckily, billions of people have been through it before us and have learned a few great tricks through their own mistakes so we don't have to make them ourselves.Here are some of the best parenting "cheat codes" that reduce tantrums, ease kids' anxiety, and make life easier on us parents. Don't end up like Ron Swanson. Giphy 1. Make (almost) everything a gamePsychology Today says, "Play is a cheat code for parenting—it helps parents co-regulate, teach skills, and build deep connection."The old-school, authoritarian parent would just force their kids to do chores through threats and consequences. More parents now are turning chores into a game: "Let's see how many toys we can pick up before this song ends!" or, "I hid a sticker in your laundry, you'll have to put it all away to find it."The kids will be more cooperative and you'll have fun together: Win-win.2. Try the Broken Record techniqueTired of arguing with your kids when they push back against your "No"? Don't yell, just be a broken record.Parenting coach Carol Canineu who posts under Mom Out of Office explains in a recent post:"Pick a simple, clear response ... Stay calm and repeat it exactly the same way ... Don’t argue, don’t change your tone just hold your ground. If I get frustrated and waver, of course they think I might change my decision too! But when I stay consistent? Fewer arguments, way less yelling, and way more peace." See on Instagram 3. Make liberal use of binary choicesKids love feeling a sense of freedom and independence. Think about it, being told what to do and when to do it all the time would get pretty demoralizing after a while, right? That's why a lot of experts and parents swear by giving their kids choices, but not just any choices: choices that lead to a desired outcome. Here's an example."It’s not 'time to go to bed' it’s 'do you want to go to your bed upside down, or on daddy’s shoulders?' Toddlers LOVE control. Works every time, 89% of the time," one user writes on Reddit.4. Take a pictureTaking kids to the store is a great way to get time together, but the problem is that they always want you to buy them something. You can stand firm, but you'll run a high risk of arguments and tantrums.Next time, try this:"If your kid wants something in the store and you cant or don't want to buy it for them, offer to take a picture of it so they can remember it for later. Saved me a lot of tantrums," another parent added in the Reddit thread.5. Make time for "Special Time""Special Time" is a concept popular in therapy for kids with ADHD and is designed to reduce attention-seeking behavior by giving the child frequent doses of focused, positive attention.But it can be useful and have positive results for anyone who feels like they're not getting enough "quality time" with their kids. Just 10 minutes of hyper-focused (no phone, no screens) time spent playing or doing an activity together with no distractions or interruptions goes a long way. In fact, the best Special Time usually involves the parent being a relatively passive participant — just be nearby, focused, and positively engaged by saying phrases like "You're doing such a great job!" and "I'm really enjoying playing with you."Canineu uses a similar technique she calls "I see you." See on Instagram 6. Cut everything into finger foodIt's amazing watching a kid go from turning their nose up at a piece of chicken to happily gobbling it down once its been cut into a bite sized piece.All hail the pizza cutter!"Pizza Cutters are an amazing tool. Little toast strips? Pizza Cutter. Tacos or quesadillas? Pizza cutter. Green beans, pepper strips and even fried eggs all are so much easier to cut into finger food with a pizza cutter. I can't believe i wasted 3 months messed around trying to cut things with knives," one parent write.7. Move toys around An old toy in a new location is a new toy. Photo by Nick Nice on Unsplash Toy rotation is an incredible hack for kids that crave novelty. When they're bored of their toys, bring some old ones out of the closet, or move the same toy into a different room."An old toy in a new location is a new toy," one user writes.8. Never askThe way we say things is important. Just take it from this parent who wrote, " NEVER ask a child if they want to do something that isn't optional. ... Never say 'do you want to go to bed?' Or 'do you want to go potty?' Always ... 'time to go to bed!'"Even adding a harmless "OK?" at the end of a request dilutes its power. When you phrase a demand as a question, you may not like the answer.9. Utilize convenient liesParents agree it's wise to take advantage of your young kids' naivety while you can:Tell them the noisy toy ran out of batteries. Explain that the ice cream truck playing music means they're out of ice cream. Make it work for you while you can with little white lies.10. Hold their wrist, not their handCanineu says young kids are notorious for chasing after shiny objects. Their little, sweaty hands can be slippery when crossing busy roads and you never quite know when they'll yank out of your grip and go running to see a friend or catch a squirrel.Many safety experts agree with her when she recommends a more secure alternative: Get a firm grip on their wrist. See on Instagram 11. Protect the socksThe smaller the child, the more infuriating it is doing their laundry. One great tip from a new mom on Reddit can help make things just a smidge simpler."Laundry tip - use a mesh wash bag for the little socks. Then they're all together when the load is done."If only the mesh bag could fold and put everything away for you...12. Master transitions with a timerMost kids struggle with transitions, whether it's ending play because it's time to eat, getting dressed and leaving the house, or even being cooperative for family plans the next day.Many parents find a timer to be an invaluable tool. The beep at the end of the timer is objective and final, and saves you from being the bad guy. It also represents a quantifiable amount of time ("You can play for five minutes and then we need to leave") that even kids can understand."Timers for transitions. I thought he was too young to really get it, but we started OT for some sensory issues and the therapist used a timer to tell him when we are done with an activity. He LOVES it. Now he asks for a timer anytime we need to stop doing something. I can’t believe I never tried it before," one user wrote.13. The perfect response to "I'm bored"Back to Canineu, she recently discovered an excellent response when her kids tell her they're bored. (And no, it's not "Hi Bored, I'm Mom!")She recommends trying the Wow Method:Say “Wow! That’s awesome! It’s a great chance for you to get creative. ... What’s something you wish you knew how to do?”"At first, my daughter just stared at me. Nothing. Crickets. But then she said she wanted to learn how to make coffee in the coffee machine. We tried it together, and soon she was making it by herself. Before I knew it… she had turned our kitchen into a full-on coffee shop. And wow… it became one of her favorite ways to play. She’s now my personal barista: taking orders, pouring imaginary lattes, and loving every minute," Canineu writes. See on Instagram There's no magical hack or cheat code that can make raising kids a breeze. Every day is filled with obstacles and new challenges. But not everything has to feel difficult all the time. All parents could use a few easy wins, and fortunately most of us are willing to share our best techniques with the rest of our village for the greater good.

Getting warm and cozy indoors is one of the joys of the winter season. But the cost of heating your home or apartment can quickly get expensive. According to a December 2025 report by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA), heating costs are expected to rise 9.2% the next three months, and will bring the average cost to heat a home in the United States to $995.Cutting heating costs can save you a lot of money. And frugal people have found brilliant ways to keep their homes heated without paying extravagant heating bills.On Reddit, frugal people shared their advice for how to lower heating bills without being miserably cold. From better insulation to heat sources, these are 19 of their best tips for cutting heating costs. - YouTube www.youtube.com "Small degree changes can do a lot as well, e.g. going down to 68°F." - ShiroxReddit"The least expected source of draft for me were electrical outlets. I'd done the work to use shrink wrap over windows etc etc. And then I'm just there in bed one night, and I could feel the most annoying draft blowing on my face... I went crazy trying to find it. The tiniest little gaps can have huge consequences. Recommend a temperature gun to ID where you're losing heat. It'll help triage problems and keep you from needlessly doing things that aren't helping! My library lends out thermal cameras and other things that lets you see where your energy and heat leaks are. Y'all might want to check your local library. :)" - Taco_Bhel, iBrarian"Heat your body, not the airspace. Put on layers, wear socks and slippers. Cover drafty windows with plastic sheeting. Drop your thermostat down to 65° (or lower). Use a heated throw blanket for sitting around when necessary but don’t run it all night long. Get a down comforter for your bed that will retain your body heat." - anythingaustin"Learn to live with 68, then 66, then 64. 62 isn't worth it imo, for both comfort and pipe freeze possibilities." - antsam9"Turns out most of my misery was tiny gaps. The worst offender was the front door. At night, with the lights off, I could see a faint line of light at the bottom. I added a simple door sweep, and for the sides I used adhesive weatherstripping (I had to redo one section bc I placed it wrong the first time, classic). I also made a dumb little “draft sausage” with an old towel and some rice in a sock for the bedroom door, which looks kinda goofy but works. For the living room window, I didn’t do anything fancy, just checked the latch, tightened a loose screw, and put a thin foam strip where the sash meets. The weirdly satisfying part was re-testing after each thing: you hold your hand near the edge and it’s like… oh, THAT’S what normal feels like. No more cold ghost touching your ankles. I’m not pretending my place is suddenly a cozy cabin, but my sleep has been noticeably better because I’m not waking up at 3am feeling that sharp chill from the window side. Also my heat feels more “steady”, not blasting then disappearing. If you’re in the same boat, I’d honestly start with the unsexy stuff before buying another gadget: check doors, check window latches, look for light lines, feel for airflow with your hand. Just do it safely and don’t block vents or anything. I wish I’d done this like 3 winters ago, instead of rage-adjusting a thermostat and acting surprised when nothing changed lol." - ventuscalmlight"Electric vest or pad that can run off of USB that you can change the battery is another option." - antsam9"Seal the windows with the window film. It might be too cold now for it to adhere properly without you turning the heat to 70 and using a hair dryer to warm up the surface. Seal the cracks first with molding draft clay." - antsam9 @comestayawhile Use these items to save $$$ on your heating bill! ? It’s freezing here today, so I’m doing everything I can to keep the heat inside and the cold OUT! ? linked on my Amazon and LTK #homehacks #winterprep "Increase thermal blocking capacity by reinforcing window curtains with an extra layer of felt blanket. I bought well used old comforters that were light weight on the biggest windows (damn Chicago bay windows)." - antsam9"Save the heat that you generate. If you run a heater (expensive) run it only in the smallest room. If you run the dish washer, don't set it to dry, let the door open so it can humidity the room and give some warmth after washing." - antsam9"Humid air holds onto heat better, so get a cold air humidifier (hot ones harbor more bacteria)." - antsam9"Invest in wool socks and a alpaca fur beanie and nice gloves. You'll be wearing these often. Inside." - antsam9"I got a thermal camera for my phone, cheap used off of Facebook market and looked for cold spots and used spray foam insulation to increased the insulation. If I couldn't, I would strategically place carpet, blankets, furniture, etc to prevent heat leaking." - antsam9"Drop the temp and layer up like people are saying. Also I just ordered the clear plastic window insulation kits off amazon for my own house. 'Duck brand'. Super useful and efficient. Just install over windows and it locks in a ton of heat." - SectorZed"My long gone grandma always had an old bleach bottle filled with hot water. She dragged it around throughout the day and jammed it in her bed to warm it up too. I have done this for our kids at our chilly lake cottage. Works like a charm on a cold rainy day." - ketoLifestyleRecipes"You might want to get a ceiling fan as well. It will distribute heat and cold more evenly and reduce the influence of warm and cold spots." - cosmoscrazy - YouTube www.youtube.com "It all starts with insulation and humidity. If its humid - get a dehumidifier, dry air is much easier (cheaper) to warm up. Make sure to always use your range hood when cooking and extractor fan when in the bathroom. Slap some of that 3M plastic film on your windows, put up some thick curtains if you can. Your windows are gonna be losing most heat (either via air leaks or just heat exchange due to a much lower R value than a wall). Also chuck some door snakes down on your exterior facing doors (balcony door, and maybe front door unless your building has a heated hallway)." - dinkygoat "Lots of people recommending an electric blanket but I prefer an electric mattress pad with a good quality comforter. With this combo you won't run into the situation of overheating and waking up sweaty during the night (which happened all the time for me with an electric blanket). Crank up the mattress pad before you go to bed, then once you're in, you turn it down to low, and the comforter will retain the heat instead of generating it." - monsterlynn"My utility company has a free 'Focus on Energy Comfort Pack'. It has window film, a door sweep, weather stripping, and little insulated pads to go behind outlet covers on external walls. It also had a plug in LED night light and a hot water heater temperature gauge. Super frugal as it was all free. The main window I wanted to cover was the kitchen window because former owner "bumped out" the kitchen a couple feet to the edge of the roof line and that window is so drafty. I made a huge difference but took up most of the window film. I like being able to open some other windows occasionally even in winter (though not in our current single digits) so there is only one other I've considered covering." - wi_voter"I used the leg from an old pair of jeans and two pieces of pool noodle. Made a cylinder that fits the two pool noodle pieces, then just slips under the bedroom door. Basically a draft stopper on either side. Works great, had it for a few years now. I like a cold bedroom, with no heat source in the room, my bedroom is at least 10°F colder than the house without causing drafts." - __wildwing__

Years of bickering over the meaning of American conservatism and the identity of the American Right, which had already escalated in the conspiracy-filled aftermath of coalition lynchpin Charlie Kirk’s horrific assassination, reached a fever pitch at Turning Point USA’s recent AmericaFest conference in Phoenix. The question conservative leaders now confront is straightforward enough: Where do we go from here? It ought to be axiomatic that if one seeks to conserve everything, then he will actually conserve nothing at all. It is imperative — indeed, indispensable — that leaders answer this question correctly and act accordingly. The conference began, following introductory remarks from Kirk’s widow, Erika, with a tour de force speech from Ben Shapiro. The longtime podcaster, columnist, and author condemned the Right’s “frauds and grifters,” those “charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty,” and those useful idiots who have refused to take any stand whatsoever amid the explosion of conspiracism because of rank “cowardice.” A number of subsequent speakers, from charlatans like Tucker Carlson to cowards like Megyn Kelly, attempted — in defensive, ham-fisted fashion — to respond to Shapiro’s tone-setting invocation. The basic case against Shapiro’s appeal — a position I share — was best articulated by Vice President JD Vance in the conference’s closing keynote speech. The veep noted that he “didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform” because “Charlie invited all of us here” and “believed that each of us, all of us, had something worth saying.” Therefore, we should not be engaged in “canceling each other.” True enough. But that’s something of a red herring. No one in the movement, to my knowledge, has called for “deplatforming” or “canceling” Carlson or the antisemitism-peddling podcaster Candace Owens — or even neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, for that matter. Between YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, and TikTok, video content creators have ample platforms at their disposal. Substack and Elon Musk’s social media free speech haven, X, provide similar myriad opportunities for the dissemination of written content. Given the sordid state of much of the elite institutional press, that is good and as it should be. So, what, then, is being debated here? Many on the Right seem to have unfortunately misinterpreted and overlearned the relevant lessons of the Big Tech-driven cancelation and deplatforming battles of the late 2010s and early 2020s, which saw many conservatives wrongly “shadow-banned” or deplatformed for challenging prevailing orthodoxies on issues such as COVID vaccines and Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop. I have long been an active participant in those debates — I have written about those issues at great length and debated them at many universities. But those debates were about how we ought to think about free speech in an age when the town commons of yesteryear has moved online. Those conversations had nothing to do with what viewpoints are or are not rightly viewed as being within the conservative fold. That is an entirely separate question, of both principle and prudence, as to which philosophies, viewpoints, and individuals ought to be viewed as part of the American Right’s noble efforts to protect and preserve the republic from hostile forces, both foreign and domestic. Blithe, lowest-common-denominator appeals against “cancel culture” might garner some plaudits, but in this context, they fundamentally miss the mark. What is called for at this perilous moment for the Right’s leaders is not to casually hand-wave away all disagreement as part of the proverbial marketplace of ideas, but to show basic decency and judgment in discerning what is and is not part of the Right as it steels itself for the many battles ahead. In many other contexts, this inquiry is simple. Take “post-birth abortion” — i.e., infanticide. That’s obviously not part of team civilizational sanity. Should tax dollars go toward genital mutilation “surgeries” for minors? Beyond the pale. In no context can these views, and the individuals who espouse them, be considered part of the Right’s effort to preserve the United States — and, by extension, the broader West. Honest leaders must apply the same logic toward viewpoints and individuals that, for their past work or for any other reason, are viewed as “right”-coded. Owens supporting medieval-style blood libel about Jews and accusing Erika Kirk of complicity in her husband’s assassination? In no sense is such psychotic bigotry and induced brain rot part of the Right’s mission. Carlson offering apologia for sharia law and criticizing famed World War II martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a personal hero of Charlie Kirk’s, as a lousy Christian? That is insane — and directly opposed to the solemn task of Western civilization preservation. It ought to be axiomatic that if one seeks to conserve everything, then he will actually conserve nothing at all. Leaders of any movement dedicated to cultural conservation must therefore be willing and able to exercise judgment in determining what is good and must be conserved, and what is bad and must be discarded. In a Heritage Foundation speech delivered the day before his fusillade in Phoenix, Shapiro referred to this as “ideological border control.” We might also just call it common sense. READ MORE from Josh Hammer: Chanukah Is Relevant for Everyone — but Not in the Way You Might Think Don’t Go Wobbly on China The Welcome Demise of Climate Change Catastrophism To find out more about Josh Hammer and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM  

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from InfoWars: On the Tuesday show Alex Jones covered the latest in the Charlie Kirk assassination saga. Delta force confirms Alex Jones’ report from September that Kash Patel is running defense for Charlie Kirk’s real killers! TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/ Read More @ InfoWars.com