Certain kinds of parents (ok, people like me) like to show off our successes and humorously and cleverly downplay our conundrums or heartaches.  We chortle over school success, toddlers completing chores, and light but troubling sibling rivalry. 

A magazine like Babble is a breath of fresh air because it provides an outlet to unconventional (sometimes controversial) approaches to parenting that many of us might be afraid to admit to others (without the relative safety of an alias or anonymous login).

Here are a few that may be embarrassing, but that definitely work:

1. Sleep - that elusive but ever important brick in the foundation of happy childhood.  I know a family that has tried everything: Pediacare Nightrest, threats, cajoling, regular routines, even melatonin.  But the only thing that works is the Bedtime Guardian.  A parent sits in the room until the children sleep.  How the mighty have fallen!!

2. Food - Yes they can eat nuggets, but sometimes there's nothing like bribing them with sugary treats to get that broccoli (or sushi or anything remotely adult-like) down.  On the other hand, I've been known to buy Winnie-the-Pooh shaped pasta just to get my toddler to eat anything.

3. Fights - Sibling rivalry isn't all fun and games.  When the kids brandish weapons (plastic Dora as head-smasher), it's time to call in the big guns.  When time outs fail, taking away priviledges seems unkind, but usually works.  For example, stop hitting or you won't be able to watch tv/go to grandma's for a week.

4. Television - Too much is bad, clearly, but sometimes it is the only way the little buggers can be quieted to let the adults finish a sentence (especially ones that begin, "You look hot today")

5. Threat of spanking - I've never spanked my kids, but I've used it as a last ditch threat, usually in a high pitched untempered angry voice.  And it's not my finest moment as a mother, but it works.  

[Photo Credit: www.birthoftv.org]