I thought that it would be a good idea for people to add what things they have hit on that work for them in their parenting. It can be anything from dealing with sleep to tantrums.

DH and I can add three things to get everyone started:

1. When DS (2yrs) doesn't want to eat his dinner we invite one of his 'friends' over (one of his favourite stuffed toys).Once he sees them gobbling up his dinner he always gets involves and usually eats most of it. It is a fun way to convince him to eat something.

2. When singing him to sleep in his cot, the songs are 'eyelid' powered. They stop when his eyelids are open and start again when they are shut. Helps to get him to sleep on those difficult nights.

3. When faced with something he doesn't want to do we (almost) always give him a choice. For example if he doesn't want to get a nappy change he can choose whether I or DH do it. Or he can choose to have it done on the change table or the couch. When thinking of choices I always try to keep in mind what the ultimate aim is. For example if we are dealing with a difficult bathtime I try to remember the aim is not for him to have a bath but to be clean so his choice is to have a bath or have a clean down with a washer etc.

Keen to hear everyone elses tips that they haven't had a chance to pass on before.