Boy Mom Resources: Monster Spray Tutorial and Other Parenting Shortcuts

Disclosure: Compensation for this post about parenting shortcuts, featuring a Monster Spray tutorial, was provided by Mott’s via Mode Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Mott’s. #Motts

Got monsters (or zombies)? You’ll love this Monster Spray tutorial and other parenting shortcuts that will make your life much easier.

Becoming a parent was the most rewarding job I have ever had. I’ve loved almost every minute of it. Over the past seven years, I’ve had a lot of parenting wins, but just like the wins, I’ve also had a lot of parenting fails. One of my most famous (infamous) parenting fails was when I let my child watch zombie shows with Granny. Yes, folks, I allowed my four-year-old child to watch the popular zombie TV show with my stepmom on Sunday evenings. What? He loved it! You should have heard the two of them chatting and laughing and bonding over zombie shows every week. They loved spending the time together and they were the only ones who wanted to watch so it was their special time together.

Fast forward a couple of years and my little four-year-old brave boy grew an imagination and became a scared big boy six-year-old. He started having vivid dreams (he gets that from me) and his imagination got the best of him. He had zombie pictures in his mind from watching the show and those zombies found their way into his nightmares. Now that he is seven and super smart, he has an overactive imagination and those zombies are a real fear he has on a daily basis. He’s slept with us in the bed for many years, but even having Mommy and Daddy on both sides of him isn’t enough to keep the zombies away. We needed something a little more potent to scare away those zombies (and the occasional monster) so we decided to make some Monster Spray to spray them away.

Monster Spray is super easy to make and your child can even help decorate the bottle so it’s a fun craft as well.

What you’ll need:

1 spray bottle

Scented liquid (you can buy a room deodorizer spray or make your own with water and scented oils)

Stickers, markers, paint or other craft supplies needed to decorate the bottle

What you’ll do:

It’s very important that you pour the spray in the spray bottle when your child is not around so they don’t know the special formula for Monster Spray. This is a parenting shortcut that needs to stay a special secret among us adults. However, before you pour in the spray, give the crafting supplies to your child to decorate the bottle however they wish.

Benjamin chose this puffy paint and letter stickers for his bottle and he wanted it to look “boy-like” because he’s a big boy now. I let him decorate it however he wanted and he was so proud of his creation that he couldn’t wait until it was bedtime so we could try out the Monster Spray. I used a light scented room deodorizing spray because we all have allergies and I also watered it down so we would have plenty of spray to last in case we needed extra for all the monsters and zombies that have been living in our bedroom.

Two nights ago was the first time we used our Monster Spray and Benjamin reports no nightmares yet! Our bedroom smells a little nicer and our nights have been a little calmer.

Other Parenting Shortcuts:

We’ve all licked our thumbs and wiped off a smudge on a child’s face before, but some of these parenting shortcuts are much more creative than this. I searched the internet to provide you with a few suggestions and can’t wait to read more about your parenting shortcuts as well.

• Get up and get organized – I know that when I’m feeling stressed, the whole family is feeling stressed. One of the things that stresses me out most is when we are frantically trying to get organized in the morning. I find that if I get up 15 to 20 minutes before the rest of the family and organize, then things run a lot smoother. I get my “me time” to gather my thoughts and they get a happy mommy and an organized life.
• Meal planning – I’m the world’s worst at this, but it actually works. Do your shopping for the week and plan out all the meals for the week. Make ahead as many meals as you can and freeze them for even more convenience. This way instead of grabbing a pizza or burgers after soccer practice, you can come home to a home-cooked meal in minutes. While you’re meal planning, be sure to plan for snack time as well. Consider picking up Mott’s® Snack & Go for an easy and nutritious snack for after school. I’ll be talking more about these snacks in the coming weeks, but for now, just know that they are a hit in my household and I’m sure they will be in yours as well.

Mott’s® Snack & Go is the nutritious applesauce kids love in a squeezable pouch they can take with them wherever they go. Mott’s is also the only applesauce brand with Box Tops for Education®, helping to support kids’ schools. Visit us on motts.com to learn more.

• Serve your child an ice cold drink at school – Have you ever wondered what your child’s lunch tastes like after 3-4 hours of sitting in his lunchbox in the classroom? You could at least serve him an ice cold drink with his lunch by freezing his juice box or water bottle overnight and it will thaw while he’s doing his morning work.
• Make laundry a game – Nobody really likes to do laundry and I’m not going to suggest that my seven-year-old needs to wash the laundry, but he can help pick it up and put it in the hamper, at least. Make picking up laundry (or toys, actually) fun by installing a plastic basketball hoop over a basket. For multiple children, make this a scored game and the high scorer can win a prize!
• Make the bathtub your friend – Okay, I have two shortcuts for the bathtub. For your toddler, put him in the tub with a diaper only and some paint and paper and let him go to town. Once he’s done, just remove the papers and diaper and bath time begins. Second, save time on cleaning up bath toys by bathing your child in a laundry basket inside the tub. Once he’s done playing, remove the laundry basket and pour out any excess water, then set it out to dry those toys.

Mott’s® Snack & Go wants to know what are your parenting shortcuts for making life a little easier. Be honest. Parenting is not always easy, but if we share our tips and tricks, we can all get through this challenge together. Check out this video for more on the Mott’s Good & Honest campaign:

Have you ever used Monster Spray?

Tell me about your other parenting shortcuts!