12 Practical Tips for Making Life Easier with Small Kids

Life with small kids is full — full of love, messes, moments, and a whole lot of logistics.

Some days feel like a blur of snacks, outfit changes, and finding that one toy that has to come with you. And while we can’t eliminate the chaos entirely (real life, after all), we can make it easier.

Over time, I’ve found that small shifts — little systems and thoughtful prep — can add up to smoother, calmer days. Not perfect days, just ones that flow a little better. Days where you’re not scrambling for the diaper bag or wondering what’s for dinner at 5 p.m.

In this post, I’m sharing 12 practical tips that have made life with small kids (I have a baby and a toddler!) feel more manageable. These aren’t major overhauls — just simple things you can do to stay one step ahead and free up your energy for what matters most.

Let’s make everyday life just a little lighter.

Here are 13 simple tips to help you always feeling prepared in the season of small kids - because being 10 steps ahead is what will make the biggest difference!

1- Stay one meal ahead

Meals for me were the most stressful time of the day… because hungry kids are no joke!

It can be especially tricky when you have small kids in different stages: one weaning, one eating (almost) everything, but not quite! Add picky eating to the mix and you have a recipe for a potentially stressful experience! Hence the importance of planning.

Meal planning is your best friend: think about it once, then execute on a regular basis. But that’s the tricky part, don’t execute when it’s actually time for your kids to eat: have the meal ready ahead of time.

It’s a rhythm: prepare breakfast after dinner, lunch after breakfast and dinner after lunch. And you will never be caught off guard with a hungry child!

2- Have everything ready for mealtime in advance

It’s not just the food. Having the plate, the spoon, the bib, the clean highchair all set out just makes meal time easier. You won’t have to scan your kitchen for those items with a hungry child yelling at you!

3- Plan activities and toys

Corner of a play room with shelves displaying toys and books

Taking the time to prepare some activities for the evening and the weekend will save you a lot of sanity. Especially during winter. I find that sensory activities are the best at calming down my kids. They’re usually the messiest ones, but I prefer to clean up the mess that to have super hyper kids about to burst. And they’re usually the activities that keep them engaged the longest. Here are a few of our favorite ones:

playdough: here is the link to my favourite playdough recipe
kinetic sand: I particularly like this recipe
water play

For toys, a good toy rotation system will definitely help. I like to switch a few things on Friday to refresh their interest for the weekend.

4- Always have the diaper bag ready to go

Take the habit of resetting the diaper bag every time you come home: have diapers, wipes and a change of clothes ready to go at all times. It will make going out that much easier.

5- Have their clothes where you actually need them

Who says clothes have to be in the bedroom? It will save you a lot of hassle to have your kids’ clothes where you actually get them dressed. I personally get them dressed right after breakfast, so it just makes sense to have the clothes they will wear right there in the living room / kitchen. Plus small kids are very hard to dress, and having to take that extra trip to their bedroom might throw off the momentum you had!

In the evening as well, if you put their pajamas on after their bath then have a basket of pajamas in the bathroom.

Another good tip is to keep extras nearby: socks near shoes, sweaters by the entryway—especially if your child has a habit of taking them off!

6- Have diaper changing stations all throughout the house

I find that it’s not just for the newborn phase… Having some diapers and wipes, and a mat on which to change them in the living room is very handy. When they get a bit bigger I like to have some pull-on diapers that are easier to put on since getting them to lie down can feel like a wrestling match!

7- Have snacks and activities with you at all times

Keep snacks and activities in your diaper bag or purse. I always have a fruit pouch, crackers, a small notepad, and crayons on hand—it’s a lifesaver during outings.

8- Have their bedroom set up in advance for bedtime

Another practical tip for making life easier with small kids is to have everything ready for bedtime. Lay out the sleep sack, the water bottle, the book, the pacifier or whatever else they use for their bedtime in advance. There is nothing worse than having to run around the house looking for items when your baby or toddler is ready to go to sleep.

9- Prepare medication and supplies in advance when they’re sick

Especially if you’re alone with a sick baby or toddler, it can be hard to do anything while they’re awake. So take advantage of their nap or any free moment you may have to prepare the medication they need to take, or pre-fill a syringe for nasal washes. You’ll be glad you did!

10- Check-in with yourself

Are you hungry? Tired? Need to wash-up?

The best way to be prepared to take care of your small children is to have your needs under check.

So whenever possible (I understand it’s not always the case but do try to make it a priority), make sure that if you are hungry you eat something, if you feel the need to have shower or brush your teeth and freshen up, go do that. Because it will make a world of difference in the way you handle things. And that will lead up to making you feel more prepared and organized.

11- Have a list of things to do during their nap

I think it’s safe to say that we all look forward to nap time. Not because we don’t love our little ones, but let’s be honest: it’s hard taking care of them. And it’s hard to put the things we need to do or want to do on hold while they’re awake. But when nap time finally rolls around a very strange phenomenon happens: suddenly, everything we thought of that we wanted to get done magically gets forgotten. You’re just blank.

But if you prepare in advance and have a list of things you would like to do, or need to do, then you can just jump start on it as soon as your little one falls asleep. In the newborn stage it can be as simple as riding down:

take a shower
eat
rest

In the order you actually want to complete those things.

When you have more of a rhythm and you can actually go back to accomplishing tasks that are not just basic self-care, then write a detailed list of what you want to get done. Whether that’s house chores, work, or even connecting with a friend over the phone. But just write it down so that you don’t forget.

It’s also a way to not clutter your mind during your time with your kids: you might otherwise end up spending all your time thinking of your to-do’s and feel like you should be doing them, even while they’re awake.

With this list you draw a line: this is what gets done during nap time. Not during wake time.

12- Have a list of things to do when they’re awake

Similarly, it’s very useful to have a list of things that can be done while they’re awake. This will vary wildly according to your children’s ages.

For example with a newborn there is a lot that you can do while baby wearing them.

With a young toddler there are a few chores they might find interesting or even entertaining like emptying the dishwasher, or taking care of the laundry.

With an older toddler you might want to make them participate in meal preparation.

I’d say the crawling stage is probably the hardest one to work with! But you can still find some ways: maybe they’re okay in their highchair with some random objects for a while, or you can let them go through a drawer in the kitchen that doesn’t contain dangerous tools.

Having as many things as possibile done during their wake time, means that their nap time can be spent doing things that you WANT to do, and not just things that you NEED to do.