This past weekend, we forgot to put the stroller in the car before we left to go to a museum. A few weeks ago, I drove my daughter to a birthday party and realized I had forgotten my wallet at home. And I often forget to bring bibs and a sippy cup when we eat out. I’m probably also forgetting a bunch of other examples of forgetting things.
As a parent of a baby or toddler, there is so much you need to bring with you when you leave the house (diaper bag, check; wipes, check; diapers, check; water, check; snacks, check; etc….) that forgetting things is inevitable. I can even understand now why there’s a product to help you avoid forgetting your baby in the car.
So to help us all with mommy brain and daddy brain, I did a little research into strategies that can help us combat baby gear-related forgetfulness. And that’s when I came across the helpful mnemonic that is today’s hint: “Big Jumping Penguins Don’t Sing With Turkeys.”
I found it on the blog of Jeremy Rothman-Shore, a Cambridge, Mass., dad who writes about “problems solved both at work and home, with a technology focus” and “some parenting thrown in.” Mr. Rothman-Shore writes that he came up with the mnemonic a number of years ago when his daughter was 15 months old during a trip in Italy when he and his wife “would inevitably forget something.” Here’s what each letter stands for, according to Mr. Rothman-Shore.
B = Bib
J = Jacket (& Hat)
P = Pacifier
D = Diapers
S = Snacks
W = Water
T = Toys
And since we’re always forgetting our stroller, as well as my cell phone and wallet, I’ll add “Or Snakes” to the end of the mnemonic, the O for “our stuff (meaning my money and phone) and the S for stroller.
And according to Mr. Rothman-Shore, the B can be updated to mean “Bathroom” (i.e. have kids go to the bathroom before you leave the house) when children are toilet trained, an update that came to him after he recently used the mnemonic when trying to get his kids out of the house during an emergency.
But if you don’t think you’ll be able to remember a phrase and what it stands for, don’t despair. You could instead consider other remembering strategies such as:
1.) Making sure everything is in your diaper bag every night before you go to sleep.
2.) Create a list of what you need to bring with you when you leave the house and post it by the door (and make sure to check it every time you leave the house)
3.) Know how many items you always need to bring with you when you leave the house and count that you have everything before leaving.
What are your strategies for remembering all the baby gear?
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