Problem-Solving Parenting Products for $50 or Less

Parenting is a tough and often thankless job — tougher than most expect. It can also be seriously expensive. The cost of raising a child from birth to age 18 tipped over the $300,000 mark in 2024, but sometimes you still want to give your kids (or yourself) a fun accessory. You can make your job a little easier on a tight budget with some intentional research and strategizing. Here’s what we recommend.

_{Prices are accurate as of November 18, 2024. Subject to change.}

To Make Brushing Less of Chore: The Brushies

As parents, we all know the importance of brushing our teeth, but getting our kids on board can be a bit of a learning curve. Brushies are a great way to help make the habit of brushing fun. The larger pack includes four finger “puppets” made of food-grade silicone and comes with a book that tells the story of how they work together to get littles’ teeth clean — a smaller two-pack is also available. The finger puppet brushes are made in the USA, are dishwasher-safe, and BPA- and Phthalate-free.

For Keeping Track of Supplies: DIY Marky

As a mom of five, I could spend the majority of my lifetime writing my kids’ names on their school supplies and personal items, which is why I was so excited when I discovered the DIY Marky. This fun, smiling gadget allows you to label a variety of items, ranging from PE shoes to lunch boxes, and the print will withstand runs through the washing machine, dishwasher, or microwave. You can customize it with whatever information (or pictures!) you’d like. There are two different label sizes, so you can pick the one that best fits the space needed.  

To Speed Up Dinner Prep: Hamilton Beach Defrost & Go Slow Cooker

If you’re anything like me, you constantly forget to pull the frozen meat out of the freezer ahead of prepping your slow cooker meals. Previously, under USDA recommendations, cooking from frozen in a slow cooker was a big no-no. That was until Hamilton Beach launched its Defrost & Go Programmable Slow Cooker. 

Now you can safely defrost meat and then cook it all within the same machine. It’s programmable, with cook times between 30 minutes and 24 hours, and it comes with a temperature probe that will switch it to a warm setting once the food has been cooked to temp. The 6-quart capacity cooks between 4 and 6 pounds of meat and serves around seven people, something I find extremely helpful as a mom of five growing kids.

For Easier Bedtimes: PureBaby Cloud Portable Sound Machine

There’s nothing harder as a tired parent than a child who struggles to fall asleep. The PureBaby Cloud helps provide an extra comfort level if your child isn’t such a fan of bedtime with 15 sleep sounds, changing colors, and a cute little cloud shape. It’s small enough that you can take it anywhere your child might need some added soothing, like the car or grandma’s house. There’s also an auto-off function after 30 minutes.

For Reviving Connections: Bright Littles Conversations Cards

Talking with your kids and having meaningful conversations is an important part of their childhood. The Bright Littles Conversation Cards are a wonderful way to open up the conversation on a variety of topics, with questions about diversity, nature, health, self, and safety. Parents love how these cards make it easier to start conversations on touchier subjects, and they have helped my own family learn much more about each other’s opinions, worries, and things we need to learn more about. Questions like, “If you’re having a bad day, how do you make yourself feel better?” are widely accessible by a range of age groups, helping toddlers and teens engage in the same conversation.

For Easier Memory Keeping: Kept Collection Baby Book

Baby books aren’t essential, especially when money is tight, but they can be fun to look back on years down the line. If you’ve been looking for one, we think the Kept Collection Baby Book is worth the few dollars it runs over our $50 budget.  Remembering to write in your child’s baby book might be the last thing on your mind, but this one makes it easy to share your baby’s childhood — even if that baby has entered preschool by now. 

The book asks questions that differ from the typical baby book, with less focus on statistics and more on who your child is becoming (after all, do you really care about their 1-year-old growth chart a decade later?). With lists of potential prompts, you can elaborate on the ones that mean the most to you. So if your memory is around a restaurant experience rather than a trip, for example, choose that adventure. The company uses US-based materials and the pages and book are smyth-sewn to ensure the book’s longevity for generations to come.

Feature Image Credit: Michael Tucker/ Unsplash+