[Al-Khwarizmi]

Not the parent, but I have had similar experiences. What I do is check my wristwatch twice in a row. If the readings are radically different, or other weird stuff happens (no hands, more hands than usual, hands moving really fast, etc.) then I'm pretty sure it's a dream. And viceversa (apparently, my mind is not capable of generating a coherent watch in a dream, so if the watch behaves normally I know it's real life).

I'm also not able to generate a complex text in a dream, so trying to read a book can also work, and I suppose there are many similar possible tests based on the limitations of your dreaming mind. But the advantage of the wristwatch is that I always wear it in real life, so I know I will also be wearing it in dreams, so I can always do that test, while a book may not be available in a dream.

If you want to kill me, give me a wristwatch that does weird stuff and I might jump from a skyscraper trying to fly in real life at some point :)

[godshatter]

My go-to reality check is to hold my nose and see if I can breathe through my fingers or not. If I'm lucid, then I feel the air going past them. I guess my subconscious doesn't bother trying to make everything completely realistic.