|
Irritated Goat posted:
Don't buy a used car seat. You don't know the history and a visual inspection is worthless. There are plenty available less than $100 new.
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 15:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 23:02 |
|
|
skeetied posted:Don't buy a used car seat. You don't know the history and a visual inspection is worthless. There are plenty available less than $100 new. I agree 100%. I got lucky and got my whole travel set for $100 off during Cyber Monday sales. Things they won't use after a few months? Meh. Car Seat and Crib? 
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 15:59
|
|
|
Ashcans posted:It's so that when they jump/bounce, their full weight isn't coming down on their legs, which are not really capable of carrying that weight yet. If just the ball of their foot is touching the ground, then most of their weight is being caught by the saucer, as designed. If you think about it, you wouldn't just drop your kid from the bounce height and expect them to stick the landing, right? Also, having the full foot on the ground gives your kid more push/leverage, which makes it a little more likely that they could rock or even tip the saucer (although I don't think this is very likely). Eh, my daughter hardly bounces at all in it (yet), so I guess I can squeeze a little more use out of it than otherwise. Thanks.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 16:29
|
|
|
Public Serpent posted:That sandwich thing sounds super weird to me. Why on earth would you micro-manage eating like that! (Also that eating order sounds messed to me, what kid doesn't like fruit? It's dessert!) Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the sandwich thing was weird. I am fully aware that I'm being slightly hormonal about it, but it just felt like they were being too much. Marshmallows I totally understand, the moment I got to work I got all "what was I thinking?" to myself and just hoped they'd understand that it was a one time thing. BonoMan posted:They're probably not overdoing it as much as they have directives until otherwise noted. So if you go talk to them and tell them that it's ok for her to have her sammie before her fruit or whatever, they'll probably be pretty fine with making that change. The marshmallows probably still won't fly, but whatever that's not really a battle worth fighting. I think I may do this, thanks. I wasn't sure if it was worth bringing it up, but considering that at least half of her diet is fruit I would like them to prioritise the dairy a bit more. I just don't want to be one of those overbearing parents. Also, I really struggle speaking to them. I'm a very shy person and the times I've tried to speak to the teachers they just ignore me and do their own thing. Like I thought of saying a quick "thanks for all your work", "how's anastasia going?" or "I like your program", nothing too important to pull them aside, but yeah. I guess I'll just need to woman up!
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 17:07
|
|
|
Fruit is basically just healthier sweets, so yeah that seems weird to me too. I mean I'm not sure how important dairy is exactly, but half+ of her diet being fruit does seem a bit much and if you're trying to change that and the place is actively hindering I think it's fine to politely bring it up.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 17:12
|
|
|
There's something to be said about getting the less appetizing (meaning not incredibly sweet) stuff the first chance at being consumed. I know my son will, given the chance, eat all the fruit and pretzels and nothing else. But if I put out carrots or cheese or a sandwich first, he tends to eat at least some of that and then all the other stuff. However, it's rather weird to hear of a daycare trying to enforce that.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 17:30
|
|
|
Rurutia posted:I'm starting to read parenting books (still 4 months out). Any thoughts on Waldorf vs Montessori, is the extra money for those preschools worth it? At home I'm thinking about doing a Montessori bedroom for the baby, but with less restrictive rules on the toys. I can't offer any advice on one versus the other - my suggestion would be to check out different preschools and see which best fits your child. It's great to follow a parenting philosophy, but I've found that so much of being a parent depends on adjusting that philosophy to suit the type of kid you have.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 23:48
|
|
|
Kitiara posted:Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the sandwich thing was weird. I am fully aware that I'm being slightly hormonal about it, but it just felt like they were being too much. Marshmallows I totally understand, the moment I got to work I got all "what was I thinking?" to myself and just hoped they'd understand that it was a one time thing. Yeah, I'd go in and tell them that she is a fruit monster and you have a hard time getting protein in her so you'd really prefer she be allowed to eat her lunch in any order she chooses (particularly if it's sandwich first). I can understand them wanting you to send healthy food instead of candy but if all the food is acceptable, micromanaging the order in which it is consumed seems weird as hell.
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2016 04:17
|
|
|
So, we've survived a few weeks post surgery. Amazingly, the little guy is really understanding the Dada has booboos line and is being extra careful. Which is wonderful. I'm exhausted, though. Question about car seats. I know that rear-facing as long as possible is best and that has always been the plan. However, it is getting really hard to get Anders into his seat in our Honda Fit. The seat sits back a little so that there is only a small space between the door frame and the back of the car seat. I basically pick him up so he is flying superman style through the space and then turning him to get him into the seat. He's off the charts with height so this is getting really tricky. I've tried putting him in by crawling across the seat from the other side, but his cousins taught him he could climb through the car so he immediately climbs up to the driver's seat. So that is not an easy option. How bad is it really if we front face him in this car? He will be 2 on April 12. He does spend most of his time in the other car which will continue to rear-face as long as possible, but I think if he is front-faced in the fit we might be more inclined to use it on the weekend for short trips since we will be able to fit someone up front again. For what it's worth, he's in a good car seat with extra protective features.
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2016 23:39
|
|
|
My son just hit 27 months yesterday and he rear faces in my car and front faces in my husband's car. Hubby has a two seater HHR and I can't be the main transport vehicle because I work in a different county and direction from daycare now. So, he splits time both ways. It's not ideal, but you have to do what you have to do. Set it up as a safe as possible and go from there.
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2016 00:01
|
|
|
I flipped my son from backward to forward facing when I kept thumping him on the interior roof of the car as I was trying to get him into his seat. Small car plus an anchor strap going over the seat to the clip on the back of the car's seat made it really awkward to manoeuvre him in into it when he got bigger and more wiggly.
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2016 02:24
|
|
|
Tom Swift Jr. posted:So, we've survived a few weeks post surgery. Amazingly, the little guy is really understanding the Dada has booboos line and is being extra careful. Which is wonderful. I'm exhausted, though. I've read a few things that say 2 yrs old is fine to swap them over to front-facing. I also love my KeyFit30 car seat now after hearing how much trouble people have. We put Gabriel in the car seat, carry it to the car and just set him in the base. The latch system is also a blessing. 2 second install so I don't even care that my wife needed the base this morning.
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2016 15:05
|
|
|
Tom Swift Jr. posted:So, we've survived a few weeks post surgery. Amazingly, the little guy is really understanding the Dada has booboos line and is being extra careful. Which is wonderful. I'm exhausted, though. The ideal is RF until as close to age four as possible or to the limits of the car seat (I have a very tall four year old who still fits RF in both our seats but weight might be more of an issue). Around four is when the bones have ossified enough to help prevent internal decapitation while FF in a serious crash. http://csftl.org/why-rear-facing-the-science-junkies-guide/ That said, you have to make the right choice for your family. My first kid was FF at two because I couldn't throw him over the high side of our NextFit while in the third trimester of my pregnancy. This kid will be RF until he outgrows the seat. Anecdotally, my big kid actually prefers RF. In hind sight, I would have purchased a different seat that he could climb into (like our Radian). Minor pet peeve... "Extra protective features" is pretty BS. Car seats in the US are graded pass/fail and performance beyond that is super secret. Any extra features haven't been independently evaluated beyond the seat being safe and may be just marketing. Britax in particular are the masters of this. They had parents everywhere convinced they're the "safest" when there is no independent research at all substantiating that. If you go FF, remember to tether and check your LATCH limits.
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2016 15:45
|
|
|
skeetied posted:If you go FF, remember to tether and check your LATCH limits. Check your latch limits even if you're staying RF. The Radian is almost 30lbs by itself, then add a large 2-4 yr old and you're pushing 65 lbs combined
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2016 18:25
|
|
|
skeetied posted:The ideal is RF until as close to age four as possible or to the limits of the car seat (I have a very tall four year old who still fits RF in both our seats but weight might be more of an issue). Around four is when the bones have ossified enough to help prevent internal decapitation while FF in a serious crash. Thanks ! This is really the kind of info I needed . Enough to motivate me to try to find a way to make it work or only drive the big car which is feasible.
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2016 21:52
|
|
|
Tom Swift Jr. posted:Thanks ! This is really the kind of info I needed . Enough to motivate me to try to find a way to make it work or only drive the big car which is feasible. I don't know what car seat you have but the Diono Radian with the angle adjuster, the Chicco NextFit, and the Graco 4Ever are all fairly compact front-to-back.
|
|
#
?
Mar 25, 2016 21:57
|
|
|
skeetied posted:I don't know what car seat you have but the Diono Radian with the angle adjuster, the Chicco NextFit, and the Graco 4Ever are all fairly compact front-to-back. We have the Safety 1st Advance SE Complete Air+ 65. We chose it because he's off the charts for height and carries it all in his torso and my research showed that it was good for that. I think the Diono Radian would have worked too, but it was out of our price range. The issue isn't the front to back of the car seat. It's the way the car is designed. The seat itself sits back a little behind the door opening, combine that with the sides of the car seat and you end up with a small opening to get the kid through. It didn't seem so small before, but many growth spurts later and it's like threading a needle. I can get him in that way now, but I'm not sure how much longer that's going to work. I'm going to keep trying to teach him to get in through the other side of the car. I needed to know that the hassle of chasing him through the car was going to be outweighed by safety benefits. If that makes sense. We don't actually have to use that car, but it gets better gas mileage/is better for the environment and easier to park, so it would be nice to use it more. That being said, I'd rather stick to driving the big car until he's 4 if that makes life easier and keeps him safer. I just wasn't sure how much of an advantage it was to rear face after 2. The plan was always to rear-face until he outgrows the limits of the car seat (we bought the car seat with the highest limits at the time).
|
|
#
?
Mar 26, 2016 13:24
|
|
|
Liveposting from the most farcical stroller nap of my parenting career. I swear this thing has some sort of loud toddler search beacon installed. Whenever the kid falls asleep and I sit down to have some quiet time, playing children will materialize at either end of the bit of road and start inexorably moving towards us. I've literally escaped into the forest like a cartoon villain three times already. And oh good, here comes a consumptive dog walker and his three frolicking spaniels. Welp gotta go
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 10:17
|
|
|
My lady has a son who will be four in July, and I have a son who just turned six. I have lived with my son for his whole life, so I guess he has just grown up with my parenting style or whatever, but with her son I feel like I am constantly disciplining or correcting him. I feel bad because I am always telling him no, or stopping him from doing things that were probably OK before I came along, while I literally never have to do that with my son. It's not that he is bad really, he just has been able to do whatever pre-bojanglesworth, and now he cant. Does anyone have any kind of suggestions? Cliffnotes: Being a step parent is hard.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 16:05
|
|
|
Kids are all different. There's every chance that if you had had a second child in your previous relationship and brought them up identically to your eldest they would be needing a different level of discipline and correction. Also make sure that you and your new partner are on the same wavelength regarding what is a disciplinary matter and what isn't - when my now husband and I got together there were times when we would have to have conversations because I felt like he was trying to enforce rules that I didn't want to have enforced.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 16:14
|
|
|
hookerbot 5000 posted:Kids are all different. There's every chance that if you had had a second child in your previous relationship and brought them up identically to your eldest they would be needing a different level of discipline and correction. Yeah, that is a conversation we have had a few times, usually after I tell her son not to do something and she doesn't think I should have stopped him or whatever the case is. It is tough because usually that doesnt come up until its already been done. We have some basic rules that we both enforce (no interrupting, don't wake up in the morning and come into our room, please/thank you etc) but even with those I feel like often times I am the one having to enforce, thus making me seem like the bad guy in his eyes. Edit: Its also extra difficult because he spends three weekends a month with his dad, who is a worthless junkie that lives with his mom. So there are literally no rules at all when he is there, meaning we are basically starting from scratch every Sunday night when we get him back.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 16:52
|
|
|
Bojanglesworth posted:Edit: Its also extra difficult because he spends three weekends a month with his dad, who is a worthless junkie that lives with his mom. So there are literally no rules at all when he is there, meaning we are basically starting from scratch every Sunday night when we get him back. I think the main thing you can focus on is consistency, both in your interactions with him (even if you have to reboot every week) and between siblings. Make sure you are praising him when things are going awesome, so he doesn't feel picked on, but not too much to make him feel any different than the other kid. Make sure your expectations are the same for both, because nothing seeds resentment more than a sibling being favored over another. But yeah, being a good step-parent is one of the hardest jobs to have, especially with a bio-parent who is not setting a great example. All you can do is stick with it, if you are both on the same page.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 19:30
|
|
|
Tom Swift Jr. posted:I needed to know that the hassle of chasing him through the car was going to be outweighed by safety benefits. At 2 years old they really, really are. If he got carsick all the time from facing backwards or genuinely didn't fit safely in a rearfacing seat, it'd be one thing, but when the hassle is limited to just getting him into his seat, it's definitely worth it to know that he's as protected as he can be in a collision. My favourite recent statistic - 2015 was the first year on record that no child under the age of ten died in a carcrash on Norwegian roads. If we keep being good about seatbelts and rearfacing children under 4 (and driving safely, of course), I'm hoping we can repeat that next year 
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 20:10
|
|
|
Can I get some advice on where a 6-12 month old baby should sleep? After my shower this weekend I have a Rock n Play for months 0-6ish, and a Pack n Play. My in laws are offering to buy my a crib, do I need one? We're going to be moving somewhere across country when the baby is about 8-12 months old, so I'm hesitant to get furniture I won't need. Will I ever need a crib? Will I need/want one before 12 months? Is it worth having?
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 20:12
|
|
|
dopaMEAN posted:Can I get some advice on where a 6-12 month old baby should sleep? Pretty much yes to all of those. Cribs are fairly more comfortable than a pack and play. We used the Rock'n'Play for about 0 to 2 or 3 months then a pack and play for the crossover time where she was too big for the rock'n'play but not in her own room/crib (so, about until she was 4 months old) then at 4 months (or when she can reliable roll over on her own) we moved her to her own room and crib. So I'd say you can get some good use out of in the time allotted. Plus you shouldn't have any trouble selling it when it's time to move.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 20:17
|
|
|
You're probably going to want to get a crib, but in case you don't and you don't want to be stuck with a piece of furniture you don't need, you could ask them to buy it later, if you find out you need it, if that's ok by them. We got a simple but awesome crib from IKEA, with an adjustable bottom and removable sides, so it can be converted as your child gets bigger. Our daughter slept in it almost from day one, and she's still in it more than 2.5 years later, and if she keeps growing at her current leasurely pace, she's got at least another year to go before we need to think about getting her an actual child's bed, so for us it's been an invaluable piece of furniture that we'd gladly schlep with us cross country if needed.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 21:10
|
|
|
Sockmuppet posted:You're probably going to want to get a crib, but in case you don't and you don't want to be stuck with a piece of furniture you don't need, you could ask them to buy it later, if you find out you need it, if that's ok by them. Ok! Based on what you two said I'm going to ask her for one. How do IKEA cribs stack up? I really like IKEA, so I haven't looked at any other cribs yet. Anything else I should be considering? dopaMEAN fucked around with this message at 21:23 on Mar 28, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 21:21
|
|
|
dopaMEAN posted:Ok! Based on what you two said I'm going to ask her for one. We have the cheapest IKEA crib and it's been great. It's very simple but it works.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 21:33
|
|
|
This is the one we've got, 2.5 years in and still going strong.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 21:44
|
|
|
Our Ikea bed was fine when it was a crib, , but for the the type we bought, when it converted to a toddler bed, it didn't have a rail on one side, so my daughter kept rolling off. We tried getting one of those rail that go under then mattress, but you need another mattress/box spring, and I think they are expecting heavier mattress, so it didn't feel very secure to us. We ended up buying a new toddler bed. Something to keep in mind from a cost/savings stand point.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 22:04
|
|
|
gninjagnome posted:Our Ikea bed was fine when it was a crib, , but for the the type we bought, when it converted to a toddler bed, it didn't have a rail on one side, so my daughter kept rolling off. We tried getting one of those rail that go under then mattress, but you need another mattress/box spring, and I think they are expecting heavier mattress, so it didn't feel very secure to us. We ended up buying a new toddler bed. Something to keep in mind from a cost/savings stand point. IKEA makes a separate bed rail for their converted cribs. http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/50251388/
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 22:09
|
|
|
skeetied posted:IKEA makes a separate bed rail for their converted cribs. Yeah, we bought that one when we converted our crib. We didn't think of it before we converted the bed, however, so we had to stick picture books between the frame and the mattress to keep her in place the first two nights before we could get to IKEA to buy it 
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 22:34
|
|
|
VorpalBunny posted:I think the main thing you can focus on is consistency, both in your interactions with him (even if you have to reboot every week) and between siblings. Make sure you are praising him when things are going awesome, so he doesn't feel picked on, but not too much to make him feel any different than the other kid. Make sure your expectations are the same for both, because nothing seeds resentment more than a sibling being favored over another. I definitely try to be fair and consistent, but its sometimes hard because my six year old is insanely good, like unreasonably out of the ordinary well behaved all of the time, so we don't ever have to discipline him or anything. We have to constantly remind the 3.5 year old of everything, say please, say thank you, wash your hands, don't interrupt. One of the main issues we are really dealing with now is trying to teach the 3.5 year old basically anything. We will spend hours a day trying to teach him a handful of numbers or letters, but he just can't get it. For example, we tried to teach him the number 3 all day one day, I made him carry around the flashcard for six hours with just a single number 3 on it, asking him every few minutes what number he is holding in his hand, he answers correctly about 80% of the time. Have him put the card down and then show him the card an hour later and he has literally no clue what it is. This is the same issue with anything we try to teach him. His memory is perfectly fine it seems because he can remember characters from books/shows without a problem, knows where we have to turn to get to our house when we are in the car etc. Both of us are ready to explode and honestly don't know what else to do.
|
|
#
?
Mar 28, 2016 23:23
|
|
|
He's 3.5, you might need to lower your expectations a little. My son is about 3.5 & will only answer questions about numbers & colors if he feels like giving you the answer. He's usually pretty polite, but sometimes he isn't, that seems pretty normal for a toddler.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 00:16
|
|
|
I'd stop comparing the three year old to a six year old - there's going to be a huge difference and expecting them to be the same at remembering all the social rules is going to lead to frustration.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 00:19
|
|
|
Sorry if that came off as me comparing them. I certainly didn't intend for it to come off that way, I was trying to explain that I wasn't disciplining the 3.5 year old while letting 6 year old do whatever. Just explaining that we never have to discipline the six year old. The "issue" of 3.5 year old not being able to retain information has nothing at all to do with our other child. Call me crazy, but I feel like he should be able to recall a single letter or single number throughout one day. I don't want to be hard on him, but I also don't want him to fall behind because he doesn't know any of these things. My lady spent the day today going over the letter A, having him trace it on paper,, point to it and say what letter it is, flash cards, then we walk into the living room and show him a different letter flash card and he just says A. Show him the A again and nothing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 00:27
|
|
|
Have you considered sending him to preschool? There is a whole pedagogy to teaching young kids.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 00:41
|
|
|
skeetied posted:IKEA makes a separate bed rail for their converted cribs. Huh, don't know why it never occurred to me to look.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 00:47
|
|
|
To be perfectly honest, you sound like you guys are being a little hard on the toddler. My 3 year old (born on New Year's Eve, so she's 3.25 ish) is still not articulate with her words and barely counts and sings the alphabet song. But she is the happiest, craziest little nutjob you'vll ever meet. She retains random information (cartoon songs, people's names, etc) but I wouldn't even try to have her memorize numbers and letters or anything academically. Part of me worries that she is "falling behind" but the other part of me knows she will be in school for 12-14 years of her life, and then maybe college, so I'm just letting her be a kid. Maybe you guys should lower your academic expectations a little bit and let the kid be a kid. He'll be a student and a memorizer and a reader for the rest of his life. He'll only be a toddler once.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 00:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 23:02 |
|
|
Alterian posted:Have you considered sending him to preschool? There is a whole pedagogy to teaching young kids. Yeah, he is actually going to be going to a preschool/daycare one day a week starting this week. I'd love to send him full time, but we both work from home so it seems excessive to send him full time. Not to mention it is $1,300 a month to send him full time, as Virginia doesn't have preschool in public school. I do feel like we are being hard on him at times, but to me it seems like we need to be teaching him something instead of just playing all day and learning nothing. He is a ton of fun and has common sense, I just feel like a poo poo dad if we are just loving off all day. Does that make sense?
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 00:58
|
|