Random Parenting Questions

[waverly]

Jun 21, 2018 15:13:39 GMT -5 helenahhandbasket said:

When did you all stop buying baby shampoo? DD has crazy long hair, but it still has that fine texture so I wasn't sure if I should make the switch.

However, I am ready to stop having 2589647 different bottles of shampoo in the shower.

I stopped about a year ago, the baby shampoo was leaving black residue in their hair, so I had to try something else.  They were 4 and 6. 

[waverly]

Jun 21, 2018 15:35:20 GMT -5 sdlaura said:

mellym I think you should cut yourself some slack on the meaningful conversations given that it’s your first year with 3 kids

On the safety topic, I bought a book that was recommended by some ladies here. We just have it laying around and sometimes read it at bedtime or whatever.

www.amazon.com/Kidpower-Safety-Comics-Introduction-Children/dp/1479147206

My question - how do I know if my 4.5-year-old DS1’s behavior issues are normal kid stuff vs. something I need to have evaluated?

I’m around more kids than DH is and I tend to think he’s pretty normal (but on the more ‘spirited’ end of the spectrum), while DH is tired of the preschool teachers saying he had a bad day, or him giving us trouble at bedtime, or whatever. We’re talking stuff like him not listening/disobeying us (and sometimes throwing something and he once spit in a teacher’s face when he got mad), but he is also often sweet and very empathetic. It’s like a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde situation.

For us, it was always something I knew in the back of my mind that he was clumsy and might need OT and PT.  I asked the pedi, and she said he was fine if we waited.  I asked the ENT about the balance issue and she blew it off.  I asked the other ENT, and he said he thought he was probably fine, and that he wasn't having vestibular issues because he rolled around on the stool in his office.  Then I asked the second pedi hoping he would tell me yes or no, and he said if you think possibly then you should.  So he sent me to a place that seemed kind of like a farm for lack of a better word.  I wasn't comfortable with them from the get go, so then I saw the ortho and got the PT recommendation.  If I had pushed any of the other doctors I think they would have sent the PT recommendation, but I just was waiting it out, I guess.  But I always questioned in the back of my mind.

Then when he couldn't ride his bike very well, and I asked DH is his bike too heavy or is it his legs, and DH said his bike is not too heavy that it really clicked for me.  It is time.  I guess my long winded way of saying it is a bit of a process.  

If you think its possible go.  If you don't go, with time it may become more clear either way.  Do I wish I would have gone when he was eligible for EI and it would have been free to me, sure.  I was also dealing with numerous surgeries at the time, and hearing loss however, so I did have to pace myself.  School age offers less services than EI, so just keep that in mind.   And an evaluation with the EI is free and generally set up with the school district.  The will screen for other things too, so it's not a terrible idea even for kids that don't need anything.  Our school just recently starting doing screenings for all kids that start K.  Honestly they should probably do screenings for all kids at a certain age, but you know, cost...

[sandandsea]

Jun 21, 2018 8:28:07 GMT -5 mommyatty said:

Put em here.

I’ll go first. DD has her first loose tooth. And it is REALLY loose. How the $#%@ do you get ahold of that tiny thing to pull it out?? She’s too scared and I tried last night but couldn’t figure out how to get a grip on it.

Dh used a paper towel to grab it.

[sandandsea]

Jun 21, 2018 8:50:18 GMT -5 phdmomma said:

I have a tooth related question also, DS has his first loose tooth, what is the going rate for the tooth fairy these days?

We do $5 per tooth. It’s outrageous but you really can’t buy anything with $1, not even a pack of gum. I wanted to do $1 but DH said I was being cheap as he’s only going to lose x teeth in his whole life. I rolled my eyes and agreed to $5.

[2chatter]

Confession? My kids have gotten random amounts because I had nothing else. And we paid $20 for first tooth out. And that’s kind of low for our area - lots of glitter money and necklaces and new video games from the tooth fairy here. So I’m cheap locally.

[sandandsea]

Jun 21, 2018 11:13:22 GMT -5 mellym said:

When and how do you find the time and energy to have meaningful conversations with your kids?

I was reading through the printout from DD1's 6 year old check up and in it, they recommended that we have safety talks with her. Things like what to do in case of fire, talk about private parts with dolls, strangers, guns, how to be a good friend, etc. Then I was reading an allergy blog and it was more about giving her tools to keep herself safe. And then I read DD2's letter from the speech teacher about practicing at home. We're also supposed to practice reading and speech with DD1 daily. That led me down the rabbit hole of thinking about the need to figure out our house rules, chores and reward system too. All this to say that I felt so overwhelmed last night because I don't feel that I have any extra time to do any of this right. It's a mad dash after getting home from work every day to do dinner, play and bed time. I'm trying to be easy on myself since I feel like I'm still in survival mode with having a baby at home but it's so damn hard.

We've obviously had the initial conversations but it's these important things that are falling by the wayside in our busyness. So when do you do it? Do you have set times that you carve out? Or is it more, have the conversation if it comes up and you think about it?

Ds loves fire safety so we talk about that and strangers often. Daycare had police and firefighters come to school so we piggy backed off of that.

We were at a pool party last night with water guns and so afterwards I talked to Ds about guns and fake vs real and showed him pictures (you can’t tell) and what to do if a friend has one. I also told him about the 6 yos that we’re playing with a gun and one accidentally shot and killed the other. He’s 6.5 and these things are starting to stick and make sense now. In preschool I only told him they are dangerous and don’t touch and find an adult. Now I explain why more.

We had to talk about privates too as he’s adjust himself openly all the time. They discussed it At preschool too but it really sunk in more during Kindergarten. We haven’t talked about babies or girl privates yet as it hasnt come up. I did buy a book that was recommended about it though and will use that when the time comes.

I try to fit them in on the car ride home or during dinner when we are sitting together.

[sandandsea]

Jun 21, 2018 12:27:40 GMT -5 186momx said:

Tooth Fairy $1 in change. She had so much fun counting it out.

Do you still read to your children that can read? DD wants me to read to her at night and I've been pushing her reading to me instead but she says she misses me reading to her.

We do but only because he loves it and doesn’t love doing it alone. I’ll read chapter books to him. We are reading Charlottes web now. He has started reading to Ds2 some and it melts my heart.

[traveltheworld]

DS tries to read to DD, but she claims he reads too slow, wrestles the book away from him and hands it to DH or I. Sometimes I can't blame DS for not being nice to her.