I have one but it's not really worthy of its own thread. So feel free to add your own!
Do you pull your kids from school for doctor's appointments? Is that frowned upon? DD1 is going into 1st this year and I totally forgot that she'll be in full day school until almost 3 when making annual appointments last year. So she has 3 appointments coming up that will require me to pull her from school early. I would move them, but offices are booking months out at this point, so I'd rather not.
noodleoo If I can avoid it, that's great, but otherwise I don't think twice about it. One of my kids was picked up early weekly for therapy and the teacher made it clear (elementary) that they were pro-him getting as much therapy as needed, even though it meant early pickups.
Post by plutosmoon on Aug 25, 2021 12:27:59 GMT -5
I pull DD for appointments if needed. The school discourages it, but often you just can't get an after school appointment. Her annual physical is hard to get after 3, so I just do it whenever is available. Pre covid we drove 2 hours to Worcester for her developmental pediatrician, we just took the day off. I wouldn't worry about it, kids get pulled all the time for the doctor. If new appointments can be scheduled after school, I'd try my best for that, otherwise I wouldn't worry.
Holiday shopping: Pretty sure someone on her got flamed for asking this last August, but oh well. With all the supply chain problems and news reports about holiday shipping issues*, when are you shopping this year?
Activities: DD (8) has tried various activities -- I make her stick it out for a season or for whatever term we signed up for. And then she never wants to continue, no matter what the activity is. So far she has tried and not stuck with: soccer, ballet, gymnastics, kung fu, swim team. This year she's trying girl scouts. Do I just let her keep trying thing after thing? (Pretty sure that's the right approach?)
Appointments: I try to schedule before school, late in the day or around lunchtime. I also try to schedule on no school days is possible. Her teacher last year was totally fine with her taking personal days or missing class for meetings. I normally never do this but I let her leave class early to go to 1-on-1 sport lessons with being virtual.
Shopping: I've already started. I normally shop early to spread out my spending as cash flow is tighter for us in December/January.
What are you 9-11 year old girls wearing to school this year? DD (10) wants to wear crop tops and I finally gave in a let her buy a few. They look really nice and her school doesn't have much of a dress code.
Post by blondemoment123 on Aug 25, 2021 13:03:43 GMT -5
I try to schedule appointments later in the day or when DS already has therapy, but I’d have no problem pulling him out earlier if needed. He’s still in daycare, but same idea.
I’m starting to at least gather ideas for Christmas so if I see something I can grab it.
Well, I just found out that there is no school on one of the days of her appointments! So that worked out, but the only reason I realized it is because someone mentioned it on FB. I think we're at the point where we need one of those big wall calendars to keep track of everything.
ohgillian , I'm going to start shopping early this year. I feel like the best deals last year were in the early fall. I'll probably start buying in Oct/early Nov, but I have already started jotting ideas down on a list and if I see a deal I will grab it. Although I did get burned last year buying too early and then having DD1 change her mind about a gift.
Great question noodleoo. Right now I usually make them for like 8:30am-9am and then take him straight to daycare. I haven't thought about what I will do when he is in full-time school, but probably something similar- try to make them in the morning so I can take him to school right after.
I try to avoid it when possible and schedule early/late in the day or on days off school but sometimes it can't be avoided so I just make sure to get a note from the doctor/dentist.
This will be DS' first year needing to be pulled from school for appts and therapy. I'll do my best to schedule things after school/on days off but if not, oh well.
noodleoo , I prefer to keep annual appointments at the same time as the flu vaccine, so I've been scheduling E1's annual appointments during the school year. When E2 goes to annual appointments (after this next birthday), I'll do the same. Their dentist appointments are like 7 months apart (I make them at the end of the previous one, and the practice is busy enough that they book routine cleanings 7 months out instead of 6) so it is inevitable that those will be during the school year.
I *try* to make appointments for after school is let out for the day, but those slots usually fill up quickly. So sometimes, I just have to take what I can. However, it's no big deal at E1's school as long as they are aware ahead of time and he has a doctor's note. I've had to pull him out in the middle of the day for appointments and those were excused and he was counted present for the day. He had perfect attendance last year.
another PT training question... E2 still won't poop in the potty. He is doing awesome at pee. Super awesome. But so far, poop has usually been in his underwear/shorts, or on the floor (once). Yesterday, he held it all day until I put his diaper on before bed, and he pooped. how do yall do this? Oh Crap, despite having a whole chapter on this subject, is still less than helpful. mostly wrote about how it is a comfort thing for the kids. Concrete advice, tips/tricks? I remind E2 each time that poop goes in the potty. He will say "I poo poo potty" as I am in the process of cleaning him up. *rolling eyes* he does have a tell but it is SUPER SUBTLE and you literally have to just be looking at him at the right time to see it. he's semi-regular, 1 poo in the morning, within an hour of waking up, but the afternoon poo could be anytime between 4pm and bedtime, or not at all.
E1 was fully poop trained at the same time as pee, and basically trained himself in like 4 days.
1. Appointments- most are around the end of the school day. The school doesn't care. But fun fact, if you arrive late you get marked tardy, but if you leave early there is nothing bad on your attendance record. DS was marked tardy for an appointment paid for by the school with his IEP, and they wouldn't budge on the tardy marking. I guess they take them seriously. Also, I guess the beginning of the day is more important than the end of day- noted. For certain test that require someone to not be tired and to pay attention I might do the morning, the rest are in the afternoon.
2. Shopping- Please don't mention the H word to me. It's August.
3. Activities- I would encourage greater longevity in activities. For example, if you have a good troop leader and troop girl scouts might be one where I would encourage them to stay longer. Some kids are like that though. I know a kid that never really wants to do anything. It stresses her mom out, but I think mom has decided it is anxiety.
4. DD is wearing a few crop tops. They are not super cropped. They touch the pants, so the only problem is if she lifts her arms.
Great question noodleoo . Right now I usually make them for like 8:30am-9am and then take him straight to daycare. I haven't thought about what I will do when he is in full-time school, but probably something similar- try to make them in the morning so I can take him to school right after.
a lot of schools count attendance in the morning, around 9/10 am. my school district growing up was 9am. We had to have butts in seat during attendance counting. I remember this was an issue when I had braces and was going to the office monthly for adjustments. If you had an appointment during that time, and came back with a note, it was counted as an excused absence for the whole day, even if the kid was only gone for an hour. so I would clarify when attendance is counted before yall start school. "tardy" then was showing up anytime between the first bell and when attendance was counted.
For one off appointments I make them during the school day. If I can overlap lunch I do so they’re missing less instructional time. For regular appointments that happen weekly or whatever I try to make after school or at least vary them so not alway missing the same thing.
ohgillian does she have a friend that does an activity shed be interested in? I was so shy as a kid, and hated activities because of that. I always felt alone and left out in them. My parents had the same rule that I stuck it out for the season but I rarely repeated anything. I'm a well adjusted (and sometimes described as outgoing lol) adult now so its not like it was a huge hindrance in life, but maybe an angle to talk to her about it from? I shop throughout the year, but my daughter is young enough she gets basic toys and isn't into anything real specific.
My question - how do you learn to do girls hair? Or what fast easy styles do you do? I have such an issue with my daughter's hair and feel like she looks a wreck everyday before and esp after school. Part of my issue is she has some weird hair pattern that it sticks up in the crown when I pull it back into a pony tail. She also has such fine slippery hair so even when I do braids they're falling out by the time we get to school.
Yep, we decided to move ahead with treatment for DS's allergies and he will be missing class for it. It's not ideal (I wish we'd have started in the summer) but we feel it's worth it. 2nd grade.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Aug 25, 2021 15:06:44 GMT -5
For once a year appointments, I don't mind scheduling during the school day. Ds has weekly therapy and I wouldn't have him miss anything that consistently. He also has an appt. once every 2 months with his psychologist for med checks, and the appointment slot I got for this year has him missing the last 10 minutes of the day (which is usually time they are in homeroom catching up on stuff, which he needs, so I hate for him to miss it, but once every 2 months isn't terrible). Since he has lots of appointments, I do try to at least be conscious of when his core classes are. Last year he had gym/health/guidance as his last class of the day, so I didn't mind picking him up early for appointments and missing that. This year he has math 1st and english last, so that makes it trickier.
waverly , interesting point about missing the beginning of the day vs. the end! Our appts are currently in the afternoon, so I will have to pull her out after lunch. I also had no idea I'd need a drs note. I'll have to call the school and see if that is required.
al dente , I have only ever done ponytails for my kids. I use these rubber hair bands that are very grippy (they have them at Sally Beauty Supply if you have one nearby). Everything else I tried slipped out of my kids hair too easily. For both my girls I did pigtails when little and when older, half the hair tied back on top in a small ponytail just to keep it out of their faces. I know how to french braid, but I'm not great at it and mine aren't tight enough to stay in the kids hair. I envy other moms who are way better at braids than I am! DD1 is 6 and she now just likes her hair down, so I brush it in the morning and that's it. Sometimes she wears a headband (she likes these cat ears linked below, all the girls in her K class ended up getting them LOL). I gave up trying to convince her to let me put it up.
ETA: I had to get a fine tooth comb to do my kids hair to avoid the weird crown bumps. My brush is too "wide toothed" for their fine hair. It definitely took a bit of experimentation with new tools to figure out how to work with their hair.
al dente, I buy the little rubber bands from the $ store and use them a lot. I do a little pony to start my braids to help keep all the fly away hairs together. I use Pinterest a lot and just search easy girl hair styles. I like to do DD's hair when it is wet or damp as I find it holds better.
Does anyone have a good parenting podcast that covers the 6-7 year old range? This age is making me drink. Dd was a charming toddler so I’m so thrown off by it all.
I just schedule appointments during school, totally. Too hard not to do that. Our office hours are pretty limited. The school doesn't even care and it's an "excused" absence with a note from doctor.
ohgillian re: activities...I might make a kid stick with something longer, as mine usually don't really WANT to do many things. I try to figure out if they LIKE it, even if they whine sometimes if they like it deep down, or if they are particularly GOOD at it, or if I think it's good FOR them in a pretty solid way, then we keep doing it for a while and see whether or not their opinions change.
Post by thoseareradishes on Aug 25, 2021 19:32:09 GMT -5
pooh8402, I did the play-doh demonstration for E and I was happily surprised that it worked.
al dente, I watch youtube videos to help me with E's hair. I also wet it with water and leave in conditioner because it is very curly and that helps me get some control.
another PT training question... E2 still won't poop in the potty. He is doing awesome at pee. Super awesome. But so far, poop has usually been in his underwear/shorts, or on the floor (once). Yesterday, he held it all day until I put his diaper on before bed, and he pooped. how do yall do this? Oh Crap, despite having a whole chapter on this subject, is still less than helpful. mostly wrote about how it is a comfort thing for the kids. Concrete advice, tips/tricks? I remind E2 each time that poop goes in the potty. He will say "I poo poo potty" as I am in the process of cleaning him up. *rolling eyes* he does have a tell but it is SUPER SUBTLE and you literally have to just be looking at him at the right time to see it. he's semi-regular, 1 poo in the morning, within an hour of waking up, but the afternoon poo could be anytime between 4pm and bedtime, or not at
How long has it been? Can you have him naked bottomed? And have you tried the Pla-Doh demonstration?
The goal at the beginning is to see noticeable transition from "I went" to "I'm going" to "I have to go." So "I poo" even as you're cleaning him up isn't a failure, he's still recognizing poop happened and it should go in the potty, and for my own kid in the first month I actually considered that a win. He's verbalizing he knows it should happen somewhere other than his pants, so yay for that!
We had three or four really hard weeks with accidents on the floor (he's one of the few who will drop a deuce on the floor in the middle of playing) before it all clicked. We started two months ago and now when he tells us he has to pee we have time to get to the bathroom, but poo, by the time he recognizes it's not a fart we have to have the potty very close by.
It's been only 5 days which I recognize is very very early in the process. It just stinks that he is like 95% perfect with pee, but batting .000 with poop. his only pee accidents have been when he is outside playing. He was 100% naked for the first 2 days, then I sent him to daycare in pants/shorts only, but he's been coming home in undies. No accidents there. Haven't tried the Play-Doh trick yet, I'm not sure he would comprehend it? He's 2y5m and only recently caught up verbally. He is also the type to just go while he is playing.
Honestly, I would rather have waited a bit, since I have so much going on right now (graduated 2 weeks ago, board exam tomorrow, job interview Friday, we're putting our dog down next week, and E1 has baseball and will be starting soccer soon). But I know he's ready, he's been asking for the potty for a while now.
I think I probably need to realize that not all children will train as fast as E1 did. I was hoping that since pee was so easy with E2, that poop would be too.
I’m not thinking about the holidays yet but this post reminded me stamp prices go up Sunday (first class goes from $0.55 to $0.58) so maybe (though probably not 🤣) I’ll save myself $3 and buy them for holiday cards now.
I’m not thinking about the holidays yet but this post reminded me stamp prices go up Sunday (first class goes from $0.55 to $0.58) so maybe (though probably not 🤣) I’ll save myself $3 and buy them for holiday cards now.
Oh snap I didn't know that. Sure glad I just bought a sheet of forever stamps a few days ago!