Topic: The thread for Parents!

[Eternally Learning]

Lately my oldest son has started showing a desire to play with some girls' toys as well as the plethora of boys' toys he has.  My wife had taken them to a McDonald's a few days earlier and he decided that he didn't want the Tonka truck and instead wanted the My Little Pony.  So I'm cool with this and since our power had gone out I took the kids out to McDonald's again.  I'm going through the drive-thru and place the order for two kids meals.  The employee then asks me, "Is the for a boy or a girl?" To which I reply, "Hold on, let me check." 

Ok, that was more me than the kids.  Back when I used to play Guitar Hero a lot, both my kids were obsessed with it too, though my youngest really was too young to know what was going on more than Daddy and my brother are having fun.  Pretty much all the songs on 2 and 3 were pretty family friendly so tell me why the one song my oldest latched onto was Slow Ride?!  All day long, everywhere we went he would sing, “Slow ri-ide.  Take it ea-say!  I’m in the mood.  The rhythm is right!”  That was all he remembered and was all sang.   Over and over and over.  This literally went on for over a year, but thankfully stopped just before he started preschool.  To this day, I cringe whenever the song comes on the radio and he’s around.

[Halloran]

Lately my oldest son has started showing a desire to play with some girls' toys as well as the plethora of boys' toys he has.  My wife had taken them to a McDonald's a few days earlier and he decided that he didn't want the Tonka truck and instead wanted the My Little Pony.  So I'm cool with this and since our power had gone out I took the kids out to McDonald's again.  I'm going through the drive-thru and place the order for two kids meals.  The employee then asks me, "Is the for a boy or a girl?" To which I reply, "Hold on, let me check." 

Ok, that was more me than the kids.  Back when I used to play Guitar Hero a lot, both my kids were obsessed with it too, though my youngest really was too young to know what was going on more than Daddy and my brother are having fun.  Pretty much all the songs on 2 and 3 were pretty family friendly so tell me why the one song my oldest latched onto was Slow Ride?!  All day long, everywhere we went he would sing, "Slow ri-ide.  Take it ea-say!  I'm in the mood.  The rhythm is right!"  That was all he remembered and was all sang.   Over and over and over.  This literally went on for over a year, but thankfully stopped just before he started preschool.  To this day, I cringe whenever the song comes on the radio and he's around.

I got to say that I was laughing pretty hard at the Slow Ride story/image in my head. thanks!

[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

Last night my wife made pancakes for dinner. My almost 3 year old son Caleb and I were eating and I was trying to get him to eat some berries as well as the pancakes. At one point I told him he could try dipping the berries in his pancake syrup.

"Careful," my wife called from the kitchen, no doubt concerned by the prospect of a syrup addicted child.

Caleb tried to dip the blackberry in the small bowl of syrup by holding it in his fingers. When this failed I explained that he could use his fork. When he looked at me confused I showed him how to stab the blackberry with his fork and dip it in the syrup that way. He then proceeded to try doing it on his own. Once he successfully popped the syrupy blackberry in his mouth he looked at me, smiled, patted my hand and said "Thank you Daddy. You did a good job explaining that to me. Good Job Daddy! Now I know how." He squeezed my hand lightly and went back to eating.

"Thank you," I said.

He then ate three more blackberries, without syrup.

"Do you prefer them without syrup?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, eating the last berry. "Much better without syrup."

Oh man that's ace

I hope this means we're using praise properly.

Speaking of praise, we've been having battles with our son over pooping in the potty. He's been pooping in his underpants a lot lately and it's getting very frustrating.

This morning we were getting ready to leave the house to take him to daycare when he announced "Oh! I forgot to poop!"

We both calmly told him to get to the bathroom. He pulled over his little step stool so he could get up to the potty. He pulled down his pants and underwear, sat down and pooped in the potty of his own accord!!!!!! I was giving my wife a double thumbs-up when he looked down at the potty. We gave him some stickers, told him he was being a big boy, and I reminded him that if he kept that up we wouldn't need to remind him to poop in the potty anymore, as we'd know he could do it on his own.

[Halloran]

Last night my wife made pancakes for dinner. My almost 3 year old son Caleb and I were eating and I was trying to get him to eat some berries as well as the pancakes. At one point I told him he could try dipping the berries in his pancake syrup.

"Careful," my wife called from the kitchen, no doubt concerned by the prospect of a syrup addicted child.

Caleb tried to dip the blackberry in the small bowl of syrup by holding it in his fingers. When this failed I explained that he could use his fork. When he looked at me confused I showed him how to stab the blackberry with his fork and dip it in the syrup that way. He then proceeded to try doing it on his own. Once he successfully popped the syrupy blackberry in his mouth he looked at me, smiled, patted my hand and said "Thank you Daddy. You did a good job explaining that to me. Good Job Daddy! Now I know how." He squeezed my hand lightly and went back to eating.

"Thank you," I said.

He then ate three more blackberries, without syrup.

"Do you prefer them without syrup?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, eating the last berry. "Much better without syrup."

Oh man that's ace

I hope this means we're using praise properly.

Speaking of praise, we've been having battles with our son over pooping in the potty. He's been pooping in his underpants a lot lately and it's getting very frustrating.

This morning we were getting ready to leave the house to take him to daycare when he announced "Oh! I forgot to poop!"

We both calmly told him to get to the bathroom. He pulled over his little step stool so he could get up to the potty. He pulled down his pants and underwear, sat down and pooped in the potty of his own accord!!!!!! I was giving my wife a double thumbs-up when he looked down at the potty. We gave him some stickers, told him he was being a big boy, and I reminded him that if he kept that up we wouldn't need to remind him to poop in the potty anymore, as we'd know he could do it on his own.

Not quite there yet: we just started the "hey dad I crammed my hands into my diapers and pulled out this sticky-smelly stuff and now want a hug" phase.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Last night my wife made pancakes for dinner. My almost 3 year old son Caleb and I were eating and I was trying to get him to eat some berries as well as the pancakes. At one point I told him he could try dipping the berries in his pancake syrup.

"Careful," my wife called from the kitchen, no doubt concerned by the prospect of a syrup addicted child.

Caleb tried to dip the blackberry in the small bowl of syrup by holding it in his fingers. When this failed I explained that he could use his fork. When he looked at me confused I showed him how to stab the blackberry with his fork and dip it in the syrup that way. He then proceeded to try doing it on his own. Once he successfully popped the syrupy blackberry in his mouth he looked at me, smiled, patted my hand and said "Thank you Daddy. You did a good job explaining that to me. Good Job Daddy! Now I know how." He squeezed my hand lightly and went back to eating.

"Thank you," I said.

He then ate three more blackberries, without syrup.

"Do you prefer them without syrup?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, eating the last berry. "Much better without syrup."

Oh man that's ace

I hope this means we're using praise properly.

Speaking of praise, we've been having battles with our son over pooping in the potty. He's been pooping in his underpants a lot lately and it's getting very frustrating.

This morning we were getting ready to leave the house to take him to daycare when he announced "Oh! I forgot to poop!"

We both calmly told him to get to the bathroom. He pulled over his little step stool so he could get up to the potty. He pulled down his pants and underwear, sat down and pooped in the potty of his own accord!!!!!! I was giving my wife a double thumbs-up when he looked down at the potty. We gave him some stickers, told him he was being a big boy, and I reminded him that if he kept that up we wouldn't need to remind him to poop in the potty anymore, as we'd know he could do it on his own.

Yeah I reckon so.
We're not there with potty training yet, but now she's telling us when she's done a poop, rather than crying when her bot starts to get sore.

[Shaun08]

Last night my wife made pancakes for dinner. My almost 3 year old son Caleb and I were eating and I was trying to get him to eat some berries as well as the pancakes. At one point I told him he could try dipping the berries in his pancake syrup.

"Careful," my wife called from the kitchen, no doubt concerned by the prospect of a syrup addicted child.

Caleb tried to dip the blackberry in the small bowl of syrup by holding it in his fingers. When this failed I explained that he could use his fork. When he looked at me confused I showed him how to stab the blackberry with his fork and dip it in the syrup that way. He then proceeded to try doing it on his own. Once he successfully popped the syrupy blackberry in his mouth he looked at me, smiled, patted my hand and said "Thank you Daddy. You did a good job explaining that to me. Good Job Daddy! Now I know how." He squeezed my hand lightly and went back to eating.

"Thank you," I said.

He then ate three more blackberries, without syrup.

"Do you prefer them without syrup?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, eating the last berry. "Much better without syrup."

Oh man that's ace

I hope this means we're using praise properly.

Speaking of praise, we've been having battles with our son over pooping in the potty. He's been pooping in his underpants a lot lately and it's getting very frustrating.

This morning we were getting ready to leave the house to take him to daycare when he announced "Oh! I forgot to poop!"

We both calmly told him to get to the bathroom. He pulled over his little step stool so he could get up to the potty. He pulled down his pants and underwear, sat down and pooped in the potty of his own accord!!!!!! I was giving my wife a double thumbs-up when he looked down at the potty. We gave him some stickers, told him he was being a big boy, and I reminded him that if he kept that up we wouldn't need to remind him to poop in the potty anymore, as we'd know he could do it on his own.

Not quite there yet: we just started the "hey dad I crammed my hands into my diapers and pulled out this sticky-smelly stuff and now want a hug" phase.

And I now realize how woefully unprepared I am for the little one on the way . I only hope my wife and I can take the new challenges in stride .

[T.A.P.O.R.]

(click to show/hide)

Last night my wife made pancakes for dinner. My almost 3 year old son Caleb and I were eating and I was trying to get him to eat some berries as well as the pancakes. At one point I told him he could try dipping the berries in his pancake syrup.

"Careful," my wife called from the kitchen, no doubt concerned by the prospect of a syrup addicted child.

Caleb tried to dip the blackberry in the small bowl of syrup by holding it in his fingers. When this failed I explained that he could use his fork. When he looked at me confused I showed him how to stab the blackberry with his fork and dip it in the syrup that way. He then proceeded to try doing it on his own. Once he successfully popped the syrupy blackberry in his mouth he looked at me, smiled, patted my hand and said "Thank you Daddy. You did a good job explaining that to me. Good Job Daddy! Now I know how." He squeezed my hand lightly and went back to eating.

"Thank you," I said.

He then ate three more blackberries, without syrup.

"Do you prefer them without syrup?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, eating the last berry. "Much better without syrup."

Oh man that's ace

I hope this means we're using praise properly.

Speaking of praise, we've been having battles with our son over pooping in the potty. He's been pooping in his underpants a lot lately and it's getting very frustrating.

This morning we were getting ready to leave the house to take him to daycare when he announced "Oh! I forgot to poop!"

We both calmly told him to get to the bathroom. He pulled over his little step stool so he could get up to the potty. He pulled down his pants and underwear, sat down and pooped in the potty of his own accord!!!!!! I was giving my wife a double thumbs-up when he looked down at the potty. We gave him some stickers, told him he was being a big boy, and I reminded him that if he kept that up we wouldn't need to remind him to poop in the potty anymore, as we'd know he could do it on his own.

Not quite there yet: we just started the "hey dad I crammed my hands into my diapers and pulled out this sticky-smelly stuff and now want a hug" phase.

And I now realize how woefully unprepared I am for the little one on the way . I only hope my wife and I can take the new challenges in stride .

Oh it's not that scary. You adapt pretty fast as they grow up.
Things to watch out for with babies that don't seem to make it into the preparation literature are:

1. Hip Dysplasia - Keep checking that the legs are even and that the baby doesn't favour one side.
2. Make sure your new baby doesn't sleep with it's head to one side only.  Can be a side effect of my first point. Easy to remedy if you gently change the babies head position every now and then. This keeps their head in a rounder shape.
3. Keep an eye on fevers. A quick spike in temperature can cause a Febrile convulsion in some children. Not considered harmful, but pretty scary when they get you the first time!

Kids are a lot of work, but also so rewarding. We had all three of the above, all were easy to deal with.
Now she's running around at child care, yesterday she was covered in purple paint when we picked her up.

[KarenX]

I hate my children from 6:00 PM til about 7:30 PM. Then they turn from crazy freaks with silly voices back into snuggly jammied darlings who love books and have sweet little bedtime goodnight rituals.

[T.A.P.O.R.]

I hate my children from 6:00 PM til about 7:30 PM. Then they turn from crazy freaks with silly voices back into snuggly jammied darlings who love books and have sweet little bedtime goodnight rituals.

Mine stumbles around like a drunk, then gets surly right before bed, when she's all stories and goodnight everything in the house.

[Skeptress]

My youngest is very much into chickens.  There are some chickens who live in the yard were I buy fabric (yeah for "developing" countries!) and last trip we went hand in hand to get a close up look of them.  We stood still and slowly they got used to us and went back to clucking and pecking around us.  One of the hens laid an egg in her box and Izzy got to look at it up close.  When she saw it she was thrilled.  When she get's upset she'll say, "Oh chickens!"  If someone does something she doesn't like she'll say, "You're a chicken wing!"  I told her today we might be able to get a chicken when we get settled in the states and she got so excited.  So now I'm looking at urban chicken houses.  The things parents do for their kids! 

[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

My youngest is very much into chickens.  There are some chickens who live in the yard were I buy fabric (yeah for "developing" countries!) and last trip we went hand in hand to get a close up look of them.  We stood still and slowly they got used to us and went back to clucking and pecking around us.  One of the hens laid an egg in her box and Izzy got to look at it up close.  When she saw it she was thrilled.  When she get's upset she'll say, "Oh chickens!"  If someone does something she doesn't like she'll say, "You're a chicken wing!"  I told her today we might be able to get a chicken when we get settled in the states and she got so excited.  So now I'm looking at urban chicken houses.  The things parents do for their kids! 

I know a few people who raise urban chickens. Warning: Chickens can live for 10 years, but only really lay eggs for 2 to 3 of them. On the bright side, they can be fed an astounding array of kitchen scraps and their droppings make great fertilizer. A diet consisting more of your table scraps than chicken feed can result in some fascinating variation in the eggs, including things like light blue shells. If you celebrate Easter in any way, you might find yourself just emptying some of the eggs and using them as decoration without painting.

You also might want to look into heirloom chicken breeds. Some of those suckers are awfully pretty, even if their egg laying potential isn't as high as more modern breeds.

Make sure there are no unleashed dogs or raccoons in the area before you set up a coop. If there are you'll need to take precautions against them. Naturally, the more yard you have the better. Once they settle in you can let them roam around the yard for a few hours a day and they''ll return to the coop by nightfall.

Not quite there yet: we just started the "hey dad I crammed my hands into my diapers and pulled out this sticky-smelly stuff and now want a hug" phase.

And I now realize how woefully unprepared I am for the little one on the way . I only hope my wife and I can take the new challenges in stride .

Not all kids do that. My son never played with his poop, but then I have friends whose daughter once finger painted with it on her bedroom wall.

This morning was the second morning in a row my son pooped in the potty on his own. Just before a big one dropped he announced "I'm going to 'blorp'!"

When it splashed down he announced "It went Sploosh! and got water all over my butt!"

[sketchy]

It gets much easier when they can go to the bathroom all by them selves, wipe up, and wash their hands without prodding from me or my wife.  We recently discoverd that our 15 month old has many many food allergies, and are inthe middle of an elimination diet.  side affect - she slept through the night for the first time last night.  After taking her to the allergy doctor, we think that our 5 year old had the same problems with food that she does.

Our daughter reacted to many items in the testing, and since we've taken all of the food out of her diet, she is responding very well, next week we get to start introducing the flagged ingredients to see what she is really allergic to.  She's had a bovine protine allergy since she was born, but seems to have different reactions to different cow products now.  Neutramagin was a life saver when she needed formula.  But do you have any idea how hard it is to feed a mother and child when you have to compeltly avoid milk, beef, turkey, soy, onions, carrots, potatoes, sesame, bananas, cocoa, coffee, blueberry, eggs, grapes, peas, green beans, cinnamon, and about 15 more ingredients.

Right now they are living off strawberries, peanuts, almonds, tomatoes, olive oil, chicken, pork, corn, and a slew of homeade things I try to make so they have some variation.  My daughter's first word was cookie, and she LOVES my chocolate chip cookies, so she was very sad when I had to take them away from her.  But she has some strawberry cookes and some almond-olive oil cookies now.

finding a recipe that didn't have eggs, butter, or soybean oil (margirine) was quite hard.  Soy is in EVERYTHING

[Halloran]

Last night my wife made pancakes for dinner. My almost 3 year old son Caleb and I were eating and I was trying to get him to eat some berries as well as the pancakes. At one point I told him he could try dipping the berries in his pancake syrup.

"Careful," my wife called from the kitchen, no doubt concerned by the prospect of a syrup addicted child.

Caleb tried to dip the blackberry in the small bowl of syrup by holding it in his fingers. When this failed I explained that he could use his fork. When he looked at me confused I showed him how to stab the blackberry with his fork and dip it in the syrup that way. He then proceeded to try doing it on his own. Once he successfully popped the syrupy blackberry in his mouth he looked at me, smiled, patted my hand and said "Thank you Daddy. You did a good job explaining that to me. Good Job Daddy! Now I know how." He squeezed my hand lightly and went back to eating.

"Thank you," I said.

He then ate three more blackberries, without syrup.

"Do you prefer them without syrup?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, eating the last berry. "Much better without syrup."

Oh man that's ace

I hope this means we're using praise properly.

Speaking of praise, we've been having battles with our son over pooping in the potty. He's been pooping in his underpants a lot lately and it's getting very frustrating.

This morning we were getting ready to leave the house to take him to daycare when he announced "Oh! I forgot to poop!"

We both calmly told him to get to the bathroom. He pulled over his little step stool so he could get up to the potty. He pulled down his pants and underwear, sat down and pooped in the potty of his own accord!!!!!! I was giving my wife a double thumbs-up when he looked down at the potty. We gave him some stickers, told him he was being a big boy, and I reminded him that if he kept that up we wouldn't need to remind him to poop in the potty anymore, as we'd know he could do it on his own.

Not quite there yet: we just started the "hey dad I crammed my hands into my diapers and pulled out this sticky-smelly stuff and now want a hug" phase.

And I now realize how woefully unprepared I am for the little one on the way . I only hope my wife and I can take the new challenges in stride .

We dont have any special parent training. But, we have one HUGE resource that have saved our asses time and time again:

The Internet.

Seriously, anything your kid is doing, saying, behaving like, etc. has already been done by some other kid, isnt unique to your kid and has been solved by other parents using various solutions. Kid starts banging his head against the wall? Turns out that's kinda normal to a point. Kid decides he only likes one parent and not the other for a few days/weeks? Pretty common also. The fact that we can look up almost anything (on our phones even) is a great boon for this generation of parents imo.  Moreover, half the time some grandparent will suggest some weird method for doing something and we'll google it only to find that it's just an old wives tales and doesnt really assist in the situation.  Hooray for crowdsourcing!

[Skeptress]

How I made my daughter happy this week.

Skirt 1. She chose all the fabrics.


Dress and pants.


I grew up with chickens so I know a little bit about them.  Ten years though is a long time with the amount we move so probably not feasible.  Sigh.  Okay hopefully we'll find a nice farm that she can go and talk to them like her mom. 

[T.A.P.O.R.]

Internets can also assist in scaring you witless.