How to keep your preschooler dry at night?

Almost everybody knows some kid who was out of diapers, day and night, by the time he was two; I am not even going to touch the subject of ‘potty training at birth’ which I truly believe it’s a bunch of crap.

According to pediatricians, it’s about the age of four when kids are ready for diaper-free nights, but it can extend to the age of six. It’s a developmental milestone and it’s not a matter of if, but when.
Note to myself: Stop worrying!

Like any normal parent I am paranoid over milestones and it took me awhile to understand that just because my kid was not day potty trained until he was three and a half, it does not mean that it’s something wrong with him. He is a very intelligent, bilingual and sensitive kid.

Anyway, going back to bed wetting, all the suggestions I found on the net had a common denominator: the kid has his own room.
What about the kid co-sleeping with his parents?

In the first scenario- kid sleeping in his own bed- a parent can try different things to ease the transition to the dry nights:

- protect the mattress with a waterproof cover;
- have extra sheets ready for quick nighttime bed changes;
- consider having a box of baby wipes for quick bottom cleaning;
- keep fresh jammies and underpants nearby in case of accidents.

But if the kid sleeps with his parents, I guess it’s not applicable anymore, or is it?
I should ask parents who co-slept with their children. But where are those parents?

In the mean time, what I could try is:
- talk to him about being a big kid who does not need diapers anymore
- be more diligent with the before-going-to-bed routine
- try to eliminate the liquids at bedtime… this is going to be hard, considering that he drinks his milk right before going to sleep

Did anybody say that it’s not hard to be a parent?

Diego- Safari Rescue

My kid really likes Diego and Dora; I have no idea why, because I find both of them very, very annoying. It could be the super excited voice.
My son has about 4 DVDs with Diego, now he wants another one:
Go Diego-Safari Rescue
About Diego and the series:
Diego likes to help animals in trouble. In each adventure, Diego must overcome perilous obstacles and problems to reach his goal. With the help of his family, his animal friends, his high-tech gadgets and vehicles, and the viewer, Diego must leap into action to save the day.
The good part about the series is that it brings scientifically accurate facts about the animals that Diego and his friends discover, such as the species’ appearance, sound, diet, habitat, categorization (as a mammal, bird, reptile, etc.), and similarities and differences to other living things. Diego and preschools help their animal friends by using scientific skills such as observation, listening, research, investigation, and application of new found knowledge. They also use scientific tools like computers, field journals, and telescopic cameras to compile and review information, to identify and call to animals, or to investigate animal tracks and attributes. Diego models a love of nature, a respect for animals and the environment.

‘Redshirting’ Kids

Academic redshirting is a controversial practice of having younger children, particularly boys, sit out a year if they are born near the school’s cutoff date.

Case being with my son. He is born mid October and I started having mixed feelings over sending him to school a little bit ahead of time, so to speak.

He is a very sensitive and bright kid, but definitely a target for bullies.

Redshirting- term adopted from sports, where the youngest athletes will be benched for the first year so they have a chance to grow stronger- has been around for almost two decades, occurs in about 9 per cent of kids who are kindergarten age. In affluent neighbourhoods it is reported being as high as 25 per cent because the parents don’t worry about child-care costs.

A younger kid will get easily distracted and therefore harder to teach.

Other studies reveal that there is no difference between oldest and youngest students by the time they reach Grade 3.

Research on the long-term effects of redshirting is unclear. Still, the academic world seems to agree on the influence of relative age in determining educational success.

My son started doing some things pretty late, pointing to a younger relative age. He has advanced skills in logical thinking and he knew the alphabet since he was a little bit over 2 years old. But he is still not night potty trained.

Potty training at birth?

What??! As it was not bad enough to hear proud parents boasting that their prodigy started walking and talking at… like… 6 months, now we have to feel the envy of potty training ‘advanced-skills’.
I admit, maybe I am totally a bad sport because my son is almost four and just mastered the daytime potty training. I was so happy when even the afternoon nap was without accidents.
Apparently the practice is pretty common in parts of rural Africa and Asia, where parents can’t afford diapers.
Some experts consider that a child younger than 12 months have no control over the bladder or bowel movement. But other parents think that an infant can initiate bowel movement on cue at 3 months.
According to Dr. Mark Wolraich, professor of pediatrics and director of the Child Study Center, “ the practice essentially conditions young children to go to the bathroom at predictable times or show clear signs when they must go. To be truly toilet-trained, the child has to be able to have the sensation that they need to go, be able to interpret that sensation and be able to then tell the parent and take some action,” said Wolraich, who is also editor of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ book on toilet training. And that’s different from reading the subtle signs that the child is making when they have to go to the bathroom.”
As a full-time working mom, I wonder how in this world any normal daycare we have to put our kids into, will spend time on reading the ‘cues’?
This trend goes hand in hand with cloth diapers. Sure, it’s beautiful to be environmental conscious, but what can you do if the daycare’s policy reads ‘no cloth diapers’? And don’t tell me that we have to be more diligent finding a daycare that would suit our needs; in today’s world we are happy to find one in the first place.

Mattel plans third toy recall

No big surprise really. Now that Pandora’s box has been opened, probably more recalls would make the headlines.

In the last five weeks, the toy seller has announced two recalls of millions of toys made in China, due to excessive amounts of lead paint and other dangers. This third recall apparently affected the Mattel’s stock with shares down 2.5% to $21.41.

The latest recall covers: 675,000 Barbie accessories, 90,000 GeoTrax locomotive line and 8,900 Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys.

With over 80% of the toys sold worldwide manufactured in China, it’s no wonder that toy sellers are growing nervous over this year’s holiday season.

If you think that wooden toys are safer, think twice. The toy maker RC2, recalled 1.5 million wooden railroads and set parts from its Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway line. Reason: certain toys and parts made in China contained lead.

In July, Hasbro recalled faulty Chinese-made Easy Bake ovens.

Parents like myself started considering a more expensive but safer alternative: European toys.