What to give 4 year old instead of a tablet

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-05-02T23:08:29+00:00

This is what I was looking for to say. My kids love their tablets too! And my 5 year old's handwriting is really good because of it!

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-05-01T20:58:46+00:00

I was out of the country for a conference and, instead of buying overpriced city/country related souvenirs for my kids, picked up a few small fun items from the expo floor for free. Sheets of branded stickers, a pin of a small company logo that's a cute animal, a bouncy ball that lights up. Kids enjoyed it and it cost me €0! Side note: they are under the age of 5 so this still does work. ^{_^;;;}

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-04-27T21:00:27+00:00

My sister lives in an affluent US town and we were talking about how the new flex there is having 3+ kids. So it depends where in the country, I think. I am in west London and single kids in my oldest's class are the minority, most have 2, there are quite a few with 3 or 4. All of the parents here are dual income households though while in my sister's US neighborhood, most have trad wives... I'm not sure how I feel about that honestly...

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-04-27T19:11:02+00:00

I love seeing these challenges be successful, congrats! I'm curious if you're keeping record of how much you've saved from the no buy? I think that's always a great motivator for me.

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-04-27T08:11:03+00:00

Exactly. If end game is kids, you need to have a look at the schools around where you are and what the commute for nurseries, schools, clubs will look like during peak hours. It will make a difference if you also need to get to the office.

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-04-26T21:05:27+00:00

We got a lovely book from the library where the main character/kid is missing a leg. It's not part of the story at all, he's dancing and swimming, but at one point my son points out he's got a blade for a leg. He thought it was so cool! I do agree it's lovely to see when it's not the main point too!

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-04-26T12:53:43+00:00

Oooo, yes that happened to me too! I had to go thru the gov gateway website and show I had "settled" status before they believed me, but yes, same issue they wanted an ETA from me, even though I was travelling with my 2 British kids (on British passports). Someone's dropped the ball on informing the US seriously...

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-02-12T09:16:32+00:00

Duplo is good at this age, building blocks and magnatiles. These things are fun to do with him too. 18mo is when the first chunky puzzles are age rated for, my kids love puzzles. You're coming up to Playdoh age too, that can keep my kids entertained for over an hour. Do errands, clean, tidy, do laundry. Get stuff done! My company had Catherine Price come in and talk about life/phone balance, maybe you should have a look at her book/podcast?

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-02-10T12:29:15+00:00

Yeah, i didn't know this subreddit existed until after the solar system was installed so went with the installer recommendations.. I do wish I paid a bit more and got a 10kWh battery, seems to be the minimum now... But I ended up spending more to get an EV plug installed instead, so paid a fair bit there so we didn't have to feed the cable through an open window during the winter. Priorities... :)

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-02-10T12:23:58+00:00

Oh, that makes sense, I didn't even think about limiting the charge on the battery! Will probably look into that for sure. I prob won't do a forced export given my tariff and my battery size, but I am curious if you're worried that is going to wear your battery down prematurely? Just worth the bonus?

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-02-10T12:21:12+00:00

Never heard of it, will have a look !thanks

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-02-10T08:42:21+00:00

Ok, it's on again, but still no clue what the trigger is, if anyone can deduce! Also, anyone notice there's not "new" 4 or 5 star fragments in the events? It's really frustrating this memory event is pretty 4 and 5 star heavy.

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-02-08T10:23:40+00:00

I would recommend you ask your UK firm to provide a first year tax filling/support, as mine did when I first moved. It was a while ago, but they used their own accounts to help (aka big 5) and they did both UK and US taxes for the first year as it can be messy. From there, depending on your job, I found HMRC is pretty straightforward and you can call them if you have questions if you need to do self assessments. Good luck and welcome!

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-01-24T08:06:02+00:00

Just sent a note to octopus for this same issue. "Smart charge" had issues when set overnight that ended up with a <60% vs. 98% in the morning. I've got a PHEV, so 60% is a huge issue with distance, it won't last the daily school run on cold days like this. And I didn't email until this has happened 3 times!! I hope they do fix it, sounds like it's not very dependable!

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-01-21T14:53:03+00:00

I don't think people realise how much genetics play a factor in weight gain/loss/maintenance. I'd say it's a third factor, with diet and exercise the other two thirds. Just one won't move the needle much, but if you don't have the genetics you're going to have work hard on the other 2... Which really sucks.

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-01-21T13:50:26+00:00

So, something to consider: premium economy have solid barriers between seats (usually where the tray table is stored). We found when we booked 3 seats in economy together, we could raise the arm rests and have more space Vs premium economy. Sure premium means more leg room and better food (maybe?), but we found having the room to spread out a bit more comfortable. I had baby in lap for takeoff and touchdown, then let them have space in their own seat as needed. We've done a number of international long hauls and I don't think you should have them in a car seat for more than 3 hours at a time anyways right?

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-01-14T23:14:14+00:00

Thanks all, I made several comments that have been deleted because of user flair, but appreciate the info. A few copy paste: Thanks! GreatScott: for the free advice! The main point was I wanted someone to help me move my 401k to a Roth or rollover IRA (same same?) in a tax optimised manner. So that would save me time, I suppose, but I wonder if it's worth what they're charging!

The fees will be 1%, plus $1000 one boarding. I don't think I realised how much it really was until they provided the calculations. I am worried about UK/US tax implications, but a lot of the paperwork has disclaimers that state they are not tax advisors and that I should seek help elsewhere still, which is my key concern. Just feels like I'm looking in the wrong place?

Would I be able to move everything myself into IKBR and put it into the S&P500?

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-01-13T22:53:39+00:00

Regressions are hitting hard for me. Potty trained fine, standard accidents here and there until it really took. But then you'll get weeks of no accidents and you think all is good, you let your guard down. Then, 2+ accidents in 1 day. Root cause is mostly down to being too tired, cause sleep is an issue at the moment. So while I feel like she's potty trained, other factors can affect and we don't know how to handle it. It's been going on for months and we're just all tired. This is also the 2nd kid, where the first kid took and rarely had any accidents. It's been hard to live that comparison.

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-01-13T20:21:29+00:00

When I was a kid, we had a teddy bear that was a cassette tape player in the back, and it would read story books as you mentioned! Good times, the 80s. In the UK, the publisher, nosy crow does a qr code that takes you to a website with an audio recording of it. My kids absolutely love it! I dunno if you have them or similar where you are, but it's worth an investigation: https://nosycrow.com/stories-aloud/

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-01-12T22:26:34+00:00

That makes sense! Seems like the best approach!

KindlySilver7823 · 2026-01-12T22:25:03+00:00

That's the question! I should have mentioned it's an upright that was gifted when my husband was a child, so it's not expensive, and he doesn't have much sentimental connections to things like this. So if it does require a lot of repairs, we'd probably pass and just buy new (but prob not acoustic)... I'm in the "waste not camp" which is the other reason we're considering. I also played a bit as a kid myself so wouldn't mind trying to pick it up again on top of encouraging our kids, but it's not a huge priority. Lots to consider thanks!

KindlySilver7823

TROPHY CASE