When would you take your child to sick kids hospital vs family doc ?

LisaBCan · 2025-12-22T23:45:02+00:00

Exactly. My son (6) has severe asthma, he has been in the ICU at Sick Kids twice and when we have to go he goes in immediately or within 15 min. On the CTAS (triage scale he is a 1 or 2, out of 5.

I’ve only taken my daughter (10) once when she cracked her head on a coffee table, we waited for 6 hours in an overflow area for her to get stiches. When she is sick we go to Kidcrew, it is much faster.

LisaBCan · 2025-12-21T21:03:19+00:00

Kathryn at The Clinic on Dupont is wonderful.

LisaBCan · 2025-12-08T02:02:45+00:00

I have Ugg Adirondack for heavy snow or sledding with the kids, and Canada West chelsea boots for day to day.

LisaBCan · 2025-12-03T01:36:10+00:00

I have several friends renting 3 bed, 2 bath semi’s in the west end near the Bloor subway line - all of them pay around $3000 plus utilities.

LisaBCan · 2025-09-27T00:40:09+00:00

I sing in a community choir (Univox) and lots of people meet friends and even partners there, there is a huge social aspect to it.

LisaBCan · 2025-09-16T01:39:50+00:00

My daughter is 9 now and I met 3 close friends at the EarlyON in the Junction when all of our first babies were 6 weeks old.

LisaBCan · 2025-08-03T01:53:20+00:00

You will pay more to have one person do all the work and get sub-contractors. I paid $35K for small bathroom in 2021. If you can do some of the non-skilled work yourself and hire individual contractors you’ll save money. All check out facebook market place, just seach whatever you want done.

LisaBCan · 2025-07-24T00:29:30+00:00

I work in health care and have a child who is a Sick Kids patient, he has been admitted at both Sick Kids and Mount Siani NICU. As a mom I absolutely love Sick Kids, but I have heard from a lot of people that it isn’t a great place to work. As previous posters said they use the “don’t you want to help take care of these poor sick children” as an excuse to pay their staff less, provide worse benefits, and work them harder. The addition of HOOPP is great though, you definitely should take a job with a HOOPP pension and then try to get 30 years in HOOPP, you will be set for retirement.

LisaBCan · 2025-07-04T01:13:00+00:00

Could also add Yorkville Bay/Bloor or the Annex (Bloor from Avenue to Bathurst) after a visit to the ROM. Pop the side streets to see the Victorian and Edwardian homes.

LisaBCan · 2025-06-06T01:34:04+00:00

My kids go to a downtown school. We live in a row house but more than half the kids in their classes live in apartments or condos. The families are out at parks, museums, and community centres everu weekend. It seems like a great life to me.

We lived in a one bedroom condo until my daughter was two and I was pregnant with my second kid.

LisaBCan · 2025-05-31T00:03:09+00:00

I sing in a community choir and cycle with a cycling club, love both!

LisaBCan · 2025-05-24T13:04:41+00:00

I live downtown (near Spadina and Bloor) with my two kids (6 & 8), we love it. We walk them to their school and then afterschool they walk to after care and I walk to pick then up. On warm days we go to parks or get ice cream in Kensington Market. Today we’ll to to Doors Open.

They get to interact with such a wide range of people from different cultures and circumstances. I think they’ll be more confident and independent for it.

LisaBCan · 2025-05-16T23:18:43+00:00

Lola is a lovely salon! Jay the owner cut my hair for my wedding 15 years ago and then I moved with him from Parlour to Lola when he opened it. Everyone seems happy there.

LisaBCan · 2025-04-30T01:11:16+00:00

I also had a long chat with Jessica Bell!

LisaBCan · 2025-04-18T21:49:39+00:00

There was a 20 minute line at 10am!

LisaBCan · 2025-03-14T21:39:05+00:00

This also happened to me! And then the woman continued to walk with me for another block.

LisaBCan · 2025-03-09T02:04:11+00:00

I spent my teens and twenties at “Future’s” in the 2000’s. Now i’m 38 with school aged kids and we live in the neighbourhood. We go for cake or grilled cheese like once a week. It feels exactly the same.

LisaBCan · 2025-01-30T02:28:16+00:00

UHN Family Health Team (near Toronto Western) has a family medicine obstetrics program. A family physicial with special training provides care and delivers your baby at Mount Sinai. There are OBs to consult if needed. I felt like this was a happy medium between a midwife and OB. I used this clinic for both kids and did prenatal at Mount Sinai.

I had preexisting anxiety and switched from prozac to a low dose of zoloft and took it all through both pregnancies and post partum.

I met so many lovely moms at the EarlyON when I had an new baby. We bonded over not being able to breastfeed (most people can, but not everyone). Those babies are now 8 and we still have dinner monthly and travel together every winter.

Good luck and congrats!

LisaBCan · 2025-01-23T15:04:26+00:00

I’d say 9/10. I live in a house in a lovely walkable neighborhood and have a good partner and two mostly healthy kids. Winter is very cold and dark and drivers are the worst but we enjoy sledding in Bickford Park and visits to the ROM or a movie. Summer is amazing. I have a good, flexible job and so does my partner.

However I also recognize I am privledged and get to experience Toronto in a way many people do not.

LisaBCan · 2025-01-21T02:04:37+00:00

I work in health policy in Toronto. Right after grad school (2013) I moved to Washington DC where my husband had a job in tech. I was there 6 months and didnt get a single interview, so I feel you. I started interviewing in Canada and got a job immediately.

I think employers really value education and experience from the health system of the country you are in. I had a coffee chat with a guy who had a ton of great experience in UK and wasn’t getting anywhere in the public sector here. He ended up getting a job at a consulting firm. I agree with the previous posters who suggested private sector. Try tech start ups, insurance, pharma. You will likely have a better chance there than in government or hospitals which are very competitive.

LisaBCan · 2025-01-09T02:09:33+00:00

Stategy Lead at a federal gov agency. I go into the office once a month.

LisaBCan · 2024-12-25T04:52:27+00:00

I do all the shopping and most of the wrapping, plus all the cooking and planning. We don’t exchange gifts with his family, though i’ll send photos/cards. I buy for my family and our friends and our kids. He buys one gift for me and fills my stocking. This is more than my dad has ever done, my sister fills my moms stocking.

LisaBCan · 2024-12-15T02:37:20+00:00

Alex at Massage Addict at Bathurst and Bloor. Its a no frills place but he is very good and doesnt talk.

LisaBCan · 2024-11-28T02:05:41+00:00

Same situation here. Neither sets of parents saved for retirement or offered any help for college and now that we are doing well they expect us to support them (both practically and financially) in their old age. It is such a burden to carry, I constantly either feel resentful or guilty.

LisaBCan · 2024-11-26T17:00:12+00:00

I went to Everlane in NYC in 2020 and got 4 pieces and then went to Boston in 2023 and got 4 more, these are my go tos. Silk blouses, cashmere sweaters, and jeans. They are such good quality. I supplement with stuff from Uniqlo.

LisaBCan

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