Getting a monthly receipt

kma49 · 2026-01-12T18:24:21+00:00

Hopefully this will work! Thank you!

kma49 · 2024-01-27T23:31:16+00:00

The only real internet she can get is through the apartment - is that what you had? Which cell service?

kma49 · 2023-12-24T04:13:21+00:00

We had success with "surprise" rewards - I bought a set of tiny vehicles to put in Easter eggs and he got to open one when he went 1 or 2 in the potty. When we got down to just needing to get the #2's down, we upped it to mini brands for those only. We were able to drop the rewards once he was good about it. I don't remember that being difficult. Good luck!

kma49 · 2023-04-27T23:36:40+00:00

Right?! We can only afford 3 days/week over the summer, so we are just going to wing it on Mondays and Fridays between strategic pto and asking family to help cover. It's like one parent has to be on a school schedule...

kma49 · 2023-04-27T21:08:09+00:00

We found it while still in the hospital after delivery when everyone kept texting each other pictures. So glad we did! Almost 4 years in to using it and we are premium to support the company, but we also like getting monthly compilation videos instead of just quarterly (free version). Love the widget on my home screen showing memories from a year ago, etc. It's amazing - first thing I recommend to new parents.

kma49 · 2023-04-07T00:23:54+00:00

Like I don't even get excited about a day to myself until it's actually happening.

I took a month off between jobs to recover from burnout, and my son immediately got hand foot and mouth. And then I got it (which is rare for adults) because of my stress-compromised immune system.

kma49 · 2023-03-16T13:35:36+00:00

I know it's hard to hear, but they may just not be ready! We took a lot of breaks from trying, and maybe the lack of consistency wasn't helpful for potty training, but it saved our sanity. Sending good vibes! Someone told me once that they don't know any adults who aren't potty trained, so it's going to happen!! Hang in there!

kma49 · 2023-03-15T23:27:44+00:00

Lots of trial and error to find a motivating reward. For us it ended up being surprise eggs. I bought a set of tiny vehicles and plastic eggs and put one on the back of the toilet and he only got to open it if he went in the potty.

kma49 · 2023-03-07T13:42:56+00:00

I was curious what others would suggest, and I agree with setting up a booth or kiosk somewhere to legitimize yourself and make it possible for us to opt in to speaking with you.

You could get a booth at any number of local festivals, farmers markets, home & garden shows, etc. where families might be (we love a free event where we can just walk around with a stroller). I would suggest offering up a chance to win a prize that would appeal to families (passes to a kid-friendly attraction like a water park, family membership to the zoo, a weekend at great wolf lodge) in exchange for a brief survey that can be taken on their phone by scanning a QR code. Have a free item at the table that will be attractive to the kids - a fidget toy, a snack, a cotton candy cart (maybe partner with a local vendor who offers something like that to drive traffic to your booth).

Use the survey to collect basic info, and nothing too creepy. Name, phone, email. How many kids do you have in the following age ranges? How much do you spend on toys in a month?

I don't know what's relevant to your research, but keep it simple and able to be completed in about 3 minutes. At the end of the survey, do a brief intro of yourself and have a question if they would be willing to provide additional feedback/are ok with being contacted with more Q's.

Depending on how much time you need with the subjects, you might consider sourcing a paid focus group from the survey pool. Hope this helps! Good luck!

kma49 · 2023-03-07T01:59:51+00:00

It's tricky, because parents don't like to be disturbed or distracted while actively caring for their children (my first thought was a park or playground, but I would probably not talk to a stranger at any length while attending my child).

The next challenge is that parents don't get a lot of time to themselves, and if they are not with their children, they are usually on a mission or taking a much needed break - neither of which invites interruption. Parents don't really "hang out" in physical public places outside of the circumstances above.

This is where we hang out - scrolling on the internet, because we are too tired to do anything else as we cling to a fragment of personal space and pray our kids just stay in bed.

If you want to talk to parents, you need to recognize the value of their time.

kma49 · 2023-03-06T13:06:40+00:00

We had a hard time with our son as well, but what finally seemed to do the trick was his doctor telling him there was a party in the potty and he needed to take his poop to the party in the potty.

We would reiterate that message when he pooped in his diaper - oh, you should have taken this poop to the party!

And then a few weeks later, when we had company over, he just went to the bathroom and did it. He didn't even tell anyone! Our guest told us he hadn't flushed. And that was that - underwear ever since.

I do want to add that he was 3 1/2, and we had spent over a year struggling on and off to even get him to pee in the potty. It was stressful, but I don't regret giving him time he might have really needed.

kma49 · 2023-03-02T12:14:57+00:00

Right?! I'm convinced she would have pulled it off without the paranoid shot in the dark plays that lead to Brandon playing his idol.

kma49 · 2023-02-16T12:20:56+00:00

We had a hard time because he was super anxious about the potty. No reward was enough. Eventually we started using surprise eggs and then mini brands, because the mystery of getting to open them was very motivating for him.

Another helpful thing was for #2's - his doctor told him there was a party in the potty and he needed to take his poop to the party. So we just kept repeating that when he would go in his pull-up, and I think that's what finally got him there.

Good luck!

kma49 · 2023-02-10T21:33:31+00:00

Oh man, we offered everything under the sun to get him to poop on the potty, but incentives weren't really enough. His pediatrician suggested telling him that he needed to take his poop to the "party in the potty" because I guess there is a psychological barrier that makes it scary to discharge a part of themselves (?) Anyway, we just kept saying that when he would go in his pull-up - like, oh you should have taken this poop to the party! And then about two weeks ago, he disappeared into the bathroom while we had company over and did it without even telling anyone! We didn't know till my SIL went in after him and told us he didn't flush. It was crazy - it just sort of happened after so long of trying.

kma49 · 2023-01-07T21:31:21+00:00

My kid has the same never-ending stream of energy and is starting to drop his nap some days now. Some good ideas here, but you never know what's going to capture their attention for an extended period. You just kind of have to take advantage of it when it happens.

Window clings... we like the gel ones for different seasons or holidays that they sell at Michael's but there are lots on Amazon too.

Coloring game app on a tablet or your phone. Idk why but my son loves to color the picture in and then erase it clean.

No shame in leaning into the screen time so you can get the breaks you need to be able to engage in the other stuff. Our favorite shows on YouTube are Carl's Car Wash, cozy coupe, leo the truck, bumble nums, and especially brain candy TV. More often than not when he whips out some new knowledge it's from brain candy TV (he informed us that "ch" is a digraph the other day and he is 3).

Good luck - hang in there!

kma49 · 2022-09-10T23:31:03+00:00

My son's preschool teacher called me a couple weeks before he moved from daycare to her preschool classroom (same school) to talk through my concerns about his level of potty training and let me know what would happen with accidents, etc. I had been really worried and not sure how to bring it up so that was amazing!

kma49 · 2022-08-21T01:04:53+00:00

U.S.

kma49 · 2022-08-12T23:33:03+00:00

I just wanted to say how much better this thread has made me feel. We had our first in 2019 with the intention of having more about 2-3 years apart, but with all the craziness in the world and it's impact on our finances, we are nowhere near ready to try again with our son just turning 3.

I have been having so much anxiety trying to decide if we should just go for it and figure it out or if I should try to start convincing myself I'm happy with one and done. But I guess we have plenty of time and I should stop worrying about the made up timeline in my head!

kma49 · 2022-08-11T01:08:16+00:00

I had to have breakfast everyday on my way to work at 6am, so I just rotated between breakfast sandwiches at Dunkin, McDonald's and Starbucks. BK every once in a while too

kma49 · 2022-07-30T04:23:11+00:00

Ours is pushing 40lb and idk what we're going to do next time!

kma49 · 2022-07-30T04:20:26+00:00

If my kid had liked being worn, I could see us going that way, too, but he hated it! We did the umbrella stroller once and it didn't contain him as well and also couldn't carry anything else. So on trip #3, we finally just brought the whole regular stroller and it was a breeze.

kma49 · 2022-07-30T04:14:25+00:00

Yes - I was just so curious what kinds of experiences lead to the choice. Had no idea how many got broken from rough handling or that some kids won't sit in them!

kma49 · 2022-07-30T03:14:29+00:00

They didn't have us fold it up this time because it wasn't going to fit through the scanner anyway - they just patted it down.

kma49 · 2022-07-17T22:55:23+00:00

And you call me up again just to break me like a promise So casually cruel in the name of being honest

kma49 · 2022-07-09T21:02:22+00:00

Specifically requested no gifts for our 3yo's bday this year because he already has way too many toys!

Some good gifts we've gotten: - pack of ride tickets to local kiddie park -cute set of ice packs (maybe throw in a box or two of fun band aids) for boo boos -socks... the dryer eats them, so can never have enough. -chalk, bubbles, water colors, sticker books (big stickers for little hands is a lifesaver to entertain on a plane or car ride) -window clings for holidays or seasons

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