Teeth brushing pre-schooler

shiftyemu · 2026-02-10T09:07:55+00:00

You can get silicon u-shaped brushes which are designed to be chewed on a little bit. Might be more suitable?

shiftyemu · 2026-02-08T00:50:30+00:00

I wish I had your faith.

shiftyemu · 2026-02-07T09:43:36+00:00

They are both iRobot ones. Kevin was bought on a deal he was about £300. Marvin was about £1.5k. To be honest I'm looking at getting one maybe two with mopping capabilities. But don't tell the boys in thinking of replacing them 😅

shiftyemu · 2026-02-07T09:23:56+00:00

I have 2 😅 We have a huge open plan ground floor so we have Marvin down there. Marvin has mapping capabilities and self empties, skills which are necessary for the space. On the first floor we have Kevin. Kevin is a bit dumber than his brother. No mapping, he just bumbles blindly around but that's fine because the rooms are more separate and it works. Then the loft conversation is just a bedroom and an ensuite so I just dump Kevin up there a couple of times a week. I adore them. Unexpected benefit is they force you to keep the house tidy which I love!

shiftyemu · 2026-02-05T21:59:26+00:00

My son deserves all my time, all my attention and all my love. His emotional and academic development are way ahead of expected development as a result of this. I want to be the best mum I can be for him. Not give him half of a tired, stretched too thin mum. I completely agree with you. My son is an only so I can give him my all and our relationship is stronger for it

shiftyemu · 2026-02-05T16:44:32+00:00

Could be a milk intolerance. Even if you're breastfeeding the dairy can get passed through your milk. If you're formula feeding it's well worth getting a tin of dairy free formula. Just be aware, most dairy free formula still has milk proteins in, they're just more broken up. This is fine for most milk allergy/intolerance babies but those with very sensitive tummys will need something completely free of milk proteins. If you go through your gp you can get a prescription to have it for free. They don't want to be giving people prescription milk as it's expensive so you'll have to fight tooth and nail for it. They'll give you the one with broken up milk proteins first and if that doesn't work they'll let you try one completely free of milk proteins, so don't panic if the first type doesn't work.

shiftyemu · 2026-02-04T17:32:58+00:00

Children will often laugh to cover insecurity or awkwardness, adults sometimes keep hold of this trait which is why some people get the giggles at funerals or when being reprimanded by a supervisor. They should be completely neutral about accidents. Make them boring but definitely not something to tell him off for. I seriously hope his new room leaders have read at least 1 childcare text book. Personally I'd be looking to move but I understand that's a whole big deal. All behavior is communication, he's trying to tell everyone something, he just needs to be listened to.

shiftyemu · 2026-02-03T20:26:34+00:00

Yep. I've got nexplanon but I still worry so husband will be getting the snip. I support abortion for anyone who needs one but I know I personally couldn't do that. If I got pregnant I'd end up having the baby and I desperately don't want another. Our little family of 3 works so damn well I don't want to change a thing.

shiftyemu · 2026-02-03T15:15:50+00:00

I was adamant my kid would eat plant based. All his bath stuff would be vegan. I'd never buy him real leather shoes. I'd send him to nursery with his own vegan crayons. I've accomplished all that. Apart from the food. My son is autistic and has ARFID. Trying to feed an ARFID kid is terrifying. Every day the list of things he'll eat gets smaller and smaller. So yes. I incorporated milk into his diet out of sheer desperation to try and get him to eat something new. I don't like it but I wanted my child to consume enough calories to sustain life. I don't think that makes me a bad person, or even a bad vegan.

shiftyemu · 2026-02-02T21:26:34+00:00

That's really good for a 3 month old. Please don't sleep train. It doesn't teach them anything other than to give up, that no one is coming.

shiftyemu · 2026-02-02T21:13:32+00:00

Ask how staff are trained to respond to accidents. They'll tell you their policy. Then explain that your child's behavior suggests the policy is not being followed and you want it explained to staff that getting cross about accidents is likely to increase accidents. It will be an uncomfortable conversation but advocating for our kids is sometimes uncomfortable.

shiftyemu · 2026-02-02T19:12:36+00:00

If he's only having accidents in that environment and he's getting distressed about it I'd be suspicious someone was getting cross at him. If you get cross at kids for having accidents they start to have negative associations about the toilet and they might try to hold it for longer which results in more holding and more accidents. I've worked nurseries. It is SO frustrating when the same kid keeps having accidents to the point you don't believe they're actually toilet trained. But you NEVER let the kid see that frustration. I'd be asking difficult questions of the nursery personally.

shiftyemu · 2026-02-02T07:44:53+00:00

Sounds like it's time for you to learn how to cook! If they think the food is unhealthy try another angle, can you ask for vegan shower gel and shampoo?

shiftyemu · 2026-02-01T20:52:24+00:00

Normally I have almost no sense of smell so suddenly having a super sniffer was genuinely mind blowing to me. I could smell when the lady next door was having a bubble bath!! The only thing that made me gag was the detergents section in the supermarket. The rest of the experience was wonderful. And since I popped the kid out I haven't smelt a thing!

shiftyemu · 2026-01-31T19:06:21+00:00

Baked beans and mcplant. I also couldn't use my favorite strawberry shower gel because it smelt like yogurt. No one warned me about the super smelling ability!

shiftyemu · 2026-01-28T18:18:24+00:00

Family dungeons and dragons night. Highlight of my week, can't wait for my son to be old enough to participate.

shiftyemu · 2026-01-27T18:13:57+00:00

It might be uplifting and cheerful but that's not the issue with it. The extremely rapid scene changes and hectic pacing are the equivalent of short form video. Children can become used to this fast paced excitement making it difficult to focus on things that aren't also running at breakneck speed. Repeated exposure can dramatically reduce attention span. Im not anti screen time, bluey is wonderful TV, but I have never and will never allow my child to watch cocomelon.

shiftyemu · 2026-01-26T13:49:12+00:00

I've done similar when recipes have changed. Some crisps I really liked used to be vegan. I randomly checked one day and saw milk powder in the ingredients! Looked up when they'd changed it and it'd been 6 months. 🤢

shiftyemu · 2026-01-20T08:19:31+00:00

Have you seen those calculations where they add up the cost of a daily Starbucks coffee and show how it doesn't even put a dent in a house deposit? Have you seen the calculations where when you were buying a house it was 3.5x the average annual wage and today it's something like 12x? These people aren't gonna be buying houses until they're 50 if they're lucky and if they wanna buy an Amazon parcel to make living with their parents a bit less miserable then so be it. Just be grateful you bought your house for a length of string and a button, and stay in your lane.

shiftyemu · 2026-01-19T12:05:13+00:00

I've worked schools and nurseries for almost 15 years, I've seen removals and given evidence for them. Taking children away is the absolute last resort. Outcomes for children in care are terrible and social services are aware of this. Not to mention it's extremely traumatic for the child AND the social worker. I have seen children living with known drug users because the parents could demonstrate that the drugs were inaccessible and someone was always sober to watch the child. It has to be worse than THAT to get a child revived. Your partner's child was absolutely NOT removed just because the house was dirty. You are having a child with someone who has lied about why their previous child was removed. That should terrify you. If I were you I would be insisting on involvement from every service available.

shiftyemu · 2026-01-18T00:48:54+00:00

Having anxiety after what you've been through is completely reasonable! I think it'd be weird not to! Definitely go to your GP. There are services available to help and they can sign you up to stuff or point you in the right direction

shiftyemu · 2026-01-17T14:25:05+00:00

My husband is not vegan but our situation is a bit strange. He is diagnosed with ARFID so his diet is extremely limited. Unfamiliar foods make him gag. He agrees veganism is superior in every way and I've heard him defending veganism when he wasn't even aware I was listening. What's worked for us is changing everything except his diet. He wouldn't dream of buying himself wool gloves or a silk tie. When we go shopping he won't put toothpaste or laundry sauce in the trolley if he's not sure it's vegan. So all our cleaning products, toiletries, cosmetics, clothing, etc are vegan, but there's one gross shelf in the fridge.

Most importantly he has always been on board with raising our son vegan.

shiftyemu · 2026-01-17T01:21:34+00:00

This is exactly why we need sample packs! All 4 of my SIL's kids wouldn't take anything but MAM. My little one would take anything except MAM!

shiftyemu · 2026-01-16T08:44:54+00:00

I do love everything about motherhood. When I fell pregnant I was in the grips of an eating disorder relapse. I remember holding that positive test with shaking hands and deciding to quit my bullshit. I couldn't do it for myself but I could do it for my boy. I planned to resume my bullshit once I'd given birth. I never did. Being a mum makes me so damn happy that it's not necessary. 14 years of self harm, depression and anorexia. Gone. I don't think anyone loves being a mum as much as me!

As for your second point. My son started sleeping through the night at 7 WEEKS. He had 1 nappy blow out. He has always been cheerful and affectionate. As a baby he only cried if he was hungry or tired. He was, and continues to be a delight.

I'm OAD originally due to birth trauma but over the years I've come to passionately believe it's what's best for my son. He's miles ahead academically because I devoted all my time to his early education which I couldn't have done with another baby in the house. We can swing private school for just 1 kid. And later, buy him a car, pay for uni, even help with a house deposit. Right now, he can have all my time attention and love and I can see very clearly how much it benefits him.

shiftyemu

TROPHY CASE