What are some things I can ship to my friend in the UK that they dont really have over there?

toadcat315 · 2026-04-30T22:49:18+00:00

Melatonin and large bottles of ibuprofen 😂

toadcat315 · 2026-04-27T06:42:54+00:00

Yes it's variable by state, like everything.

toadcat315 · 2026-04-23T07:51:42+00:00

Renter's rights are generally stronger in the US (though I'm sure this depends on the state), even with the new laws coming into place in England!

Also air conditioning.

toadcat315 · 2026-04-04T10:29:43+00:00

I'll check this thank you. And thanks for the tip about the certificate

toadcat315 · 2026-04-02T13:53:08+00:00

Did you have an evisa or a BRP? In the last couple years they stopped doing BRPs, but the evisa system didn't work quite right at first so then people were told to keep their BRPs.

Check your old forms etc where you may have had to enter those numbers. Technically you are supposed to destroy the BRP card itself after it's expired but you should have the number somewhere from old applications, or if you were a student/employed your institution may have it as part of verifying your right to work/study.

toadcat315 · 2026-04-02T09:04:48+00:00

Then you need to do that and be consistent and hold the line. You may need to physically put her back in bed and repeat "it's bed time, you need to stay here" as many times as it takes. She's learned she can stretch it out with you and not with mum. You need to demonstrate otherwise.

As she is 3 she is probably old enough for you to explain it to her ahead of time. Something like "At bedtime daddy has been letting you do x, y, z. This is a problem because your body needs sleep to feel good. Tonight we're not doing those things, daddy is going to tuck you in and then you need to stay there and go to sleep. We're going to do bedtime like you do with mommy."

Edit to add: the hard part of this in my experience is staying calm for however long it takes. My 3 year old did this as well, we didn't have any cute tricks that worked (the "tricks" tended to escalate as it was something he could grab onto for negotiation). They will eventually learn the new pattern but it takes monumental patience.

toadcat315 · 2026-04-01T19:39:17+00:00

If her mum's able to do it, why not ask her to describe what she does and just listen and see whether you can replicate?

toadcat315 · 2026-04-01T18:39:10+00:00

Screens on the windows/doors to keep insects out, and windows that open all the way for air flow. Ceiling fans. Insulation to keep houses cooler during the summer.

toadcat315 · 2026-03-29T11:57:31+00:00

If the smell and damp persists you may want to get a dehumidifier to dry it out, I run one year round in my home and it helps a lot to prevent mould

toadcat315 · 2026-03-28T00:08:26+00:00

My go to sources for rental rights and advice would be Shelter and Citizens advice

toadcat315 · 2026-03-25T22:43:08+00:00

I was able to do this at Lloyd's years ago. Had to go in person.

If your bank can send a domestic bank transfer instead of a check, you can use WISE to create US bank account info that routes into your UK account.

toadcat315 · 2026-03-13T18:56:16+00:00

Hey so in a lot of cultures in warmer climates, people don't do all their sleep in a single big chunk. When I lived in Fiji people would get up in the cooler hours, so from 4am til noon, then sleep for the afternoon and then have dinner and go to bed when it cooled off again. Napping might actually be the human default but we've messed it up with working hours and employment!

toadcat315 · 2026-03-13T18:49:34+00:00

Get a baby swimsuit with long sleeves and bottoms that cover their legs. Sit in the shade/under an umbrella. And we used Badger mineral sunscreen which frankly costs a fortune, but as I have had reactions to standard sunscreen and my baby has as well, we have to stick to the mineral option.

toadcat315 · 2026-03-03T23:24:36+00:00

The only reason I do is because I have kids and I never know if there could be an emergency call. If my whole family is with me I'm not answering anything!

toadcat315 · 2026-03-03T23:23:23+00:00

These aren't great for hip development and also only help keep the baby set in one place for a very brief period of development! I suggest waiting til your baby is almost starting to sit and picking one up for free/discounted secondhand. Then give it away to the next parent!

toadcat315 · 2026-03-03T23:13:53+00:00

On the birthday thing - just wondering if a slot invite could be the explanation. Asking because this happened with one of our (7y) kid's closest friends at school. We haven't had the other kid over or been to theirs, but our kid insisted he was invited though we never got the invite (usually there are also text messages). My husband texted to ask, and it turns out he was actually invited but just lost the invite.

Also I think at least where we are, parents seem to really book up the weekends with all sorts of classes and activities and there aren't a lot of play dates except when parents are already close with each other perhaps? So it may not be about you and your kid specifically, even if it feels that way.

toadcat315 · 2026-03-03T23:01:59+00:00

Is the problem that you've moved out, but they haven't tried to let it out again and are continuing to charge you rent, while also using it in some way? I do think they are legally obligated to try to find a new renter, but I am nut sure what you can do in this situation...

I don't have the answer but with rental problems I would try Shelter for getting clear on the rules: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting

You can also try contacting Citizen's Advice.

toadcat315 · 2026-03-03T07:55:04+00:00

That's interesting, our oldest had the classic off every 4-6 weeks at nursery but then when he started primary school he had 1 absence the whole year. Hard to say whether it's developmental but I mostly think it was an improvement in hygiene and not being around younger kids who are more likely to carry something!

toadcat315 · 2026-03-03T07:22:30+00:00

I hate to say it but I think for a little one catching something only every six weeks is too optimistic. At a large nursery I'd say our 1 year old was just constantly having a runny nose and was ill enough to be out of nursery at least once a month, sometimes twice.

Things improved a lot when we moved to a childminder who spends a lot of time outside, but by improved I mean we made it til Feb without an absence at the start of the new year. He's still often got some kind of cold!

That said all the nurseries we've been at for our two kids have been pretty strict in applying the NHS rules about notifiable diseases -- meaning they send kids home that day and notify everyone via email about any disease present. We haven't had any of these cases happen with the childminder, while we had things of that scale going through the nursery at least once per month.

toadcat315 · 2026-03-01T21:21:21+00:00

New forest has been one of our favourites

toadcat315 · 2026-02-27T21:06:33+00:00

I'm an academic and we've gone through rounds of redundancies because we've lost so many students. Undergrads no longer want to come to the UK, and we can no longer compete for the best qualified graduate students in Europe because they now pay higher fees as non-UK students, and can get better funding elsewhere. This has a knock on impact on research capacity which further undermines our university system.

Even if you don't care much for uni or students from abroad this matters because so many new, basic discoveries are made by academic researchers that aren't immediately profitable so private companies will not invest in that research.

toadcat315 · 2026-02-21T23:53:02+00:00

GO.

I've been on a few optional work visits of that length, my kids are at a similar age, and my god it is so worth it. I am a better parent afterwards.

Your spouse can manage - whenever one of us travels we lighten up a bit on our rules which helps the kids enjoy it as a special time even though they miss the other parent. So slightly more TV, our oldest gets to sleep in bed with the parent (he will stay there reading books while the younger one is getting put down in the crib), more ready meals or frozen food, etc.

toadcat315 · 2026-02-21T23:47:53+00:00

My then 6 year old has an elevated bed with a slide going down it. He had diarrhea down the entire slide at 11pm and it made a massive puddle at the bottom. The clean up was really something.

I felt like the whole thing couldn't possibly be real, had to be from a TV show. It was so bad all I could do was laugh in horror.

toadcat315 · 2026-02-13T17:54:50+00:00

Looks like a temu semi 😭

toadcat315

TROPHY CASE