Dec 2007 - Little People, Large Strops

[strandedatseasonsgreetings]

Will this do everyone?

Happy birthday Skidd's DS2!

I have an ancient basic phone plus an iPOD touch which is basically an iPhone without the phone functions. However because it doesn't have phone functions you can't get internet unless you can connect to WiFi, which makes it much less useful. I have to say I hardly use it except for the camera - although DD1 likes to play games on it

Hi Arcadie! The whole of NZ is still reeling from shock however none of my immediate family or friends have been badly affected. A work colleague lost his wife in a collapsed building though, very Sorry to hear about your friends Clairey. It's a very sad fact that about 40% of those who died are foreign tourists or students.

Yay for girl bumps Caz . You and BT can swap name ideas!!

Skidd, to DS1 "reading". DD2 does that too, but makes up words when she can't remember, she can be really quite hilarious. A bit like her made up songs! They have been teaching the kids a song based on Twinkle Twinkle which goes "Twinkle Twinkle traffic light, standing on the corner bright, red means stop, green means go, orange means please go slow". DD's version goes "Twinkle twinkle pikelet, how I like to eat you!" At which point she laughs her head off.

Buzzy - dd2 makes up songs all the time as well, it's very cute! Yesterday she made up "bang bang FIREWORKS" (that was it, repeated over and over...) - I had to sing it and she played along on her toy xylophone. I got slightly bored of the same words over and over so started adding a bit of interest ("bang bang FIREWORKS in the SKY way up HIGH" - you can see where dd2 gets her talent from ).

We know that version of Twinkle Twinkle, from St Lucia. Here they also sing one that starts "Twinkle twinkle chocolate bar, my dad drives a rusty/racing car".

Now please all stop telling me how much you love your IPhones! I am edging towards the HTC Wildfire, I am hoping it will be enough for me.

ooh I like that twinkle twinke version buzzy - will try to teach DS1 (who sings the Firemen Sam theme tune over and over and over again [thunk]) - We sing the rusty car one too clara

caz congrats on girl #2 (slightly )

How are you feeling clairey - any better?

Hi all, well after our swimming last week DD did indeed come down with a nasty something She has had temps and coughing and rattly breathing while sleeping and although seemingly on the mend, she is now off her food too. I have also not been great but feeling more human now!

Buzzy, it sounds really terrible and must be totally devestating to your country for everyone whether it affects you directly or not
I love your DD's version of Twinkle Twinkle! Evie loves to sing and has made up an 'I love you' song which she croons to me (complete with croony face, expressive eyebrows and outstretched arms) She loves to read too and has taken to choosing simple stories at bedtime so she can 'read' them to me after I've read to her.

BT, how is DS today? I hope his tummy has settled down a bit.

Clairey, sorry to hear you've been ill, I hope you're feeling a bit better now. for being chatted up though and IDd on the same night! I don't envy you double wee sheets though in the night, not fun. Hopefully they'll get bored of nightime pants soon!

Arcadie, Hi! Just to reassure you, DD is probably settling in well after the first 5 minutes of playgroup, I worked in one for a while and most of the children who were upset at being left were fine within a couple of minutes of their parents being gone!

Skid, Happy Birthday for DS2! Goodness that has gone fast! I like his first words

Clara, no DD has not swum in the sea yet, we are going to Normandy in the summer though so hopefully she will get a chance at that then. Unfortunately she has no fear in the water so I may have to try and get her used to wearing armbands, either that or tie her to me! How was your evening out last week? Was there lots of 'Guffawing'? WRT iphones and HTC... I have an iphone and I love it! I got mine for free from a company called The Phone Spot (or The Phone Stop, I can't remember which). I got the old style 3G one and it was a reconditioned one (which had been sent out to a customer and been returned unused so could not be sold as 'new'). I pay £25 a month for 100 mins of calls, unlimited texts and 500mb internet downloads (which I get nowhere near using) so its not a bad deal. Battery life is horrendous on the iphone and its a pain sometimes as the children forget it is my phone and think its a toy (and fight over who should play it). DH has the HTC Wildfire (I think) although he is a bit useless with technology so only uses it for calling. When I was setting it up I found it very responsive and easy to personalise it to how you want it, not sure about apps and such on it though as DH doesn't use them.

Caz10, hi there! 28 weeks! Not long to go then I have not sent DD to any pre-school yet as she's not funded until after Easter (due to being so far overdue she went into January!). There is a tiny chance she'll get a place at the school nursery after Easter but she probably won't start until September as with the new school starting rules here they are oversubscribed. The playschool I had her name down for from when she was tiny closed last year along with a couple of others locally so I didn't have much choice of where to send her, most have no spaces now I think it would have done her good to go before now but I am enjoying having her at home and she's probably my last baby [sniff] so I'm making the most of it! WRT potty training stuff, DD is also a camel, I think girls often are (unlike boys who go loads IME). DD only wees 3-4 times a day. She also has a habit of holding in her poos and it was beginning to be a problem, she was holding them for well over a week sometimes! I have started a sticker chart for her and she gets a sticker each time she poos, if she manages to get 3 stickers in a week (or I think she has tried really hard and not held it in on purpose) then I let her choose a treat from the treat bag (full of little petshop toys, baby sylvanians, beads, bracelets and other small interesting things). Its working quite well at the moment (touch wood), she's enjoying putting stickers on the chart nearly as much as the treat at the end of the week!

Sorry, that was a bit of an essay

Stranded - DH has a HTC desire and loves it. Although he has managed to set up an Android OS on it.

DS is much better, thanks Beckle.
He has been in nappies but today at nursery he has been taking himself off to the toilet. He wanted to wear big boy pants when he got home so will try again at the weekend.

Have had DS without a nappy last couple of days, couple of wee accidents but he has done wees and poos in the potty

Anyway he has just said to me "mummy look at my willy, it's gotten big!!!" He was playing with it

Yay BT! DS does that too, and likes to tell me he has made it so massive it's a mountain. Boys!

Both dc back in night nappies for now

Am still snotty and feeling run down, think it must be caused by having too much of a social life at the moment

Did a baby sale and manged to shift nearly everything and make £73 . Could have made more really and my friend kept telling me off for pricing stuff too low but I just wanted it gone!

Excellent!

I've been selling some bits on Ebay, not made loads only about £15 but it is better than nothing!

DS made me laugh on Saturday - he coloured his hand in blue because he "wanted to be a superhero". This is why we have washable pens lol!

BT that would be an example of a "transforming" pattern of behaviour or "schema". Its an area I'm becoming increasingly interested in around early childhood development. This link www.canterbury.ac.uk/education/protected/eyps/docs/Behavioural-schemas.pdf to a document describing schemas gives a summary. DD2 is most definitely a "transporter" with "enveloping" tendencies. Is this an area you've ever looked at Skidd?

Well done to DS, BT! Any tips on what made him "get it"?

OMG Buzzy that is so interesting. So they're not just making a mess with their food - they're "positioning" (or something)! I wish my dh would take an interest in this....I particularly like the idea that children will play better with children with similar schemas - which would explain a lot with dd1 (5) who seems to click with some children and not with others. dd2 just clicks with any girl who likes princesses and sparkles.

BT - now, Ebay. Please tell me - is it easy to do? We have loads of stuff I want to get rid of but I am terrified of online selling. I have put two toddler beds on Netmums (as they have "local" for sale boards) but no interest so far. What happens if someone wants to buy something that is to large to post???And do you need a paypal account? I am sure it's all really easy and I just have to sit down and concentrate but I just can't be arsed don't have the time....

Good choice of university to link to there buzzy All the best degrees come from ukc!

Am fascinated by all that child development stuff but don't feel I can justify the course without having a career path in mind...already have one degree I don't use!

Clara I don't bother much with ebay anymore tbh, too much hassle for not enough return for me but I suppose it depends what you have to sell.

Clairey - I think you're probably right. I have two beds, a buggy snuggle, two bed canopy things, a Jojo maman waterproof fleece-lined suit, a gro-bag, a cot mosquito net....that kind of thing. Perhaps I should try a nearly new sale. Did you do your own (I don't have enough for one of them!) or get a table at someone else's?
Maybe I should see when the next NCT sale is.

Am selling off my nappy stock if anybody wants any new ones. Thread here

FO you don't get much of a return from Ebay, it is all about timing your item right. You can specify collection only for large items though that might reduce the number of potential buyers.
NNS are really good for large nursery items.

Buzzy - I am not sure about what has made it click with DS, I think it is a case of they're ready when they're ready! He is still not all the way there, but have had another breakthrough as when I took him home he did manage to pull his pants down himself and wee on the potty, where as before as soon as I put some pants on them he would just wee in them. But we are making progress if it is slow!

That was quite interesting what you put about the schemas! I could see several that would describe DS!

Clara - it's so true! DD2's best friends at childcare are 2 girls who also both enjoy carrying stuff around in handbags all day and pushing trolleys or buggies around

My Mum has written a whole book on this subject and is close friends with Prof Tina Bruce who is referenced in that article. The funny thing is I spent all my teenage years completely ignoring all the fascinating research she was doing in this area and now very ironically I find it fascinating too! Tina used to live in Hammersmith but I think they've moved to New Forest since I came back to NZ. If you are interested Clairey I could ask Mum to recommend some more readings for you and/or places to study? The obvious career path is nursery teacher but my Mum has made a very successful career out of research and educational policy development. She got her PhD when I was 7 and started her career from that point on - and as a single mother too!

BT I think we're making snail's progress with DD and potty training. She really wants to wear big kids undies which is a good incentive and is now quite willing to sit on the potty. But I still don't think she's made the connection with the sensation of needing to go.

I sell quite of bit of stuff on the NZ version of eBay (called TradeMe) butI think it is easier here. For bigger items I say "pick up only" and haven't had any problem selling things, even though there is obviously a smaller pool of potential buyers. I don't use PayPal - if they pick up then they pay cash, otherwise most people in NZ seem comfortable with providing bank account details to pay by direct credit.

clairey - I have a career suggestion for you - suddenly came to me as I was reading your post about being interested in child development but not having a career in mind - are you ready? Educational Psychologist! What do you reckon? Interesting, intellectually challenging, rewarding, relates to child development and language (your interests, right?) AND good hours for the DC AND to qualify to get on the course (3 year doctorate but FUNDED) you can do stuff like be a TA which you could do just when DS is at pre-school - what do you reckon?? Can I be your lifecoach now?

buzzy - wow your mum sounds really impressive. I know about schemas in relation to Piaget so I guess the stuff in your link kind of follows on from that... it's all so interesting, especially when you have your own DC and can use them as experimental subjects observe them lovingly

Yaay on the potty training BT

clara - I can't bear ebay personally and just give all our stuff to friends/charity shops. Like someone else said it is so much work for so little reward

Re friends - do all your DC have friends then? DS1 doesn't at all although he has children he really likes. What are your DC's friendships like? Do they chat away together and play quite harmoniously and together rather than just playing alongside each other? Also do they have their own friends or are they your friends' DC? Trying not to worry about DS but it is hard...

skidd you can be my life coach! i am so skint, and so clueless about what to do about it
have just had to pay £540 quid into current account as had reached end of overdraft. dh's business has seen profits down by 20% so no bonus this year to put back in the savings account (was only a couple of grand, we're not taking RBS or barclays here!) - people don't buy books when they feel poor. i'm hanging on to my four hours teaching a week at local uni but writing is very much on the wall that with funding cuts etc. department will probably close (has low RAE/REF) rating and falling numbers already, and have totally lost my academic ambition: have nothing to say and no inspiration for research or funding applications. Already have PhD so can't do any more study w/o second mortgage, and DC #2 due in August. Any suggestions????

oh gosh dundee sounds pretty stressful. Do you like teaching? PGCE? They pay quite well during training with lots of benefits (housing, childcare etc). Ummm work for govn doing research?? Consultancy work? Editing? You could do it in the evenings and so not need to pay for childcare... Can't remember what your PhD is on - is it anthropology or something like that?

Sounds like money is the biggest worry - do you claim tax credits? Are you eligible? We get about £400/month and it makes a massive difference

[decides against life coach career as is clearly crap at it]

you're not crap at it.
tried tax credits, and currently get £33 quid a month cos dh is always assessed as being about £20 over higher rate threshold, which makes us sound minted but we really aren't.

i think the problem is I don't really know how to get into any other kinds of work, especially as east yorkshire isn't exactly a work-rich area!
both my parents were teachers and it really put me off, but there may come a time when i have to bite the bullet I guess.

i do a lot of crafty stuff and have being getting more confident with it, and have been thinking of doing something with that but lack inspiration and capital. my various attempts to set up online yarn/knitting shops have largely failed cos i don't really know how to get any publicity. maybe i should just do that pgce - not this year though...

oh definitely go with crafty/knitting thing - maybe you need to do it with someone else to motivate you? Do you have any crafty friends who would be up for it?

My mum is also a teacher and also told me never to do it! I did a few years of TEFL teaching but have never forgotten her wise words... (disclaimer: I know some people are great teachers and love it (and thank goodness for them) but def. not me)

Now tell me about your DC's friendships so I can stop googling and getting myself all stressed about all the developmental disorders which sound just like DS

I'd think it was a bit odd if DD came home from nursery declaring she had "friends". There are children she likes (usually only ones who actually talk, and who are pretty quiet and non-violent - invariably girls) and children she doesn't, but at the moment she doesn't seem to have any concept of "friendship" in the mature sense of it - special people to whom one has particular allegiance, loyalty, shared values, affection etc. But then that could be cos i don't have a massive circle of friends locally and have never been very friendly generally .

She is JUST starting to play with rather than alongside other kids, but only with the ones who can match her for vocabulary - she runs a mile from anyone pre- or non-verbal.

thanks for your help skid. I've been tinkering with hand-print/silver fingerprint stuff for a while, as well as doing the odd craft fair selling wool and stuff I've made - bunting goes down a bomb. Defo think that academia esp. my area (cultural history/anthropology) barely tenable in long term.

Ooh sounds interesting skid wouldn't I need a psychology undergrad degree though?

You can definitely be my life coach, seem to be going round in circles at the moment.

re friends, ds doesn't really have any . He has people he plays with at preschool but doesn't really talk about them outside of there and doesn't seem bothered about seeing them particularly. Then he plays quite happily with my friend's dc or dd's friend's siblings but again, none of them are really his friends. He will chat to them and play with them rather than alongside them though and seems to really like roleplay games (probably cos dd has always forced him to play them with her!). He gets frustrated if they don't play them 'properly' though, eg he'll say "right, I'm the dad and you're the mum and we need to take the baby to the doctors. Come on" and then the other child will run around pretending to be an aeroplane or superman or something and ds will get annoyed.

clairey- re ed psych - i think you used to need a PGCE - one of my sister in laws wanted to be one so did a primary pgce after a bsc in psychology but that was a few years ago.

ha ha clairey - my DS is the one running around pretending to be an aeroplance (well Fireman Sam)! I know 3 yr olds don't have friends in the way that we do, I just meant - do they have people they like to play with, and do they play with them.. DS just monologues (shouting) about Fireman Sam or else stares into space and doesn't engage with them at all.

No you don't need a PGCE anymore to be an EdPsych - you do a 3 year doctorate instead (used to be a Masters). But yes they probably prefer a BSc in psychology - although you might be able to convince them depending on your work experience... think it suits you Dr Clairey

dundee - sounds like you are nearly there - could you get a career development loan (do they still have them or am I showing my advanced age?) and set up an online shop? We would all buy something, wouldn't we?