tia66m's Profile

Great article. My 5 and 7 yo boys like to play out in in our front yard as well as backyard. They ride their bikes or make chalk drawing on our driveway or play in the flower beds. It really is a great way to meet or catch up with the neighbours. When we lived on a busier street, i was more carefull about what they were allowed to do out front. They played with balls only in the backyard or the park close to our house. I also put up a sign (a green outline of a boy holding a flag with the word "Slow" written across it to slow down the fast drivers going by. It worked for the most part as the sign is very unusual. My oldest is very talkative so he meets a lot of people while playing out front.

I think it's a matter of personal preference and there's no right or wrong answer to your question. The size of your home is of no consequence. Set the boundaries you want to set and firmly enforce it. You're the parent after all.

As for my husband and I, our bedroom door is always open. Our 7 and 5yo boys will at times come in and climb in with us in the middle of the night or in the early morning hours for various reasons. Sometimes, we cuddle up together until it's time to get up. Other times, we will lead them back to their room and cuddle there until they fall asleep. We have a no jumping on any bed rule for safety reasons. But they are kids so they will do it when my husband and I aren't looking. We almost always eat at the kitchen table but once in a while we will have a 'picnic' on the floor or in front of the tv. We never eat in bed. I would guess that this would be hard to enforce if your kids know you eat in bed. The kids share a bedroom and play in the playroom and living room.

Kids do grow up fast and you will recall the drawer incident fondly when your child is grown. If your neighbour doesnt see the humour in it, then that's his/her problem.

Set up boundaries that is right for YOUR family.

Frankly, if I were going to go to a store and buy a printer or computer or whatever tech need (rather than online), I would be going there for the customer service experience particularly the salesperson's knowledge of the device to help me sort through the different choices. I would do price and stock availability comparisons online before heading out to the various stores.

Kristine - As an aunt, I'm afraid that any attempt on your part to teach your niece and nephew to be grateful will fall on deaf ears, or worse, be taken the wrong way by your sister. I agree that all children should be taught and encouraged to be grateful but it's a lesson best left between the child and his/her parents. It's obvious that your sister doesn't share this value if her 9yo still rudely dismisses a gift he doesn't like. I'm more inclined to be forgiving to the 6yo, myself, but that's just me.

As an aunt, I have had a 5yo niece open a gift, hold it up in the air and announce "Uhm. I don't like dolls," and drop it on the floor. Her mom was mortified as was everyone in the room including my then fiancé. I decided to laugh out loud to break the tension in the room. And, I'm glad I did. It let everyone off the hook and didn't ruin a perfectly good visit. Sometimes as a gift giver, you really have to wear a thick skin as joy over the gift isn't always guaranteed no matter how much thought you've put into it.

As a mom to a 5 and 6yo, I have tried to encourage my boys to be grateful when receiving gifts early on. The last couple of years, I have had them make or buy a gift for my husband and I and other close relatives. This way, they get to feel the excitement of watching someone open their presents and see their reactions of surprise and gratitude. Modelling is the great way to teaching gratitude. I am amazed (and proud) at how genuinely grateful my boys are when they open gifts, even of clothing and non-preferred items. Having said that, they are not always perfect (although never intentionally rude) but that's where a little forgiveness comes into play.

Good luck with whatever you decide to give your niece and nephew. Can you perhaps, include a gift receipt, with your gift so as your sister could exchange the item easily if they should decide (hopefully in private) that your choice wasn't exactly what they had in mind. They're fairly common in major retailers up here in Canada.

Thank you, David! Everyone. Read. Your. Manual. Every oven is different. I make it a habit to read my manual every time I use the self-clean function because I don't trust my memory since it's usually months or a year in between each self-cleaning.

I love the transformation and your colour choices for the door (inside and out) and the stairs and railing. Love the tile pattern too. The space looks crisp and modern. I do like that you've removed the muntins from the top window (I'm not fond of these fake partitions, myself, and have removed them from my previous house). It simplifies the space and makes it look more modern which I have a soft spot for. I'm guessing that the side window wood partition pieces weren't removable ... having one full glass piece would have made both windows look more cohesive. Great job and good for you for repositioning one railing to suit you toddler.

I have a 6yo who is allergic to peanuts and a 5yo who is allergic to hazelnuts and kiwi. Both boys carry an epi-pen and I have taken great care to educate them of what they cannot eat and to ask an adult if unfamiliar food contains nuts before eating it.

FYI - My kids' allergist who also happens to be allergic to peanuts tells me that you cannot have a reaction to them by smell or just being in the same room. Peanuts shells would have to be broken and flying all around (like in some bars where you drop your peanut shells on the floor) for you to breathe the allergen in. This is why I don't freak out when we're at parties with nuts as my kids are able to self-regulate with some reminders. Also, even though my kids are not allergic to all nuts, he advises against them ingesting any nut product as most nuts are processed in the same plants as other nuts which is why traces of nuts on packaged food items do freak me out.

It's interesting to me that this post which simply list some good "tips" (i.e., not must-dos) for the party host has generated so many emotional comments from opposite sides of the argument. The truth is most people fall in the middle of the "cater-to-me-and-my-allergen-guest" vs the "hell-no-eat-what-I-cook-or-leave-host". I consider it MY responsibility to inform people about my kids' allergies and to assess whether a function, particularly those where I'm dropping them off, is safe for them to go. To be honest, I may sometimes lean toward one extreme depending on the situation.

Potluck At My Home: I generally don't ask about food allergies since I'm already reminding guests by email or phone not to bring dishes containing nuts (my kids react to even traces of it) which should trigger a conversation about guests' allergies. I will mention the kiwi allergy but I don't obsess about it as it is not something that is usually hidden in dishes. If a kiwi dish happens to arrive, I will tell my 5yo not to eat it and put it on a high counter where he can't reach it. As for food containing nuts, I have only had one case when a guest brought a box of crackers containing traces of nuts. I put the box away but somehow the crackers were served on a cheese platter sitting on the coffee table. I was pissed when I found out as it could have ruined my son's day but didn't make a big deal of it as no harm was done. My son didn't eat them and I quietly threw the crackers in the garbage.

Party Elsewhere: I try to let the host know about my sons' allergies as an FYI. Once a peanut butter mini sandwich was served at the buffet table. I showed my boys the dish and told them that it had peanut butter ... A no-no food. Another time, it was the birthday cake that had nuts. The boys didn't have any. The boys did not make a fuss either times and had other nut-free sweets instead.

Class Party At School or Party Where You Drop Your Kids Off: Since I cannot be with the kids to manage what they eat, I make it a point to have a conversation with the host. I will ask if the function will be nut-free and make my own decision whether my kids will be safe to go.

My first reaction when I saw the pic was 'Wow. Why would you DIY an nice piece like that?' I was expecting a major transformation. Then I saw he After photo and had to scroll up and down to spot the difference. Everything made sense after reading the article. LOL.

Nice job converting a pre-made piece into something that fits your space.

Cool!!!

There's a lot of paring, serrated utility and sandwich knives with plastic covers on the market that are perfect for travel as well as little hands but are not necessarily designed for kids, e.g., Kuhn and Zyliss. Wusthof has a 4.5" serrated knife with a rounded end for those who want a top quality, non-plastic knife that will outlast the kid-phase.