When Indeed

Six year olds have a way of cutting right to the point and asking whatever comes across their mind. While I was battling with Thing 3 one morning to change his Pull-Up and get dressed for preschool (a daily occurrence that I can count on as sure as the sun coming up), Thing 1 asked me “When will Thing 3 be potty trained?”

Ah, yes, when indeed. We have been engaged in potty training Thing 3 since the bootcamp back in July. We’re now well into October and while there has been definite progress since then, we are very far from declaring mission accomplished.

How much progress? He generally will go potty 3-4 times a day now at preschool. Except when he decides he doesn’t want to for whatever reason. What reasons could he have for wanting to be in a wet Pull-Up when he knows how to use the potty? This is Thing 3, remember. It might be the wrong day of the week, or he could be wearing the wrong color shirt, or he might not like how the teacher asked him, or he may have heard a sound he doesn’t like. At home, he still wants no part of the potty except the last few nights he has gone just before bed like his brothers. Oh yeah, he still has yet to poop in a potty, preferring to do his business in the Pull-Ups.

It’s one step forward, two steps back.? Sometimes I think Thing 4 may be potty trained before her brother even with the nearly 3 year head start.

Disclosure: I get paid as a Pull-Ups Potty Training Partner.

Another Reason Happy Meals Are Perfect Food

McDonald's Happy MealI already knew McDonald’s Happy Meals were the perfect meal for kids. What’s not to like? They are cheap and fast. Kids actually eat them. They come with a new, top quality toy that won’t break for years. And there are choices, but not too many choices that will overwhelm your kids – chicken or hamburger? fries or apples? regular or chocolate milk? It is, quite possibly the perfect meal for kids.

Just when I thought there was nothing that could possibly make Happy Meals any better…I found the Davies McDonalds Happy Meal Project. Sally Davies, a photographer in New York, bought a Happy Meal, left it on the table, and took a picture of it over six months to see how it might change. Or not. It turns out it didn’t change much at all. Sure, it got a little harder. But there was not a speck of mold on the bun or the meat. The french fries remained a nice golden yellow.

No more throwing away half eaten Happy Meals!

Atari Haunted House Stays in the Past

Atari 2600Wii Haunted House
You may remember Atari’s classic Haunted House game. It came out in 1981 for the Atari 2600.? At that time, it was considered an advanced game with scrolling graphics and pioneered the concept of multiple levels.? All pretty basic stuff now but at the time it was pretty cool.

Now Atari has put out a modern version of the same game for Wii, Xbox, and PC.? The classic game has been remade for a new generation of gamers with enriched 3D environments, interactive objects, dynamic storylines, and new characters.? You must navigate your way through 16 levels of spooky environments, find hidden treasures, solve puzzles, fight new bosses, and manipulate the environment on their way to a showdown with Zachary Graves.

I handed the game over to Thing 1 to try out to see how it measures up to today’s new standards.? The first thing we noticed was that even though the game was on Wii,? it required use of the numchuk controller which is really just a joystick.? I thought it would have allowed use of the Wii motion controllers to make it a truly modern version of the game.? Instead, it was remarkably similar to the original which I guess was the point so maybe that’s not a bad thing.? Thing 1 didn’t like that he had to use the numchuk joystick to move the character around.? I can only imagine how unimpressed he’d be with the classic black Atari joystick with the red button that I grew up on.

The game is rated “Everyone 10+” for Language, Mild Blood, and Mild Cartoon Violence. That sounds bad but really it’s pretty tame and cartoonish, no worse than the Tom and Jerry cartoons all my kids watch.

Thing 1 is not quite 7 years old and that might have factored into his take on the game. We turned it on and he had a hard time figuring out what to do at first. The screen is mostly dark because, well, you are supposed to be inside a haunted house. After we figured out how to walk around and search for items he continued to play for a bit, but soon lost interest. His comments were “It takes too long”, “It’s impossible to beat”, and “How do you even win?”.

I have to say I kind of agree with his assessment of the game. You pretty much walk around in the dark, blindly go up to objects and press the button to see if it contains a prize.? If you are into adventure games it might be more appealing.? We generally like action games like Wii Sports.

If you loved Atari’s Haunted House 30 years ago and want to bring the same game to your kids, give it a try.? Just don’t expect it to compete with the action or graphics kids take for granted in today’s modern video games.

Disclosure: I received free product in exchange for my unbiased review.

Dual Personalities

The Jekyll and Hyde behavior of Thing 3 continues.? We’ve already seen how he is a completely different person at preschool than he is at home.? And now we find out he’s the biggest story teller in the class.? Each day, during group time, the teacher asks a question and writes down each answer on a sheet for all the parents to see.? Usually the questions are “What is your favorite barn animal?” and Thing 3 will have a one word answer like “Duck!” (the exclamation is necessary because he really, really likes ducks).

On Monday, the question is “What did you do over the weekend?”.? Most kids have brief answers like “Played with my mom and dad”, “I drank milk”, or “We made cookies”.? Here is what Thing 3 recalled:

I played with toys and went to bed with Buzz. I got coffee and ice water and went to Chuck E Cheese. Buzz was in trouble and went to time out for taking a cookie. I’m going to watch Buzz tomorrow. I had an apple.

Here’s the interpretation: He carries his Buzz Lightyear doll with him everywhere. The coffee is a reference to trips with SuburbanMommy to the Caribou Coffee drive-thru which we do often on weekends when we need to strap him in one place for a while. I did take the 3 boys to Chuck E Cheese on Sunday. It’s a madhouse on a rainy day but necessary sometimes when there is nothing to do. It wasn’t Buzz who got the timeouts, but sometimes after Thing 3 gets a timeout, he recreates the moment by giving his Buzz doll a timeout. I don’t know anything about taking a cookie as a reason for the timeout. I’m sure the timeout was for hitting his brothers or spitting on the wall. Saying he will watch Buzz tomorrow is a given because we’ve watched Toy Story 1 and 2 a hundred times.

iPhone Makes Potty Training Easier

Experts say setting a potty schedule helps teach your child to use the toilet. But how do you keep to that schedule – and minimize conflict between yourself and a stubborn toddler?

Presenting iGo Potty – the potty training app developed by the makers of Pull-Ups Training Pants, the potty training experts. iGo Potty makes potty training fun for kids and grown-ups too. It includes:

? Cute potty reminders: Patty the Potty phones your child and says, ?It?s time to use the potty!? You decide when and how often Patty calls.
? Fun stuff including reward stickers, simple games, sound effects and music help your child stay motivated and engaged.
? A progress tracker provides a visual snapshot of how your child is doing. You can even share a progress report with family and friends.
? Even when your child doesn?t go, iGo Potty is always positive and encouraging.
? And when training is successfully completed ? you guessed it ? iGo Potty creates a diploma signifying your child is a ?Big Kid Now.? Print it out and hang it on the fridge ? your child earned it!

iGo Potty is great for potty trainees, caregivers, older siblings and parents too. It?s self-explanatory and easy to use ? and if you ever get stuck, there?s even a built-in tutorial. Oh, and it’s free!

iGo Potty ? It?s the app that makes toilet training a snap!

Disclosure: SuburbanDaddy receives compensation for being a Pull-Ups Potty Training Partner.

Who is this Child?

Let me give a summary of how just about every day with Thing 3 goes these days. He wakes up around 6:30am in a bad mood, crying for no particular reason until he has his cup of milk like a two-pack-a-day smoker has to have his first smoke.

It takes little to set him off on a tantrum and I can never predict what will set him off, but I can predict with near certainty there will be something that does. It could be the wrong color cup or cereal bowl. It could be the wrong show on tv. Or the wrong color shirt. Oh, I always ask which one he wants first but I now realize they are all the wrong ones. The tantrum is coming. And you can forget about even suggesting the “P” (potty) word to him or you’re in for a world of hurt.

At night, we have a similar ritual around bedtime. No matter what it’s always the wrong pajamas. Then he doesn’t want to brush his teeth or go to bed. So he bangs on the wall, throws books in his room, and his new favorite act of defiance spitting on the wall. This goes on for a good 30 minutes until we all exhaust ourselves.

I assumed the time in between these lovely bookends to my day went much the same. This is the time Thing 3 is at preschool. That is, until we got this note from his teacher:

Thing 3 “is such a delight to have in our classroom. He is very bright – sometimes silly and sometimes serious – a good combination. He is doing well at number recognition and we are practicing our letters. He now comes to us if he needs to go potty – sometimes it has already happened and sometimes we make it there on time!! He is very helpful in the classroom and a very caring, sharing young man!!”

Seriously, this is the same kid? Sure, I’ve seen glimpses of this model child but it’s completely surrounded by the crying, spitting, throwing, and terrorizing. I guess there is some reason for hope.