I like this as a time consuming activity for kids who are old enough/dexterous enough to place the stickers in the spaces, like a paint by number. The finished products are cool and dimensional looking. If I were a kid at this time, I would be so excited to tackle this “coloring book.” During the quarantine, my sister is getting into those gem art projects where you place the little gems on the canvas with a pen-type tool. In these uncertain times, I can see the appeal in a project that requires concentration, being meticulous, and a world where you’re totally in control. OK, that is a little bit of a tangent, but anything that can keep a kid occupied for 10 minutes plus is a win in my book. This is $8.44 at Amazon and is eligible for Prime, and it’s also available at Barnes & Noble for $9.95. Paint by Stickers Zoo Animals
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Cb says
Any ipad apps for a 2.5 year old? He likes cars, trains, and stories, and is very interested in letters and numbers at the moment. We’ve been trying to keep television screentime to an hour after his nap but sometimes I need 15 minutes to address an urgent email in the morning.
anon. says
My 3 yo LOVES Khan Academy. Simple logic, letter, and number games. And there’s a library section of the app with simple books. And it’s free!
Anonymous says
We have the Khan Academy Kids app/games. Kiddo really likes it.
Ifiknew says
We love endless alphabet , reader, and numbers. Kiddopia is also a new favorite of my 2.75 yr old.
Anon says
Starfall ABC! Free, doesn’t need a data connection, works on letters.
Realist says
Princess Fairy Tale Maker! You might have to make the first few stories but this has been a long time favorite at our house. And it is free.
Duck Duck Moose options are usually good (we like Itsy Bitsy Spider).
The monster at the end of this book and Brown Bear are cute book apps
We also like Doodlecast and Babies, both from Sago Mini.
Marco Polo if family will do it too
lsw says
Yes, Duck Duck Moose! Also, my 3 year old has been loving the Sesame Street app and, specifically, helping Elmo go potty.
Anon says
This is going to sound bananas but Friskies has two ipad apps for cats. One is squishing bugs and one is batting fish I think. My nephew loves them!
AnotherAnon says
This made my day. Thank you.
Io says
Yes! The cat apps for the 18 mos set! Mine’s four and I still haven’t erased them.
lsw says
I totally got one of those on recommendations from here and my son loved it! Also a balloon popping app might help (also a rec from here!).
Anon says
PBS Kids Video (for watching shows) or PBS kids games. My personal favorite on the games is abby and elmo go potty. My kid can play it for a good 30 minutes, and it reinforces all of the steps we’re doing with potty training.
Quail says
Tozzle and Tozzle words were great. Peekaboo barn, forest, and fridge were all big hits. And any bubble popping app was fun, too.
Anon says
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox. My kids LOVE the vaguely educational “games” and getting to pick a sticker reward every few games. Parents can set the difficulty level in the settings so it’s appropriate for several ages, which is a nice bonus.
ifiknew says
We LOVE this, but how do i chaneg the difficulty? My daughters almost 3 and the level it comes with is too easy for her..
Anon says
Maybe I’m thinking of different versions. I know for sure you can adjust Monkey Wordschool and Mathschool. I don’t think Fix-it is adjustable, but I thought Lunchbox was. * shrug emoji * Who knows!
Anonanonanon says
fwiw I just looked at them on amazon and the zoo animal one would take two weeks to come but another themed one can come to my house by Monday!
Anonanonanon says
I ordered 4. My next-door neighbor is an etymologist and has sweetly been leaving tanks tadpoles etc. for my son on the back porch for him to observe and write about as “science class”. I got her the bug one.
IHeartBacon says
That is so sweet of your neighbor!
Anonymous says
My 6 year old son liked these.
Anon says
My 4 and 5 year olds like these, and they keep them busy.
Anon says
I should add, my 4 year old can do them to some extent, but not nearly as well as my 5 year old.
Jessamyn says
My 6 year old also loved these. I’d say it was about one day’s entertainment, so you have to decide if $7-8 is worth it. For us in these trying times it definitely was!
Anon says
These are for older kids, right? Someone sent my kiddo one for her second birthday and it seemed way over her head…
Anonanonanon says
I can’t imagine a 2-year-old doing this, but I ordered some because I think my 9-year-old might like them. He’s not one to draw or color or craft but likes things like this!
Anonymous says
Definitely for older kids and adults.
Anonymous says
Yeah, I would say 5+
Anon says
2 is too young for sure. But hang on.
Anonymous says
If you could wave a magic wand and get your employer to do anything (or a few things) to make your life more manageable taking care of children (or others) during this Covid crisis, what would those things be? I’ve been asked to put together a wish list for my job and I want to make sure it’s comprehensive! Thanks!
anon. says
PROVIDE INFORMATION. Even if it’s a weekly check in, “We understand you want information, we just don’t have any.” My office has been so incommunicado – it’s hard to work in a vacuum.
Pogo says
That’s a bummer – we’re having weekly calls that are highly encouraged for all managers to attend with the expectation that we can ask ANY question and cascade to our team. It’s been very honest and helpful. That said, each manager needs to be effective in communicating down.
Extra anon for this says
Allow everyone to indicate blocks of time that they’d prefer conference calls not be scheduled on their calendars, without stigma, so it can be taken into consideration. For example, on the days I’m able to telework right now, I work 6-8 AM with youngest sleeping/watching daniel tiger, but 8-9 AM I cannot keep her quiet. Sitter comes at 9AM. I really wish I could say “please, if at all possible, do not book something I need to be on between 8 and 9 AM”. I wish I knew if the people I supervise had similarly blocked off times in their schedules right now as well, so I could talk to them when they’re most likely to be focused and productive. That’s just not our culture, though.
A lot of people here have talked about trading blocks of time with their spouses for child duty vs. work, and I would love to know when I can call someone but expect them to be wrangling a child and only able to answer a quick question, and when I can expect them to be at a computer and able to look something up for me.
Extra anon for this says
Also, my neighbor’s employer let her put in for one day of PTO a week for the foreseeable future. She will still be working that day, but the idea was that it would account for the general loss in productivity working with a small child at home. While just being realistic in what we can expect from people right now would be ideal, I thought this was an interesting option.
Anonymous says
That is truly awful. 5 days a week of stressing out about productivity and balancing work and child care while also burning a day of PTO every week? No thank you. No man would ever agree to that.
NYCer says
+1. I would not be happy about that.
Anonanonanon says
I wouldn’t be happy about it either, but I’ve worked multiple places (places where you’re salaried exempt but still have to do accounting of your time because you’re grant-funded, for example) where this would be the better alternative to just getting fired.
Anonymous says
It’s a terrible terrible idea.
DCAnon says
That’s a phenomenal idea. I wish I didn’t *have* to hit my 8hrs every single day, especially on days where work is a little slower. Right now I’m working 9p-11p every night to make up for lost time during the day and it is taking a huge toll not having any personal “off” time after my daughter is down.
Granted, I’m a Project Manager, so I definitely need to be available to clients/my team via phone email. It’s just really tough that I have to be at my computer for the full day and watch my daughter.
DCAnon says
I re-read and now I think she is being asked to use personal PTO? In that case it’s a terrible idea; my company is offering a lot of specialized COVID PTO that is separate from personal, so if that was used, it would be great. Definitely not personal though!
Anonymous says
Yeah your company is weird. She’s burning personal pto.
lsw says
Wow, that sucks.
Anonymous says
I mean, can’t you ask the people you supervise and schedule with when you’re in charge of scheduling? Not being the culture seems like a really bad excuse. If you need this, others need this. Be the change.
Pogo says
+100000 to your first sentence. Tho I totally get it, my leadership team is buried right now so sometimes the only time that works is the 30min they’re all free, but if that’s also a time DH has to be on a call… yikes. And of course I could block my calendar, but it’s more like, I want to show my preferred times.
Anonymous says
So, I already have this and it is key…being able to work my hours whenever I can/want. I live in a billable world, so it might be easier. I am allowed to schedule my meetings as they best work for me (provided I have reasonable availability at some point each day) and get my independent work done when it works best for me. Nearly all my meetings are with clients. I have very few internal meetings that aren’t spontaneous phone calls.
Anon says
I don’t know if this is realistic, but not expecting full productivity.
Cb says
I wish we had clear guidance on what was expected. My husband is allowed to work halftime, with the rest of the hours counting allocated as paid special leave as we have no childcare. My workplace has offered the same, but in reality, they’ve told us to agree something informally with their linemanager. Honestly, I’d rather work towards 50% or 60% and feel like I’ve accomplished something.
Also, I’d like whoever thought it was a good idea to send out Anne Frank as ‘writing inspiration’ memes be fired.
Anon says
Whoa, that’s offensive!
Cb says
Right? And we got a very tepid ‘we’re sorry if you were offended’ back to the complaints.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Just acknowledging that many people have childcare or other care obligations right now is a good first step, instead of just talking about how we can all still remain productive while WFH. It’s not the WFH that’s the problem for me, it’s the fact that my kids are home!
Agree on letting people decide which hours they are available and not available, and not expecting full day availability. I’m relatively senior enough at my job that I just tell people what works for me for calls, but I think if I were just starting out or more junior, it would be trickier. Someone here said they still have to log 40 hours per week every week, which I think is a little ridiculous if you’re salaried anyway (outside of a billable environment), but more ridiculous now. There are some weeks where I will work weekends to get things done, but most weeks I can still move my projects along without a set number of hours, particularly now. So acknowledging that and not making people track hours.
anne-on says
I have a direct report for the first time and I’m clear with her when I’m NOT available (and have it blocked on my calendar) due to child care, and I’m encouraging her to block time for herself as well as necessary. Be transparent around how you’re coping if you’re in management – it helps those under you feel less guilty!
Anonymous says
Make it easy for employees to set up their schedules to allow alternating periods of work and child care as much as possible. Allow people to set their own hours and block off unavailable times on their calendars. Do not expect responses to e-mails or phone calls during unavailable times. The more you allow people to schedule separate times to focus on work and child care, the more productive and less distracted they will be.
Examine your organization’s meeting culture. If people are spending all day on Zoom, when are they actually going to do the work generated by all those meetings?
As an organization, be very clear and aggressive about implementing and maintaining social distancing measures. Even though our governor has ordered that professional services firms should direct employees to work from home as much as possible, and literally everyone in our organization except the facilities guy is equipped to work remotely (even my assistant has a laptop and a cell phone), our office is still open and we are being told that we must get supervisor permission to work from home. This makes me worry that there will be a lot of pressure to return to the office and to resume business travel before it’s truly safe, which is an unnecessary source of stress. My husband’s company, on the other hand, banned all travel, sent everyone to work from home, and locked its buildings weeks before the governor’s order. He has zero worries about being asked to come back in any time in the foreseeable future. Don’t put the burden on employees–just close the office and keep it closed.
Spirograph says
+1000 to your first two paragraphs. Allow people to work split shifts. I would love to be authorized to consolidate all my meetings into a 4-5 hour window, and then do all my head-down stuff when the kids are asleep.
I’m letting one of my project managers do this on a trial basis this week (with the understanding that he needs to make himself available if leadership requests a meeting in his off time, and he needs to keep his phone on him so stakeholders and I can call/text if truly urgent),and it seems to be working, but my boss is still not on board.
octagon says
My job has been really great about saying “work when you can, we’ll figure it out” and being willing to debrief people if they can’t make meetings at certain times. We are not expected to take PTO if we are working less than full time. I suppose if someone was noticeably derelict a manager would get involved but generally that’s not an issue.
Managers have one 30-minute video call with direct reports so they can gauge reactions to how folks are doing and not just rely on email answers re workload.
We were each given up to $250 to buy IT equipment for our homes, reimbursable. I’m buying a bigger monitor and a good headset for calls. (IT sent out a list of recommended equipment that will work with our system requirements.) It becomes property of my employer but that’s fine; I think it will make a big difference over the next few days.
Anonymous says
My company implemented an additional 4 weeks of pto for covid-19 related reasons, including lack of childcare. I haven’t had to use it, because my husband is a sahd, but it seems useful.
FVNC says
This seems like a really helpful benefit.
Anonymous says
I am so afraid of using it, though. When we start talking lay-offs, I worry that PTO use will be considered.
anne-on says
My company (billable) is offering unlimited use of a Covid-19 PTO code to care for yourself/immediate family or any absences related to covid-19 stuff (ie – covering child care). We’ve also very clearly closed all offices, banned all travel till April 30, and have senior execs kicking off calls showing off their home offices. There are also lots of EAP web conferences on how to support your family/yourself during this time, and they pushed out free Calm logins and workout app logins.
OP says
Thank you, this is very helpful! I’m putting all of this into my ask to our leadership committee. Good luck to you all as well!
Pigpen's Mama says
I have no idea if there would be any way to do this, but have the company provide a service that would figure out how to get most of a list of groceries/other items to your house. I wasted ~ 1hr yesterday thinking there was a delivery time, putting a cart together, then having the delivery time closeout and being left with nothing. If I could get someone to take care of that new mental load, it would free up time to handle one of my other jobs (paid job, mother, bitter substitute teacher, reluctant cook, etc).
Pogo says
Yesterday my son woke up a bit earlier from nap than expected while DH and I were both on calls. Mine was mostly listening, so I first let him snuggle with me in bed while he woke up, and then we moved downstairs to do an art project. I managed to keep him occupied for 30min coloring in a coloring book and then cutting out the little fish he was coloring, and gluing them to a different page. Then DH came down and relieved me so I could go back upstairs and work. It was kind of amazing how we wordlessly did the handoff and LO didn’t seem to notice! He finished up his art project with DH and didn’t come up to bother me. It was a minor victory!
Boston Legal Eagle says
My older one said this morning “ok daddy, now you’re done with work so it’s time for mommy to work” at our 9:30 hand off. Nice to know he gets what’s going on (at least somewhat)!
Cb says
Yes, my son has been suspiciously questioning my husband about why he’s working at mommy’s desk but now tells us that daddy works in the morning and mommy works after lunch. And we have to pretend the working person is invisible – 2 bed flat, our desk is in the common area.
Anon says
My friend in Minneapolis just told me that the city announced parks and pools are closed all summer. I honestly am starting to think we won’t be going back in the fall
Nan says
Ugh, that’s depressing but probably makes sense.
For the most part, I’m sticking with “nobody real knows what’s going to happen” and telling myself that if the last month taught us anything, it’s that things can change quickly. Maybe things that are expecting to be closed will be able to unexpectedly open – probably not, but maybe.
Not trying to bury my head in the sand (or maybe I am) but thinking about things still being cancelled in the fall is too much for me right now.
avocado says
Thinking about the long game actually helps me. I am what psychologists call a “defensive” or “constructive” pessimist. I think through worst-case scenarios and develop contingency plans to address them. Knowing I have a plan makes me feel more in control, and prepares me to react immediately in the most productive way when the risk materializes.
All of the experts concur that even if we tamp it down this spring, the virus is likely to start circulating again by fall. I am already assuming that not much school will happen next year. Schools may not be able to open at all, they might start up again in September and then have to shut down again, or there might be so much pressure that schools will stay open even when it’s obviously unsafe. My hope is that our district is preparing to provide live on-line instruction during any closures next year. It currently doesn’t have the capacity to do anything like that, and for the remainder of this year is relying on pass-fail worksheets. So I’m already looking into what it would take to pull my daughter from public school and get her through a ninth-grade pre-IB curriculum using on-line materials, and how we’d pay for it. This actually makes me feel better about the future. Things might really stink for a while, and we are going to lose a lot of things that we enjoyed, but we will still be able to get our daughter a decent education while keeping our family safe. For me, constructive pessimism is a more hopeful way to live than naive optimism.
Extra anon for this says
I’m exactly this way (which is why I chose a profession that pays me to be this way). I’m making the exact same calculation, too. I think there is a chance schools will reopen in the fall because of pressure, but that it won’t actually be safe yet. This is why most public health agencies asked schools to wait a bit longer before closing. I’m immunocompromised or I might make a different calculation, but I’m starting to consider if we would homeschool my son or not. I’m hoping that schools consider moving toward a system where you can pull your child out temporarily due to COVID concerns with no punishment as long as they follow an online curriculum or something.
Anona says
Dear lord, I hope you are wrong. Do you know how many millions more people will lose their jobs if this isn’t wrapped up in a few months? Seriously depressing. And yes, that includes attorneys, those in higher ed, CPAs and others on this board too. It’s not just about planning around school or daycare, it’s about having a livelihood.
Anonymous says
I’m in Minneapolis and yeah, that was a bummer– parks are still technically “open” for outdoor recreation, but they won’t be opening the pools, rec centers, and beaches. The state’s model has us hitting peak outbreak in late May, which I think should allow for a taper that would have school start relatively on time for us since we don’t start until after Labor Day. But technically right now schools can go back at the beginning of May and our stay-at-home order expires Friday (expectation is both will be extended).
Boston Legal Eagle says
I see this going through May in MA (our peak is expected mid April as of now), but then things will gradually start to open in June. Including daycare I hope! Not sure about camps and school might be closed for the rest of the academic year. If they don’t start by fall, that would be really really surprising – we can’t keep ourselves home forever.
Anon says
School is already closed for the academic year in a lot of states. I’m hopeful daycare will resume from July to October or so, but I definitely think we’re going to see another round of this in late fall.
Anonymous says
There’s a difference between opening spaces that lead to larger public groups that are less ‘essential’. I think we will see schools back before recreational facilities.
It may also be a budgetary measure on their part.
avocado says
I think you’re on to something with the budgetary considerations. Many of my clients are state governments, and one is already freaking out about income tax revenues that will come in late. I would imagine local governments have similar concerns.
Anonymous says
I work with local governments and, unfortunately, a lot of the summer rec programs are revenue (and job) generating, so they will lose a revenue source by closing. Not to mention all the permit fees lost from typically summer events. I agree with the decision to close, just pointing out a different way local government is affected.
anne-on says
I’d be really surprised if indoor rec spaces re-open, but I am hoping outdoor trails/beaches/lakes do open up otherwise we’ll be climbing the walls. I’m also 95% sure camp is not happening, which stinks, but hopefully we’ll be able to have play dates again at people’s homes. On the plus side we’re saving money not having camp?!?
I am also 100% going to be hiring an out of work college kid/sub to provide some childcare once that is allowed!!
So Anon says
For those of us who have already paid for camps for this summer, do any of you expect to get that money back if camps do not happen? Summer camps are my largest childcare expense, which I always pay before March for the upcoming summer.
Anonymous says
Yes. They don’t need to hire or pay staff or have operating expenses. 100% I expect refunds.
Anon says
What I hope will happen is that school will reopen in the fall but anyone who wants to keep their kids home can do so without penalty. At least in my area, it seems like most but not all (maybe ~80%?) of people would be sending their kids to school if it were open, and I feel like that’s enough to open it up. They’re obviously not going to have school for 20% of the kids, but if most of the kids would be there I think there will be enough pressure to open once the massive surge of cases have passed and we’re no longer having tens of thousands of new cases per day. I’m also theortically hopeful that more testing will lead to more targeted closures (eg., clearly NYC needs to be on lockdown now but maybe rural Wyoming doesn’t), although I feel like people have been saying for weeks “the tests are here!” and we have seen very little in the way of increased testing so I’m not optimistic this will happen any time soon.
Anona says
Don’t you understand there will be an absolute unemployment blood bath if this continues that long? You won’t need daycare to open back up because you likely won’t have a job by then if we’re still sheltering in place.
Anon says
I’m not sure why you’re snarkily replying to me – other people here are saying school won’t even be open at all next year! I don’t know enough about economics to say how closures until July/August would affect the US economy as a whole, but I’m in a college town and most people work for the university, public schools or in healthcare. If things open in August most people will be ok. Yes, some service industry workers have and will continue to lose jobs, but I expect that industry would rebound quickly once things open up if everyone else stays employed. The bloodbath here would be if things don’t reopen in the fall. Even for other cities that are less education-driven, I think a fall 2020 opening is still better than a fall 2021 opening?
Anon says
You are out of touch with how many industries this is impacting. Do you think school districts, local governments, and higher ed aren’t all freaking out right now? Just wait. It’s not just the service industry. Even healthcare workers in non-COVID related roles are impacted.
Anonymous says
If we all die there won’t be an economy. It’s not a choice between jobs and lives. Millions upon millions of jobs are going to be lost no matter what. If we slow the spread, there will be less economic damage. Do you really think fewer jobs are being lost in Italy than in the US?
Anon says
I’m not saying we should not try to protect lives, but let’s not kid ourselves about what the costs will be. Until you yourself lose your job in the midst of an absolutely plummeting economy, you quite frankly can get by with your head in the sand without recognizing the true scope of the problem. Those of you who are complaining and worrying about childcare day after day are missing the bigger picture of what’s really happening.
Anonymous says
Sorry if this posts twice, but any suggestions for making the weekend feel special and not just a time to do house chores instead of work? Now that we don’t have trips, playdates, or activities to look forward to. My kids are 1 and 3, so they’re not doing schoolwork during the week, my curriculum is free play, neighborhood walks, FaceTime with grandma, and the occasional viewing of Mickey’s Clubhouse. All i’ve come up with is special Sunday breakfast.
DLC says
My kids are older, but, we instituted Family Cleaning Time last Saturday morning. Since our cleaner is not coming, the house has been a mess. I taught the kids how to clean the bathroom and deep clean the kitchen appliances. The eight year old did most of the cleaning, but the three year old did a lot of wiping- he was also given a duster and dusted down all the air vents in the house. They actually had a lot of fun. So maybe it doesn’t have to be a special activity meant to entertain the kids, but they can be adjacent to you while you do things.
Anonymous says
I definitely don’t think you HAVE to do anything for kids that age because chores can be interesting and are a change from parents trying to work. My two year old was thrilled to go on a walk with both of us instead of one at a time last weekend. My husband and I do takeout and a movie after she goes to bed on Fridays as our “special” weekend thing.
Since you asked for suggestions, someone I know is doing “themed” days based on a letter or color, so on “P” day, you could paint, eat pizza/ pasta, plant flowers, etc.
Cate says
Oh this is fun – I might post for letter theme ideas next week!
SC says
We are keeping our pizza and movie night tradition for Friday night. We also tend to have one weekend breakfast with some sort of treat–cinnamon rolls, pancakes, etc. We do this pretty regularly anyways, but not when there’s a birthday party to go to, so it’s more often now.
Other than that, we don’t keep as much of a routine as during the week. We spend more time with the 3 of us, though we also try to rotate parents getting a break. I try to do some bigger projects with Kiddo–last week, we made complicated cookies–marguerites from Ann Byrn’s historical cookbook American Cookie. This weekend, we may make bath bombs (if the citric acid I ordered arrives–it’s at the local sorting facility).
We do involve Kiddo in cleaning, and on weekends, that also means larger projects. Since it’s spring, we’ve been working in the yard, then eating dinner outside to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We’re also FaceTiming friends and family ore on weekends right now.
Pogo says
Thanks for asking this – I feel the exact same way! I think LO doesn’t care about the weekend being “special” and he did “help clean” last week (ha), but I wish there were something fun to do! So far I’ve settled on longer snuggling in bed (even with wfh on weekdays we’re up and showered by 7:30), special breakfast from scratch (pancakes, waffles, scones, etc), and more outdoor time if the weather cooperates. This weekend we hope to do some yard work which I’m excited about – we’ll be clearing out some old mulch and hopefully getting new mulch delivered, so I’m thinking about making a mulch pile sandbox of sorts for LO with the old stuff.
But man. I miss drinks with coworkers on Friday night, date nights with DH on Saturday, playdates and brunch with our couple friends, yoga classes, coffee shops, the playground and the children’s museum. The weekend does NOT feel like a weekend to me these days. Just chores instead of work.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Pogo, I know your son is younger but FWIW, my 4 year old loved helping my husband with mulching last weekend! So I’m sure that will be fun for him.
Honestly, I think our kids will be fine with whatever we do on the weekends, it’s more us who are bored of just staying home or doing the same walks, doing chores and not getting any personal time at this point.
Anonymous says
OP here- that’s exactly what I mean! I mean, the kids are happy, but I need something different! I need a weekend again!
Anon says
I drink slightly more on the weekend than I allow myself to do during the week, lol, but that is always the case and the limit for both have been raised.
But in seriousness, I’ve been finding cocktail recipes that have been fun to try to add to the same-wine-every-night repertoire. Only works if you have an okay established booze supply or grocery trip in your near future, but some of them don’t require toooo many ingredients.
IHeartBacon says
Can you guys camp in your living room? If you have a tent, sent it up on Saturday evening. You can watch a movie in the tent and sleep there that night. Not sure what your grocery situation is, but you can make some s’mores and take them into the tent to eat while watching your movie.
Anonymous says
We instituted a movie night every Saturday night. It’s a bit tricky picking a movie that is appropriate to both kids (age 5 and 2), but they really look forward to it and helps all of us remember what day of the week is. We also do pancakes or cinnamon rolls for breakfast every weekend. Hang in there!
Anonanonanon says
Dumb confession.
Somewhere in my childhood an adult told me that the difference between brown and white eggs was that white eggs were definitely not fertilized but that when you buy brown eggs they might be and you could end up with a partially-formed baby chicken inside?
Anyway, I literally believed that until today. Ugh.
The reason this came up is because I just got brown eggs for the first time in my life because I’ve been trying to get most of our food from local farmers. If you’re in Northern Virginia, reach out to the suppliers that are usually at your local farmer’s market. Most of them are letting customers order ahead and offering to meet up with you for the handoff (with social distancing, of course). I got eggs and meat from Smith Family Farms, their offerings are on their facebook. My husband is going to be so excited to find a steak thawing in the freezer.
Also, there is a creamery (Misty Meadows) that lets you order ahead and I think has a couple of “meetup” spots for order pickups in NOVA. They have amazing cheesecake, milk, chocolate milk, ice cream, etc. We’re trying to avoid the store until at least May. Having access to dairy and eggs through local farmers that we can get in fresh air with social distancing has made that possible.
Clementine says
Like everyone, I’m having weird ebbs and flows.
I just had a moment where I actually had my 4 year old pick out what fabric he wanted for his face mask. That was… not something I ever expected.
Grandma is a nurse who has had repeated exposure and is also the type of a person who has a needed skill set who is stepping up, fully knowing the risks. He has seen her in her mask (from a distance but also via FaceTime) and she presented it as part of her ‘superhero uniform’ so it’s not scary to him, but… this is not a situation I ever expected to see all of us in… and I work in public health!
Pogo says
It is so surreal. And it is weird how it comes and goes, you might be fine one minute and then not the next.
When we’re out of something now and LO hears us talking about it, he says, “Ask the mailman to bring it!” Like he literally thinks everything we get now is from the mailman which is… mostly true.
Runner says
Non covid question! Vegetarian moms, do you do anything extra to work on iron consumption for your kids? We serve beans and spinach but lots of times that ends up on the floor and the kids (twins, age 17 months) eat bread and butter. Is this something I should be worrying about?
Anon says
Bread (in the US at least) is iron-fortified, so I wouldn’t worry about it unless they’re subsisting solely on fruits, veggies and dairy.
Anonymous says
We are not vegetarian but eat meat only 1-2x a week. Even with a kid who eats all kinds of vegetables, beans, and a lot of fortified bread, kid and I both recently turned out to be low in iron. We are both on supplements because there was a limit to how much more spinach we could add to our diets (and didn’t want to eat meat daily).
Runner says
What supplements do you use?
Anonymous says
I think we did Poly-Vi-Sol with Iron until a pretty old age. Even though it looks gross, kiddo didn’t mind it. It wasn’t until she wanted to do it herself a lot older that we switched to regular vitamins. And by that time kiddo had good enough iron levels to just do regular gummies. Our ped checks iron at 12 mos as a matter of course.
Anonymous says
PS – I’m not the anon who posted above. Just offering a reply.
Anonymous says
I’m the poster above – 5 year old has prescription iron drops and I take an over the counter that is 325 mg. I wouldn’t take that much without checking w your doctor. Both of us were already taking vitamins with iron.
Anonymous says
Yes – if you are not doing meat, you need to pay attention to iron levels. Check with your ped (via phone) as to whether they should continue with formula or be on an iron supplement
Anonymous says
We eat meat and our ped still recommended iron supplements because iron helps the body process lead or something. We used liquid vitamins with iron, polyvisol fe I think. They taste terrible and stain, so around age 2 or so we switched to flintstone’s chewables with iron.
Knope says
I make sure to incorporate high-iron vegetarian foods into my 3 year old son’s diet, like tofu, lentils, leafy greens, and cream of wheat. His iron levels were fine at his last checkup, and he doesn’t have signs of iron deficiency (pale skin, fatigue, cracked lips). If he did have a deficiency I would use supplements.
Pogo says
I’m a vegetarian but husband and LO technically aren’t, though we mostly eat vegetarian at home. LO is definitely tested at the ped and never comes up anemic, and my OB checks me and I was only borderline recently (common even for meateaters when pregnant). So I’d get checked before you assume. Any nuts or legumes are a good source – so sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp, flax, chickpeas, peanuts, etc, which kids can eat in butter/hummus form on the carb of fruit of their choice (or look for breads that are extra seed-y). Oatmeal is also a very good source of iron so we try to eat that 1-2 times/week. Tofu is even a decent source, though I haven’t gotten LO into that yet.
Anon says
+1. We’re not vegetarian but my 2 yo is picky and doesn’t eat meat except fish when we have it for dinner as family once a week or so. She’s had her iron tested and it’s fine. Our ped said anemia is mostly genetic.
Anon says
I still have a baby, so we do iron fortified cereal and lentils. They also make lentil pasta, may want to check the iron content but it could be a good option for picky eaters.
Jessamyn says
Non-veg, but my kids don’t really like red meat, so we give them Flinstones vitamins just to cover our bases.